Winter Counts

By David Heska Wanbli Weiden

In 1885 the U.S. government enacted the Major Crimes Act, stating that tribes could not try their own people for major felonies that occurred on tribal lands. However, they failed to provide courts and authorities to cover said crimes, leaving the tribes susceptible to serious crimes being committed with no punishment. This in turn created the need for tribal members to take justice into their own hands.

Winter Counts by David Heska Wanbli Weiden joins Virgil Wounded Horse, a member of the Sicangu Lakota Nation, as he takes on the task of local enforcer to those who have been overlooked by the American legal system on the Rosebud Indian Reservation. When the soon to be Tribal President, and father of his on-again off-again girlfriend, asks Virgil to go after a local that has been rumored to be distributing heroin on the reservation, Virgil hesitates getting involved with such a major crime. When Nathan, Virgil’s nephew overdoses, Virgil changes his mind. He discovers this crime ring is much bigger than their small piece of land, and he gets in much deeper than he ever could have imagined. Then the FBI decides it is worth taking on, only to make things much more complicated. Virgil must dig deep into his ancestral roots to save his nephew and bring the criminals to justice. Will he succeed or will his nephew become just another statistic of Native crimes.

Though David writes fiction, many of his stories are based on real issues happening on reservations across the U.S. David has been instrumental in bringing to light many shortcomings that still exist today due to the Major Crimes Act.

Book #2 in the Virgil Wounded Horse series, Wisdom Corner, arrives on shelves this month!

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