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Oil, Murder, and a Woman's Search for Justice in Indian Country
by Sierra Crane Murdoch
Book Reviewed by:The gripping true story of a murder on an Indian reservation, and the unforgettable Arikara woman who becomes obsessed with solving it - an urgent work of literary journalism.
When Lissa Yellow Bird was released from prison in 2009, she found her home, the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation in North Dakota, transformed by the Bakken oil boom. In her absence, the landscape had been altered beyond recognition, her tribal government swayed by corporate interests, and her community burdened by a surge in violence and addiction. Three years later, when Lissa learned that a young white oil worker, Kristopher "KC" Clarke, had disappeared from his reservation worksite, she became particularly concerned. No one knew where Clarke had gone, and few people were actively looking for him.
Yellow Bird traces Lissa's steps as she obsessively hunts for clues to Clarke's disappearance. She navigates two worlds—that of her own tribe, changed by its newfound wealth, and that of the non-Native oilmen, down on their luck, who have come to find work on the heels of the economic recession. Her pursuit of Clarke is also a pursuit of redemption, as Lissa atones for her own crimes and reckons with generations of trauma. Yellow Bird is an exquisitely written, masterfully reported story about a search for justice and a remarkable portrait of a complex woman who is smart, funny, eloquent, compassionate, and—when it serves her cause—manipulative. Drawing on eight years of immersive investigation, Sierra Crane Murdoch has produced a profound examination of the legacy of systematic violence inflicted on a tribal nation and a tale of extraordinary healing.
One of the most riveting and touchingly human true crime stories in recent memory, Sierra Crane Murdoch's Yellow Bird: Oil, Murder, and a Woman's Search for Justice in Indian Country, tells a deeply-researched and nuanced tale of two worlds colliding on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation during the early days of the Bakken oil boom in North Dakota. The pulsating heartbeat of this story is the larger than life character of Lissa Yellow Bird, depicted powerfully by Murdoch...continued
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(Reviewed by Peggy Kurkowski).
When most people hear the word "casino," they think of slot machines trilling and the tinny crashing of coins. But there is a deeper significance to gambling, especially as it pertains to casinos located on federal Indian reservations. While a fun pastime for many, casinos are the lifeblood for the Native American tribes across the country who own and operate them. But how much do casino riches contribute to the wealth and welfare of all Native Americans?
The reality is quite different from the pervasive myth of the "rich Indian" who merely opens his hand to catch the falling money from booming casino and resort profits. Indeed, of the federally recognized tribes (a prime requirement for casino ownership on reservations), the number that...
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Any activity becomes creative when the doer cares about doing it right, or better.
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Bill McKibben, author of Falter: Has the Human Game Begun to Play Itself Out?
This book is a detective story, and a good one, that tells what happens when rootless greed collides with rooted culture. But it's also a classic slice of American history, and a tale of resilience in the face of remarkable trauma. Sierra Crane Murdoch is a patient, careful, and brilliant chronicler of this moment in time, a new voice who will add much to our literature in the years ahead.
