Newscast: John Sayles, Film Director, Screenwriter, Actor, and Novelist Visits Mendocino

Nominated for two Academy Awards and for the National Book Award, Sayles is here to announce his latest novel “To Save The Man”. He will be appearing at the Gallery Bookstore in Mendocino Village on January 22^nd. Sayles has published 8 novels and a short story collection. “To Save The Man” tells the dual story of the Carlisle Indian School and the Massacre at Wounded Knee. It juxtaposes the life of Indigenous children who are forced to give up their heritage and the struggles of the Native American tribes who are forced onto reservations and allotments in what was known in the 1800s as The Territory. Sayles talks about his inspiration for the novel, the hardships Native Americans faced, the prejudice and fear of the white population, and the impact on children. In his novel, he details the lead-up to the massacre and takes the reader through the moments when the US Army gunned down hundreds of Lakota Sioux. The story is told through the eyes of Carlisle Indian School students. According to Sayles, Carlisle was the blueprint for the Indian Boarding Schools that sprung up across the US and Canada causing immeasurable hardship to native populations.