I’m enrolled in a Native American Literature Studies course at Illinois State and my classmates and I recently had the privilege of meeting Marcie R. Rendon—an author and freelance writer, poet, playwright, consultant and member of the White Earth Nation. Rendon visited our class, shared her personal experiences as a writer and prepared a read-aloud of her novel Murder on the Red River, which was one of our course texts.
Murder on the Red River takes place in the 1970s and tells the story of Cash Blackbear, who is a 19-year-old Ojibwe woman. She lives in North Dakota, in the town of Fargo, where she “drives a truck for local farmers, drinks beer, plays pool, and helps solve criminal investigations through the power of her visions.” She assists her lifelong friend, Sheriff Wheaton, in helping solve a cruel murder after Wheaten finds the body of an Indian man, someone who we later find out is from the Red Lake Reservation. We explore Cash’s life, including her dreams and experiences, in the Red River Valley, located between Minnesota and North Dakota. As a non-native reader myself, I gained insight into Native American culture, both from my course studies and the embedded cultural elements that are present in the novel. Not to mention the mystery layer of the unsolved murder and the suspenseful, violent scenes that unravel once Cash gets involved in the case.
Murder on the Red River is the first book in her growing series, followed by Girl Gone Missing and her upcoming release Sinister Graves, coming out in October this year. Girl Gone Missing focuses on extending Cash’s character. One of her classmates disappears suddenly, leaving Cash with her visions of terrified girls begging for someone’s help. Sinister Graves similarly follows the journey of Cash and Wheaton as they find a body of an unidentified Native woman in the town of Ada. Rendon additionally writes non-fiction works, poetry, children’s books and short stories in her choice genre: crime novels. In the class visit, Rendon said that it’s important to “write what you know” and it’s clear that she has a true passion, and excels at writing in the crime genre.
This is a fantastic read for anyone interested in learning more about Native American culture, anyone who is a crime junkie and loves a thrilling read, and anyone who enjoys curling up with a good book. Rendon does a wonderful job sharing Cash’s stories that invite the reader to journey along with her. Now…if you need me…I’ll be journeying along to purchase the next books in the series.