According to Stephen Saffron, most Native Americans grow up living in two worlds; the world of their people, as well as the world that now surrounds their homes. It’s a cultural understanding he feels too seldom goes the other direction.

That was one of the reasons this Fountain Hills resident decided to write his second book, “Living in Two Worlds: What I Learned from the Indigenous People of America.”

According to Saffron, he counts himself lucky to have lived in both worlds, too.

“Over 50 years of interacting with the indigenous people of America, I got to know the people and their cultures,” Saffron said. “I got to know them as people and they got to know me as a person and I learned that, in order to survive in this world, you need spirit and you need humor.”

Saffron said he dovetailed those lessons with the lessons he’s learned in his own life to create a personal philosophy.

“My own identity was enhanced because of those relationships,” Saffron said.

These days, Saffron is a motivational speaker, an occupation he has performed around the country for the past 25 years. His leadership and professional development programs focus on relationship building, teamwork and positive attitude; subjects he has learned a lot about through sharing his life with members of the Native American community.

Before he took to spreading these positive messages, though, Saffron began his Indian education career in 1972 at Alchesay High School in Whiteriver, Arizona. A couple of years later, he began work in the Indian Program for Mesa Public Schools. After that, it was on to becoming a professor and counselor, and later the Director, of Indian Services at Scottsdale Community College, where he worked for 30 years.

You pick up a lot of stories along a road like that, stories Saffron said he was excited to finally share with the world in his new book.

“I wanted to leave something behind because I had found something of value,” Saffron said. “I knew that if I didn’t write it down, it would be lost. That’s why I wrote the book.”

Saffron’s new book opens with a story called “The little yellow duck,” which he said explains where his love of knowledge for the indigenous people of America began.

“I grew up in Ohio and was on my grandmother’s farm,” Saffron began. “I was on the back porch and she told me, ‘You know, there used to be a people that lived here that were called American Indians, and they lived here before us.’ I never knew that as a kid, and that interested me.”

His grandmother then went into the kitchen to fetch some arrowheads that had been found in the cornfield.

“She let me hold them and I was intrigued,” Saffron continued. “She then told me that Ohio was an Indian word, it means ‘beautiful.’”

Saffron’s grandmother explained to him that, as you travel around the country, you will find many lakes, rivers, mountains and states named after these indigenous people.

“So that was my introduction, and I got curious about it,” Saffron said. “Then my parents moved to Arizona when I was 16.”

From there, the book serves as an account of many of Saffron’s experiences from over the years, from meeting with various tribes to sharing some of their stories, jokes, beliefs and more.

“I’ve learned a lot about life and I’ve learned a lot about this symbol,” Saffron said, pointing out the “Man in the Maze” icon on the cover of his book. “This symbol is about our journey through life, which I also talk about in the book.”

Saffron said he decided to write down some of his stories and lessons from over the years. Then he just kept writing and writing until he discovered he had filled nearly 200 pages.

“I consider myself a pretty blessed person,” Saffron continued. “I wanted to pass this on to my 10 grandchildren.

“The Pima have an expression called ‘see how you are.’ I also hope that, by writing this, I have helped more people see how Native Americans are.

“A lot of people have great stories and knowledge, but they don’t take the time to write it down. So hopefully this will also inspire even more people to write.” “Living in Two Worlds” fan be found on Amazon and Kindle.