Tony Hillerman mysteries are my jam. I love the sense of place he captures, the mood he creates and the characters we watch develop. That Hillerman is a white man writing about Native American people and places gives me pause, but what I’ve read suggests that he is knowledgeable on and accurate about the indigenous traditions and background he includes. And I just love these books!
The Ghostway features Sergeant Jim Chee, a Navajo Nation detective who features in most of Hillerman’s novels. At the beginning of the novel, Chee is trying to sort out his lovelife, as his fiancé, local school teacher Mary Landon, is pressuring him to take a job that has been offered to him by the FBI. Chee is torn- he loves Mary and wants a future with her, but the job would require moving off of the reservation, disconnecting him from the people and places that form his identity. He likewise recognizes that his knowledge and experience within the Navajo nation are specific to the nation and the area, something that the FBI doesn’t see- the FBI would think of him as a generalized ‘Indian’ expert, and have him work on cases involving other indigenous people in other places that don’t share the same knowledge, background or traditions.
Into Jim’s lap drops a federal case with just enough local ties to give him an excuse to get involved: a dispute involving two out of town men with historic ties to the Navajo nation results in one man being shot outside the Shiprock laundromat. The witness, an elder named Hosteen Begay, disappears, along with his granddaughter, Margaret Sosi. The case will take Chee far outside the reservation and introduce him to urban Navajo who have lost many of their connections to their relatives and traditions.
Chee’s knowledge of the Navajo nation and his quiet, thoughtful, measured approach to solving mysteries are what gives him a leg up. You see this play out not just in his consideration of what traditions have been missed (key clues) but also in his circling back to potential witnesses in an old folks home- people who, like him, often have their skills and abilities underestimated or ignored completely.
Hillerman is a master in drawing attention to inequalities and prejudices and raising up the quiet and unsung. Jim Chee’s love of his community and the value he places on remaining part of it underpins the whole novel, and provides a counterpoint to portrayals of reservations as places of sorrow to escape. I’m not sure how true it is for everyone, but I’m glad there’s representation of this perspective out there. It also makes me want to visit the four corners region and see Navajo traditions living on firsthand.