KLOE (Klahanie) DUFRESNE was an American university student of Chinook Indian heritage living in 2018 Seattle, Washington. Since the disappearance of her parents, James and Misty, she was raised by proud and traditional grandparents, teaching her to remember and honor the ways of the Chinook and the Pacific Northwest Duwamish tribes.
While working at the Western Washington University bookstore she accidentally came across an old forgotten novel shrouded in dust. Wiping off the cover she was surprised to read the words Winner of the 1962 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction. The title was ECHOES AT EHKOLA, written by Johan Dufresne. Set in the early 1800’s it tells the tale of star-crossed lovers; Francois Dufresne serving on the Lewis and Clark Expedition keel boat, the Corps of Discovery and Kamimi, a young Mandan maiden who joined the expedition with Shoshone woman Sacagawea (Si-khah-jewa).
After sharing exciting yet harrowing adventures on the historic 18-month journey to find a passage to the Pacific Ocean, Francois and Kamimi find love. But fraught with hardships of bigotry, hatred and conflicting native tribal and American cultures of the times, their love was condemned.