Marcie R. Rendon is an enrolled member of the White Earth Nation, author, playwright, poet, and freelance writer. Also a community arts activist, Rendon supports other Native creators and is a speaker for colleges and community groups about Native issues, leadership, writing. Marcie is an award-winning author of the Cash Blackbear Mystery series for adults and also has an extensive body of fiction and nonfiction works. She is the creative mind behind Raving Native Theater, curating community-created performances. Artist and educator Sam Zimmerman is a proud direct descendant of the Grand Portage Band of Lake Superior Chippewa (Ojibwe). Drawing on ancestral connections, Sam continues the Anishinaabe tradition of storytelling, embedding themes of environmental stewardship and conservation in his studio and public art commissions. Sam illustrated Following My Spirit Home: A Collection of Paintings and Stories , a silver finalist for a Midwest Book Award, and How the Birds Got Their Songs .

He lives in Duluth, Minnesota, and regularly explores the natural beauty of Minnesota's North Shore as the artist in residence at Tettegouche State Park in Silver Bay.