Savage and Brave

James Savage is credited as the 'discoverer' of Yosemite Valley, a stunningly beautiful paradise in the mountains of California. Chief Tenaya and his tribe used a different name, Ahwahnee, for this location that had been home to Native Americans for thousands of years. These two brave leaders were forced into conflict when the Gold Rush brought a wave of white settlers to the region. While Savage and Brave is 'based on real people and events' - to use a popular Hollywood caveat - the story unfolds with the help of some funny fictional characters, through whom we dramatize the overlapping legends of Savage and Tenaya to present both sides of a complicated relationship; not in a true-or-false / black-and-white way, but with the necessary nuance that acknowledges the complexity of the situation and illuminates the full spectrum of tangled emotions. ~ 45,000 words.