As summarized on the Mendocino County Library Systems website, “a Native American with parents of both Navajo and Cherokee descent, Stanley Milford Junior grew up in a world where the supernatural was both expected and taboo, where shapeshifters, roamed witchcraft was a thing to be feared, and children were taught not to whistle at night. In his youth, Milford never went looking for the paranormal, but it always seemed to find him.
When he joined the fabled Navajo Rangers, a law enforcement branch of the Navajo Nation, who are equal parts police officers, archaeological conservationists and historians, the paranormal became part of his job. Alongside addressing the duties of overseeing the massive 27,000 square mile reservation, Milford was assigned to utterly bizarre and shockingly frequent cases involving mysterious livestock mutilations, skinwalker, and Bigfoot sightings, UFOs, and malicious hauntings.
In his just published memoir, The Paranormal Ranger, Milford recounts the stories of these cases from the clinical and deductive perspective of a law enforcement officer. Milford's Native American worldview and investigative training collide to provide an eerie account of what logic dictates should not be possible.
Author’s talk virtual host Brandon Adler began the series by asking Milford Jr. to give an introduction to the memoir. In reply, he spoke about his early desire to pursue a career in law enforcement and how that path led him to investigating the paranormal on his reservation in Navajoland.
I spoke with Round Valley resident Kirsten Morgan about how she related to what Stanley Milford had to share as a resident of a rural place. She recounted how she related to the author’s stories through her own experiences of hearing about Sasquatch sightings locally, as well as the stories her young daughter has heard about skinwalkers while attending the local elementary school in Round Valley.
Pat Sobrero, host of last week's Watch Party and librarian at the Round Valley Public Library, shared the following about her participation in the Mendocino County Library Systems Virtual Author Series. “Every month, Mendocino County Library makes the virtual authors talks available to anyone that is interested. All you need to participate is a name and email address and a way to stream the talk. When I saw that there was a talk coming up that involved a Navajo Ranger who investigated the paranormal, and whose book on the subject has generated a lot of buzz. I took the information to our head librarian Josh and suggested that we set up the community room to stream the event. He thought it might be something members of the community would like to see, so he agreed. Like most folks, I've always found the idea that there is more to life than we can explain fascinating. And I guess lots of others share that curiosity as well. I'm only sorry that we had just a few days to publicize the event. I'm sure with a little more warning, more folks would have attended the community screening. I love showing films and screening other events like this. I know a lot of folks would prefer to watch films or virtual events at home in their sweatpants in the comfort of their own living room, but I enjoy watching with others in community, feeling the energy in the room, hearing folks chuckle or gasp, or otherwise react to what is happening. It makes the experience more real for me, and it can generate some really interesting conversations.
To learn more about upcoming virtual authors talks, v