The Birney Day School

A novel by Philip Hall

Book Information

• $20.00 paperback
• 186 pages, 6×9 in
• Published November 2025
• ISBN: 978-1-7334897-9-9
• Subject: Fiction: Romance/Multicultural & Interracial, Indigenous History, Montana

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Jonathan Wagner, an easterner on a journey of self-discovery, arrives in Birney, Montana, on the Northern Cheyenne Indian Reservation. After a long day on the road, the grounds surrounding what appear to be an abandoned country school seem a good place to pitch his tent for the night. There, he encounters Sarah Spotted Elk, the determined acting-principal of the Birney Day School. Their relationship, marked by tension, develops amidst cultural differences.

Sarah, a proud Northern Cheyenne, is fiercely committed to reviving her people’s culture and spiritual roots, convinced it will restore their pride and overcome their sense of apathy. Jonathan is drawn into the community by Joe Fighting Bear, the school custodian, and Maggie Fighting Bear, Joe’s wife and the school cook, who show him the realities of reservation life. Through Sarah, Jonathan learns the powerful history of the Northern Cheyenne, from their forced removal from the Powder River Country to their perilous journey home.

Blending romance with history, The Birney Day School invites readers into the heart of the Northern Cheyenne community, offering a vivid window into the difficult choices and deep losses they face in their fight to preserve their identity.

About the Author
In his professional life, Philip Hall has published extensively in the subjects of psychology, learning, and the history of the American West. He is the author of several books including From Wounded Knee to the Gallows: The Life and Trials of Lakota Chief Two Strikes (University of Oklahoma Press, 2020) and The White River Badlands: Its History and Characters (South Dakota Historical Society Press, 2025). This is his first published fictional work.

Reviews:

The Birney Day School takes one on a journey into the complex dynamics of the tragedy and the beauty of native culture seen through the lives of Johnathan and Sarah. Throughout the book one gets a glimpse of the history of the Cheyanne peoples during the outings on which Sarah takes Johnathan. By the end of chapter three Johnathan is not the only one that is in love with Sarah! The book is not only a delight but devastatingly accurate.

— Robert Hockett

I didn’t put the book down once I started reading it. It is a wonderful, historically accurate, beautiful story. In places, it was almost poetic. I hope the author writes another.

— Harlene Hill

“What a fun read! The characters were very real (one could have been my neighbor!) and all of the geography/physical descriptions were spot on. Great to read an author that actually “has been there”. Best however was the deep understanding and portrayal of the Native culture that is the heart of the story.”
“I thoroughly enjoyed The Birney Day School. Its story line was compelling, suspenseful, entertaining, educational, artful, and poetic. It is a love story and a mystery. The technique of call and response, between the Whiteman and Sarah, enabled the educational aspect to be presented in a way that eliminated a “lecture” quality and instead, revealed the differences in personality and cultural background of the main characters, without unnecessary description and explanation. The story and character development evolves creatively, eventually answering many questions aroused in the reader as the narrative proceeds. Description, however, excels in the details of the landscape and views. If one has been privileged to have travelled these roads, it brings back vivid flashbacks of their beauty and uniqueness. For those that have not, one would imagine that the descriptions are a call to visit.

Having read several excellent books about different Native American culture and beliefs, this book rings true. The author is careful to emphasize, through Sarah, that the nature of aural storytelling, creates myths as useful teachings, rather than historically accurate events. And yet, one experiences the rich, complex culture of indigenous peoples; far more sophisticated than the average ‘white man’ gives them credit.

From a psychological perspective, the intergenerational trauma is presented in livable experience. It affects the trajectory and end of the story. It is a lesson in the long term and irrevocable effects of violence and “otherness”. Unfortunately, that is, perhaps the real intent of that violence. It can cripple for generations.

At one level, his book is a worthwhile contribution to the story of our indigenous people and their current dilemmas. At another level, it is an entertaining love story, that still teaches to our unconscious understanding of the darker side of our selves; for those willing to face that part of themselves, it may be slightly uncomfortable. For those that enjoy a good read, there is no need to experience it in a deeper way.”

— Mary Ann Van Der Jagt – Licensed Clinical Social Worker, NY