Wisdom Corner by David Heska Wanbli Weiden
Many thanks to Ecco, Harper Collins Publishers, and
NetGalley for sharing an advanced copy of David Heska Wanbli Weiden’s exciting
entry into the Virgil Wounded Horse novels Wisdom Corner. I have been
waiting for this book for a while now, and I was very excited to find it on
NetGalley. I read Winter Counts, the first entry into vigilante enforcer
of the Rosebud Reservation Virgil Wounded Horse, about 5 years ago, not knowing
much about the book. Heska Wanbli Weiden has the skill as a writer to craft
page turning chapters that are full of action and intrigue while also being
able to incorporate history, philosophy, and traditions of Indians, especially
of the Sicangu Lakota people who live on the Rosebud Reservation. I was surprised
at how gritty and thrilling the book is, yet there are also these incredibly
informative and insightful sections where readers can learn about the
traditions and history of the Lakota as well as other Indian people that seems
to counter many of the stereotypes and misrepresentations that have been
perpetuated throughout history and popular culture. Virgil isn’t the typical
tough guy whose all action and no thinking. He’s a thoughtful and considerate
guy who tries to avoid fighting, but will throw down when necessary. What I really
appreciate about Virgil, though, is his continual growth and development,
recognizing that he’s not perfect and that he seeks ways to continue to learn
more about his identity, his culture, and his people’s history and ways. It’s
these thoughtful moments of introspection that border the action in the book
creating a wonderful kind of dwelling that as a reader, I found myself eager to
revisit.
Wisdom Corner is a welcome return to the Rosebud
Reservation with Virgil as our guide, although he notes that there are some
issues that continue to plague the Rez like bootlegging liquor, access to
healthy foods, which creates a reliance on convenient snacks and unhealthy,
processed foods, crime, and the lack of investigative and preventative forces
to fight back against crime. Heska Wanbli Weiden includes some great notes at
the end of the book declaring that this is a work of fiction that takes place on
a real reservation where he attempts to recapture the fond memories he had of
growing up on Rosebud. However, he is also able to identify some of the more systemic
and structural problems that have plagued Indigenous communities that have some
level of independence from the federal government, but also lack any kind of
support or resource sharing from the federal government. The limited access to resources,
especially when fighting crime, is where Virgil sees an opportunity to use his
skills, although he is trying to reform his ways, especially after the end of Winter Counts.
Although I ended up really enjoying this book, it starts
somewhat slower, as Virgil spends about the first fifth of the book recapping
the events of Winter Counts. Nevertheless, it’s an important reminder
since Marie, Virgil’s significant other, ended up killing her father, who was a
tribal council member who was dealing drugs on the Rez. Marie has taken over her
parents’ home but still lives with Virgil. This plays an important part in Wisdom
Corner, and I appreciated how Heska Wanbli Weiden is able to build on this
continuity from book to book. Wisdom Corner has a twisty, surprising
plot that will leave readers wondering who is behind the violence that is
erupting on the rez. Virgil initially believes that the battle is retaliation from
a meeting between his friend, Pudge, a bootlegger, and a rival gang from
another rez who want to start selling alcohol on Rosebud. Virgil attends the
meeting with his friend to maintain the peace, but has to resort to defending Pudge
with his fists, as the rival gang becomes too threatening and imposing. In a
later episode during his process serving work, Virgil encounters more resistance
from a guy and his Aryan Nation buddies, but ultimately defends himself. Yet,
Marie, who is now running for tribal council, has repeatedly asked Virgil to
stop the violence as her opponent, Mitch Gagnon, will stoop to mudslinging and
possibly some other dirty tricks to win the race.
Virgil also leans about a new development taking place in a city
nearby where a Native boarding school stood. The developers took over the land
and discovered unmarked graves on the site, which has slowed the construction
process. Virgil eventually leans that his aunt was one of the children who died
there and is likely buried in an unmarked grave there. Heska Wanbli Weiden uses
this plot point to further educate readers about the horrors of these boarding
schools that took Indigenous children away from their families in order to teach
them the ways of white folks, just as the infamous phrase from Richard Henry
Platt, who started the Carlisle Indian Industrial School, advocated for white
society to “Kill the Indian, save the man.” While this could be a moment for a
kind of preachy and pedantic lecture on injustices done to Indigenous people,
Heska Wanbli Weiden skillfully incorporates this history and injustice as
something that Virgil has a personal connection to and is trying to learn more
about. Furthermore, the battle between the developers and the Indigenous
community to preserve the remains of the ancestors highlights some of the
current battles between commerce and tradition, corporations and collectives,
where we see powerful, paid interests often finding ways to defeat these
communities. I really appreciated how he integrates these learning moments
throughout the book.
Shortly after visiting the development site to learn more about
where his aunt might be, Virgil learns that his mentor and the respected tribal
medicine man, Jerome Iron Shell, was murdered. Jerome was Pudge’s uncle, so Pudge
and Virgil immediately suspect the rival 705 Gang. However, they have trouble
tracking them down and pinning the murder on them. Through his encounters with
other indigenous activists and tribal members, Virgil will work to unravel the
mystery of Jerome’s murder. Yet, this will also come at a cost for Virgil.
Heska Wanbli Weiden has crafted a compelling and exciting crime thriller that
takes readers on the Rez and shares aspects of traditional Lakota life and
history. Furthermore, he’s able to critique some of the issues that Indigenous
people face through Virgil’s thoughtful asides. I also want to mention that the
dialogue in this book is great. Heska Wanbli Weiden has crafted some distinct
characters throughout the book, and their varied dialects and slang make them
stand out in their differences. I don’t remember the dialogue being like this
in Winter Counts, but it was definitely a strong element of Wisdom
Corner. However, what I appreciated most about this book beyond being a
great crime thriller was that Heska Wanbli Weiden shows the Rosebud Reservation
to be a community that is supportive and inclusive, where people know each
other, are rooting for one another, and come together when they experience
hardship or challenges. Highly recommended!
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