Native American Mystery Writing: Indigenous Investigations

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Native American Mystery Writing: Indigenous Investigations examines Native-authored mystery novels as a way to consider how Native American writers use a popular and accessible literary genre to make social, cultural, and political critiques. Though mystery/crime/detective fiction is one of the most popular forms of fiction in the world, little scholarship currently exists regarding Native American writers and how they add new dimensions to the widely read genre. Rather, the majority of scholarship examines the depiction of Native characters from the perspective of non-Native authors. This book analyzes how Native authors use the genre to foreground centuries of settler-colonial crimes and comment upon the ways in which these crimes continue to impact Native individuals and communities today. Considering fourteen novels and two made-for-TV films, this book analyzes a spectrum of settler-colonial crimes: the Osage oil murders, sexual assault against Native women, missing/murdered Indigenous women, the California mission system, spiritual beliefs and freedom of religion, conceptions of healing, theftof land, children, and cultural itemsand, of course, murder. Examination of these texts shows how Native authors working with the mystery/crime/detective fiction format are able to entertain readers while also shedding light on settler-colonial crimes, arguing for strengthened tribal sovereignty, and illustrating the resilience of Indigenous peoplesall in order to promote discussions about creating a more just system for Native Nations.

Reviews

Mary Stoeckleins Native American Mystery Writing is a welcome study of a fast-growing and fascinating genre within the genres of Native American story-telling and crime fiction. Although non-Native writers have written mysteries with Native characters in major roles, never before have Native writers themselves produced as many ingenious plots and engrossing stories of fictional crime detection. Stoeckleins analysis of the selected novelstheir cultural relevance as well as their imagery and approaches to solving mysteriesis not only well-researched and reasoned but is also highly readable. It is truly an outstanding first book. -- Tom Holm, University of Arizona

Author Bio

Mary Stoecklein is adjunct instructor of writing at Pima Community College.