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Virtual Author Talk: A Navajo Investigator's Search for the Unexplained

In Conversation with Stanley Milford, Jr.

You are welcome to join us in conversation with Navajo Ranger, Stanley Milford, Jr. as he chats about the chilling and clear-eyed memoir of his investigations into bizarre cases of the paranormal and the unexplained in Navajoland.

As a Native American with parents of both Navajo and Cherokee descent, Stanley Milford, Jr. grew up in a world where the supernatural was both expected and taboo, where shapeshifters roamed, witchcraft was a thing to be feared, and children were taught not to whistle at night. In his youth, Milford never went looking for the paranormal, but it always seemed to find him. When he joined the fabled Navajo Rangers—a law enforcement branch of the Navajo Nation who are equal parts police officers, archeological conservationists, and historians—the paranormal became part of his job. Alongside addressing the mundane duties of overseeing the massive 27,000-square-mile reservation, Milford was assigned to utterly bizarre and shockingly frequent cases involving mysterious livestock mutilations, skinwalker and Bigfoot sightings, UFOs, and malicious hauntings.

In The Paranormal Ranger, Milford recounts the stories of these cases from the clinical and deductive perspective of a law enforcement officer. Milford’s Native American worldview and investigative training collide to provide an eerie account of what logic dictates should not be possible. Register now to expand your own worldview and be ready for a chill to run down your spine!  

About the Author: Stanley Milford, Jr., graduated from the United States Indian Police Academy at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center in Artesia, New Mexico, and worked continuously as a sworn law enforcement officer for over twenty-three years. He served as the delegated Chief Navajo Ranger for over two years through March of 2019. While with the Navajo Rangers, Stan oversaw a section called the Special Projects Unit (SPU), whose responsibilities included the investigation of cases that did not fit within everyday parameters of law enforcement or criminal investigation, many of which involved reports of the paranormal or supernatural. After leaving the Navajo Rangers, Stan served as the senior investigator for the Navajo Nation’s White Collar Crime Unit. 

Disclaimer: 

The views expressed by presenters are their own and their appearance in a program does not imply an endorsement of them or any entity they represent. Reference to any specific product or entity does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by Indianapolis Public Library.

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