Eleven-year-old Chris, a Native American, tries to hold on to & defend his people's culture in spite of problems they face involving racism, alcoholism, & the lure of casino gambling. An eleven-year-old Penacook Indian boy living on a reservation faces his father's alcoholism, a controversy surrounding plans for a casino on a tribal island, and insensitivity toward Native Americans in his school and nearby town. Chris, an 11-year-old Penacook Indian, fights against three evils that beset his people: racial slurs, alcoholism, & gambling, in this novel about a boy trying to prove his identity. Sixth-grader Chris Nicola lives on an Indian reservation where the issue of casino gambling has divided the people and endangered the island that is Chris's special place. When a school project on using Indian names for sports teams puts Chris in the spotlight, he finds himself taking his first steps toward leadership. But can one kid really make a difference? Joseph Bruchac is the award-winning author of over fifty books for adults and children, many of which draw on the Abenaki Indian culture that is part of his heritage. He chose a fictional setting for this story, based on his writing and storytelling workshops with Native American children on reservations throughout North America.