Conversations with eighteen Native writers including their thoughts and concerns about writing, the influence of the oral tradition, what makes them write, the relationship between Native writers and (non-Native) critics, their views of spirituality, the question of "appropriation" of Native stories, the problems of overcoming barriers to understanding and perception between Natives and non-Natives, and the larger questions of how human beings relate to the Earth. Authors interviewed: Jeannette Armstrong, Beth Cuthand, Maria Campbell, Jordan Wheeler, Lenore Keeshig-Tobias, Tomson Highway, Beatrice Culleton, Thomas King, Greg Young-Ing, Anne Acco, Howard Adams, Daniel David Moses, Lee Maracle, Emma LaRocque, Ruby Slipperjack, Joy Asham Fedorick, Basil Johnston, and Rita Joe.