I read Stanley Milford Jr.'s book The Paranormal Ranger - A Navajo Investigator's Search for the Unexplained (#1,260) with a great deal of interest. Acting as a law enforcement officer, Milford and his partner were assigned to investigate incidents and complaints in the Navajo Nation which could not be explained by normal methods.
Being raised by a Navajo father in the summers and receiving a traditional Western education where he lived with his mother enabled Milford to embrace both sides of his cultural heritage including the acceptance of a spirit world. He writes about the Navajo creation myth and its influence to explain some of the uncanny things he came across. That is really the part of the book I found most interesting. It built on bits and pieces I have learned about the Navajo way of life from the popular Tony and Anne Hillerman novels.
Some of what I read surprised me - I knew about witches and Skinwalkers, but I had not realized that Big Foot and UFO sightings were not uncommon in this part of the world. Since Stanley Milford Jr. had had a number of these experiences himself, it put him in a position to respond to similar sightings across the vast Navajo Nation and take these occurrences seriously. He was in a unique position to make these people reporting odd things feel heard and seen.
It's a thoughtful presentation of one man's experiences with the unknown from a culturally different perspective. Definitely worth a read with an open mind.
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