The True Subject of Discovery

Whenever I visit the Lac du Flambeau Indian Reservation, I feel like an outsider, and I am in many ways. Yet I will always have an irrevocable connection to the place.

- BY JON HICKEY

My family’s roots are still deep, and as a citizen of that nation, I’m a stakeholder in the decisions of our tribal government. Most importantly, the reservation is the source of my spiritual identity.

I've often written about the reservation before, and I assumed that my first novel would be set in that world. I was always interested in the political machinery of the reservation. I couldn't help but recognize the rich dramatic potential in the deceptively small-stakes world of tribal politics, but my unwritten novel remained just that—potential—because while I had a setting, I lacked the story to go along with it. I needed more than just inspiration and an interesting setting. I needed purpose.