Tuesday October 9, 2001

Author Dr. Gary Paul Nabhan collaborated with local artist Janet K. Miller and Seri Indian elder Amalia Astorga in the recently published children's book, "Efraín of the Sonoran Desert: A Lizard's Life Among the Seri Indians."

The distinct scientific, artistic and cultural voices meld together to vocalize the true story of Efraín, an indigenous Sonoran Desert lizard and his relationship with Seri culture and tradition.

Nabhan was inspired by his scientific background in ethnobotany and his love of the desert to write about the Seri culture, which is growing stronger on the coast of the Sea of Cortez.

Joe Wilder, a friend of Nabhan and director of the Southwest Studies Center, said, "Nabhan is one of the mainstays and major figures in the community of knowledge of this region."

Nabhan, a former research assistant with a Ph.D. from the University of Arizona, worked with native people of the American Southwest in various projects, such as co-founding Tucson's Native Seed/SEARCH. "Efraín" is Nabhan's first attempt at a children's story about the Seri.

Nabhan's scientific interest in the flourishing lizard population on Seri land piqued the idea for "Efraín." Unlike other nearby desert areas where various reptilian populations were declining or extinct, lizards abounded near the Seri. Nabhan asked Seri storyteller Amalia about the lizards, and instead of providing a scientific explanation, she told him about Efraín.

The book is divided into Amalia's story and Nabhan's description of the Seri people and their history - a play between the storyteller and the scientist. The division is also a metaphor for the Seri's unique assimilation of Western culture with their own traditional ways of living.

In an innovative recycling "program" not limited to plastic, paper and aluminum, the Seri manage to live both off their land and society's material cast-offs. For example, in Seri villages, milk crates become chairs, and plastic soda bottles become planters.

Miller drew one of her favorite illustrations from memory. The picture depicts an old, abandoned car that she noticed on a visit to the Seri. The car, with broken windows and missing tires, was raised on whale vertebrae pieces and used by children in the village as a jungle gym.

"The way people use things fascinates me," Miller said. "It's a very ingenious method of recycling, a mix of Wal-Mart and traditional culture."

Miller's whimsical illustrations celebrate the brilliant colors of the Sonoran Desert - in particular, the deeply resonant blue repeated in the sea, sky and mountainous horizons. Her attention to detail includes typical Seri fixtures in scenes, such as wandering stray dogs, shell necklaces made by the Seri women, ponga fishing boats moored on the beach and orange Vita soda bottles.

The Gulf of California landscape complements Miller's "reverse glass painting" technique, a process that magnifies light on paint and enhances the depth of color.

In the historical portion of "Efraín," Nabhan stresses the importance of preserving indigenous cultures and in particular language - the root of oral tradition. The Seri pass down information from generation to generation about plants, animals and culture through stories, songs and jokes.

The Seri, with a current population of almost 650 people, rose like a phoenix from governmental, cultural and environmental repression to blossom in the arid and harsh desert land of Baja California. Each aspect of their environment is a resource for food, shelter, medicine or decoration. "Efraín" reflects the most recent Seri resource: conscious education about culture and tradition shared with the world.

"Efraín of the Sonoran Desert: A Lizard's Life Among the Seri Indians" is set to be released later this month.