By: Andrew Evans
Fall seems like book festival season in the Midwest. The Kansas Book Festival and Heartland Book Fest were amazing. I just got back from the Wisconsin Book Festival. I plan to attend all three of those again next year!
I finished “Big Chief” by Jon Hickey right before the Wisconsin Book Festival. I’m glad I caught his book presentation! Imagine House of Cards, the political thriller on Netflix, but placed on an Indian reservation and add in some humor! It’s that dark with lots of twists and turns and more deceitful than a treaty written by the U.S. with Indian Nations with unexpected laughs to take the edge off. The political intrigue is bare knuckle!
Our history with Indian Nations is atrocious. We’ve tried to eliminate them and their people, broke treaties, and stole their land. We even stole their children and tried to assimilate them into our society.
Thankfully, we have a system that allows tribes to have some form of self government. To be an official member of a tribe, that tribe has to “enroll you” and put you on their membership rolls. The tribe has the sovereign power to determine how and who to recognize as a member! No set rule requires one to have X amount of lineage to be part of a tribe.
Our federal government’s Bureau of Indian Affairs recognizes 574 Indian tribes and Alaska Native entities. Some states also recognize tribes that aren’t federally recognized. The US has often moved tribes into undesirable areas, and then when some valuable asset is discovered there, we tend to move them again! Many tribes have found ways to generate income by having casinos. Whenever large concentrations of power and money are involved, corruption comes into play.
Hickey uses the fictional Passage Rouge Nation and locates them in northern Wisconsin complete with a casino. The main character is Mitch, who is half-Passage Rouge and half-white and a recent law school graduate. Since his mother died, he wanted to stay close to his tribal roots. Belonging is a huge theme in this story.
After working with native domestic and criminal cases for years, Mitch gains higher aspirations. He also sees how he can help his people. However, he realizes he can’t climb to the top because his indigenous ancestry can only be traced via his mother’s side. He’s basically not Indian enough.
He has a full-blooded friend Mack, who has the right native look. Mitch uses his legal knowledge and ability to observe people to get Mack elected as Chief of the Rouge Passage Nation. Mack provides the style while Mitch provides the substance, often behind the scenes. “And he looked the part: that long hair, that immovable mountain mass, the beadwork medallions and satin ribbon shirts.”
While corruption is still going on with Chief Mack, Mitch justifies it by telling himself about all the people they help. “Didn’t I grease the tribal housing authority to find her a new place after her husband almost ran her down in his truck….” In reality, a lot of those special favors were to buy loyalty.
In the next election, Gloria, a well-meaning candidate for change who has run and lost for state level office, decides to run against Mack at this local election for Chief. She has the help of Layla, who is Mack’s sister and Mitch’s secret summer love when they were college kids. The story just gets more interesting from here on out with riots, sex, police brutality, plane crashes, and canoes!
Hickey’s presentation was amazing! He shared his personal story and how it related to the book. He is a member of the Lac du Flambeau Band of Chippewa Indians (Anishinaabe). He loves seeing positive ways Indians create their own sovereignty. “We’re seeing people integrate a more indigenous way of governing themselves.”
I didn’t know much about his personal background while reading and assumed he went to law school and worked in the legal field. He didn’t! He used his lawyer brother as a resource and had him answer lots of questions. I’m looking forward to his next book!
If you love political intrigue, have any interest in Indian law or culture, or just love a good story, I highly recommend “The Big Chief.”
