Native America Mystery Writing: Indigenous Investigations by Mary Stoecklein

Abstract

Reviewed by: Native America Mystery Writing: Indigenous Investigations by Mary Stoecklein Jessica Rios Mary Stoecklein, Native America Mystery Writing: Indigenous Investigations. Lexington Books, 2019. 141 pp. Hardcover, $90; paper, $39.99; e-book, $38. Stoecklein’s book provides a valuable survey of Native Americans and the mystery genre for anyone interested in the topic as the text addresses various forms of media such as film and literature. In the introduction, “Native Americans and Mystery Writing,” Stoecklein argues that “Native writers use the mystery genre to bring attention to particular crimes that are inextricably related to a much larger and more complex network of historical events that continue to greatly impact the lives of Indigenous peoples today” (2). Stoecklein overviews the history of Native American figures in detective fiction before addressing the history of Native American literature, particularly the history of Native American detective fiction. This contextualization of Stoecklein’s argument is straightforward and refreshingly accessible to readers who may be unfamiliar with Native American literature and its tropes. To close the introduction Stoecklein outlines the organization of the book [End Page 85] and provides a brief description of each chapter along with the conclusion. I found this breakdown of what to expect to be quite clear and overall helpful in understanding the direction of the text moving forward. In chapter 1 Stoecklein draws comparisons between how both Mean Spirit by Linda Hogan (Chickasaw) and The Osage Rose by Tom Holm (Cherokee/Muscogee Creek) utilize the mystery genre to raise awareness of the Osage oil murders. Some common features Stoecklein emphasizes are the novels’ openings, logical reasoning, protagonists, and resolutions, all of which reflect characteristics associated with the mystery–detective genre. Stoecklein also highlights that both novels incorporate Indigenous practices that help frame their narratives from Indigenous perspectives. Both Hogan and Holm, according to Stoecklein, draw attention through the main conflicts of their narratives to systemic prejudice and the injustice of legal policies for Native American communities, depicting these as present-day continuations of original settler-colonial practices. Chapter 2 discusses how Elsie’s Business by Frances Washburn (Lakota/Anishinaabe) and The Round House by Louise Erdrich (Anishinaabe) call attention to the high rate of violence, particularly sexual assault, against Native American women. Both novels portray how laws for Native American communities create conditions that allow for such high rates of violence against Indigenous women, such as the inability of tribes to prosecute perpetrators of sexual violence particularly if they are non-Native. Chapter 3 examines how Louis Owens uses the mystery genre to ponder issues of personal identity, colonization, and American history through the novel Bone Game’s protagonist Cole McCurtain. Stoecklein contends that Bone Game portrays how Native American communities continue to suffer from conditions of settler colonialism. The crimes against Native Americans that created the United States have led to the crimes and injustices against Native Americans of the modern day. Stoecklein emphasizes how Owens closely intertwines history with the narrative’s murder mystery to reveal how colonization influences personal identity and conceptions of culture. Chapter 4 discusses non-Native author Tony Hillerman and the [End Page 86] film adaptations of his novels Skinwalkers and A Thief of Time, both directed by Chris Eyre (Cheyenne/Arapaho). Both films tie aspects of Navajo culture into their narratives and communicate themes of healing, and despite their non-Native source material, both center Native American voices and identities by hiring all-Native casts and a Native director. In chapter 5 Stoecklein focuses on detective series by Native American women that also center female detectives as the protagonists. This chapter consists of three subsections: “Carole laFavor,” “Victoria Nalani Kneubuhl,” and “Similarities between Hoklotubbe, laFavor, and Kneubuhl.” To conclude the book Stoecklein probes the impact of Native American authors employing the mystery–detective genre not only to highlight injustices against Indigenous communities but also to help make progress toward solutions and fair implementation of justice for Native Americans. Stoecklein writes that by using the popular and accessible genre of murder-mystery novels, Native American authors and creators reach a wide audience of Natives and non-Natives alike. Jessica Rios Texas Tech University Copyright © 2022 Western Literature Association