An inspiring story
of determination and grit . . .
Where Birds Land
by Mary Ruth Barnes
Genre: Native American Women’s Fiction
An inspiring story of
determination and grit . . .
Ella McSwain is a Chickasaw woman
raising her family amidst evolving turmoil within the budding state of
Oklahoma. After Ella is left with an unusable plot of land, she finds herself
fighting for her family’s rightful allotment. Faced with crooked businessmen,
land grifters, and grueling court battles, can she summon the strength to
persevere against all odds?
In this stand-alone companion to Little Bird, Mary Ruth Barnes crafts an
engaging family saga that spans from Indian Territory to Oklahoma statehood
against the backdrop of the state’s changing landscape.
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Mary Ruth Barnes
graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree from North Carolina State with high honors
and a Master’s Degree from Montana State. After college, Barnes taught high
school and college English, Art and Computer Science for 14 years. Barnes has
received numerous awards for her art and writing on the state and national
level from 2011-2022. Barnes recently published her first novel “Little Bird”
with the Chickasaw Press about her great-great-Grandmother’s journey in Indian
Territory. “Little Bird” won two 2022 Ippy awards, receiving gold for the cover
design and silver for best Midwest regional fiction. Barnes is extremely active
in her community through Rotary (a member since 1996), P.E.O. (Philanthropic
Educational Organization), and Kappa Kappa Gamma Alumni Association. She is
also a current member of the National Watercolor Society.
In 2022, Barnes was inducted into the Chickasaw Hall of Fame and
Capitol Hill High School Hall of Fame for leadership in her community. She also
won the 2022 “55 Over 55 Inspiring Oklahomans” award for making a difference in
the lives of others. In 2019, Barnes won the Women in the Arts Recognition
award from the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution.
And in 2015, Barnes was selected as the Chickasaw Dynamic Woman of the year.
Barnes has had many short stories and watercolors featured in several
issues of the journal of Chickasaw History and Culture, Ishtunowa. She was also
honored as a Chickasaw Artist in the July 2015 issue of the Distinctly Oklahoma
magazine. Her story of inspiration leading to painting and drawing was featured
in a book by Allison Fields, Chickasaw Artisans. In 2017, Barnes was selected
for the registry of Native American Artists located at the Heard Museum in
Scottsdale, AZ. While traveling and vacationing in South Texas with her art,
Barnes was interviewed and featured in the RV Wheel Life Magazine for the 2017
issue. Barnes retired from a career as the Director of Planned Giving for
American Cancer Society in 2017, where she raised over 35 million dollars for
cancer research. Her artwork “Fight of Hope” is currently featured in the
Cancer Journal of Native American Research and is on display in the surgery
waiting room of the Chickasaw Nation Medical Center. Her watercolors can also
be found at several locations across the State of Oklahoma, including the
Artesian and the Welcome Center located in Davis.
She has been a long-time equestrian, Barnes and her husband, Mike live
on a ranch in south central Oklahoma. They have two sons, Wiley and Selby
Barnes, and six grandchildren. Both sons work for the Chickasaw Nation. Mrs.
Barnes enjoys traveling with her husband in retirement.
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