by D. M. Pulley
Thank you to my two sons for showing me the inner workings of a boy’s mind. Watching you play and fight and grow up together brought Jasper and Wayne to life. Thanks, kiddos, for not burning the house down while Mommy was writing.
Thank you to my agent, Andrea Hurst, for finding a home for this story and guiding me through this next phase of my career. Thank you to Jodi Warshaw, Kjersi Egerdahl, Faith Black Ross, and all my friends at Lake Union and Thomas & Mercer for bringing The Buried Book into the world.
Finally, I’d like to thank my extended family, my friends, and my readers for your generous support. A book has no life or meaning without someone wonderful to open it.
AUTHOR’S NOTES
The Buried Book is a work of historical fiction, and as such it contains several true events and places that are used as the backdrop for a fictional story. The following is an index of factual events and places that give historical context to the novel:
Boggs Act—A federal law enacted in 1951 to increase prison sentences for trafficking and use of illicit drugs.
Burtchville, Michigan—A small community located north of Port Huron on the shore of Lake Huron.
Flint-Beecher Tornado—On Monday, June 8, 1953, several tornados touched down in central Michigan, resulting in a reported 116 fatalities, 844 injuries, and millions of dollars in damage.
Major Crimes Act of 1885—This legislation gave the United States federal government sole jurisdiction over major crimes committed on Native American lands and stripped tribes of much of their sovereignty and independence in law enforcement.
Prohibition—In January of 1920, Congress passed the Volstead Act to enforce the Eighteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, prohibiting the sale and consumption of “intoxicating liquors” and beginning the Prohibition era. In December of 1933, the Twenty-First Amendment repealed the Eighteenth, ending Prohibition.
Prohibition on Indian Reservations—Congress passed a law in 1832 prohibiting alcohol sales and consumption on Indian reservations. This federal law was not repealed until 1953 when jurisdiction over alcohol was reverted back to the Native Americans; however, many reservations do not allow alcohol to this day.
Tally Ho—A roadside tavern on the outskirts of Burtchville.
The Buried Book depicts life in rural Michigan in the early 1950s. My research into this time period relied heavily on first-person interviews. I also visited the Museum of Western Reserve Farms & Equipment at Stone Garden Farm & Village (www.ohiofarmmuseum.com) to experience the feel of an outhouse, a one-room schoolhouse, and working with livestock. Several books gave me additional perspective on farming life, most notably the following:
Hoffbeck, Steven R. Haymakers: A Chronicle of Five Farm Families (Minnesota). St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2000.
Peck, Robert Newton. A Day No Pigs Would Die. New York: Laurel-Leaf, 1972.
This novel includes characters from a fictional Native American tribe, the Manitonaaha, living on the fictional Black River Reservation. The language and customs used in the story were largely inspired by my research into Ojibwa tribes. Any errors or omissions are my own, and I sincerely apologize. This story is not intended to disparage or denigrate the vast cultural history or the traditions of any Native American. While the fictional Black River Reservation plays a role in illegal activities, including bootlegging liquor, drug smuggling, and gambling, throughout the story, it is not my intent to implicate any Native American in any wrongdoing. It is my intent to show how a fictional Native American tribe might fall victim to biased and unjust law enforcement and triumph over adversity in the end.
The difficult legal issues surrounding law enforcement on Native American lands are well documented. In my research, I read several works on this subject including the following:
Crane-Murdoch, Sierra. “On Indian Land, Criminals Can Get Away with Almost Anything.” The Atlantic, February 22, 2013.
Bureau of Indian Affairs Law Enforcement Services. “Indian Law Enforcement History.” Available at www.tribalinstitute.org/download/Indian%20Law%20Enforcement%20History.pdf. Accessed December 12, 2014.
Erdrich, Louise. The Round House. New York: Harper Perennial, 2012.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Photo © Rebecca Cain
D.M. Pulley lives just outside Cleveland, Ohio, with her husband, two sons, and two dogs. She is a Professional Engineer who specializes in rehabbing historic structures as well as conducting forensic investigations of building failures. Pulley’s structural survey of an abandoned building in Cleveland formed the basis for her debut novel, The Dead Key.