Simiakiaby Lori WindowsPublished by Endless Sky BooksReview by Toby A. Welch$24.99 ISBN 9781989398760 I haven’t read a western in years and now I’m wondering why. Simiakia has drawn me back into the genre with gusto! The title of this book initially confused me. What the heck is a simiakia? A cross between a Siamese cat and a Kia Sportage? Nope. For the Indigenous Nez Perce people, it means a belief in themselves, denoting manhood and pride. In this book, it’s also the name of a long-deceased horse that became a symbolic totem.  The cover of Simiakia threw me back to my days as a kid when my dad left Louis L’Amour books lying around the house. The covers of those classic westerns hinted at what was to come when you cracked open the book. This cover did the same with a boy on a horse, his trusty dog, and a First Nations warrior. I knew before starting chapter one that I was diving into a modern western.  This book starts out in the late 1950s but quickly jumps to 1986. Al, a teenager on a downward path, gets a job at a ranch that he initially tried to steal from. The ranch owner, Celia, gives him a…