Wisdom Corner: An Interview with David Heska Wanbli Weiden

David Heska Wanbli Weiden, an enrolled citizen of the Sicangu Lakota Nation, is a novelist, short story author, and essayist. His debut novel, Winter Counts, was nominated for an Edgar Award and was the winner of the Anthony, Thriller, Lefty, Barry, Macavity, Spur and other awards. It was also named by Time magazine as one of the 100 best mystery and thriller novels of all time. I first met Professor Weiden as an MFA student at Regis University where he served as one of my thesis advisors. He currently teaches English and Native American and Indigenous Studies at Stony Brook University.  
-Rachel Horak Dempsey

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Rachel Horak Dempsey: Wisdom Corner is your second novel, a sequel to your much-decorated debut, Winter Counts. What aspects, if any, of the quintessential sophomore slump did you experience in crafting this story?

David Heska Wanbli Weiden: I think I experienced nearly every aspect of the sophomore slump! The first hurdle was finding time to write. Because Winter Counts was released in the initial wave of the global pandemic in August 2020, I had no live events in the first year of the novel’s release. But when things started to open up again, I was invited to nearly every book festival and event, and I did live appearances and promotions well into 2023. At the same time, I was holding down a job as professor in Denver, interviewing for a new university position, and attending to myriad family obligations.

Given all of that, I was really only able to focus on writing short stories. I scribbled stories in hotel rooms, restaurants, planes—anywhere I could seize an hour or two to write. Happily, I used those short stories to explore the development of the characters I created in Winter Counts and create new ones, some of whom appear in Wisdom Corner.

When I was finally able to return to writing my next novel, I encountered a whole new set of difficulties. Given that the book is a sequel (although it’s a standalone sequel that doesn’t require reading Winter Counts first), I initially struggled to find a way to make it fresh but familiar. That is, I didn’t want to write a book that was just a rehash of Winter Counts; I wanted to push the characters into new directions and give them new conflicts. At the same time, I wanted to provide some continuity for all the readers who loved the characters in the first novel. It took a long time to strike that balance and finetune the novel’s plot and central conflict.

Finally, I’d be lying if I didn’t admit that I was prone to the anxieties that are common to authors working on their second books. I was very fortunate in that Winter Counts was both a commercial and critical success, but it was easy for negative thoughts to derail my writing process when I was stuck on a scene or chapter. After a number of bouts of self-doubt, I simply decided to have some fun with the novel and just write without any expectations. In the end, I’m completely satisfied with the final version of Wisdom Corner. Regardless of awards or sales, I ended up creating the book I wanted to write, and I’m proud of it. Of course, I hope readers agree!

RHD: Your novels weave tightly plotted mysteries with literary elements and historical research, as well as some of your own knowledge and experience as an enrolled citizen of the Sicangu Lakota nation. How do you balance all these influences in the writing?

DHWW: Great question. Generally, I start with a conflict or concept that I want to explore in the novel. In Winter Counts, it was the extreme inequities in the criminal justice system on Native American reservations. In Wisdom Corner, it’s the continuing impact of the Native boarding schools that existed in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. It’s been estimated that as many as 70% of Indigenous children were forced to enroll in these institutions, and their impact resonates today in various ways. This is where the legal and historical research comes in. I focus on my own nation, the Sicangu Lakota, but the issues in the novels apply to most Native citizens.

After I’ve nailed down the central issue that will frame the book, I generally turn to the central plot/conflict, and I also start working out the subplots for the other characters. For example, in the new novel, my character Marie Short Bear is running for office on the Rosebud Sioux Tribe council. I usually employ a linear structure, although I love to include flashbacks and reminiscences to break up the action.

Once I begin writing, I let the narrative and the characters drive the prose. In some chapters, I can stretch out and take literary detours. For example, I love to bring in historical and cultural fragments and interludes. In Winter Counts, I wrote about the new Indigenous cuisine; in Wisdom Corner, one of my characters talks about the 1907 Carlisle Indian School football team, which essentially revolutionized the sport but remains virtually unknown to most football fans. As the writing progresses, I also think about image patterns and thematic elements.  By the end of the process, all of these components have hopefully combined to create a novel that’s not only entertaining, but one that also illuminates in a uniquely Indigenous way.

RHD: In your role as a professor of English and Native American and Indigenous Studies at Stony Brook University, what advice do you find yourself most often offering students?

DHWW: This is not particularly original, but I tell my writing students to read, read, read, read. I want my students to read deeply in their chosen genre but also dip into texts that they wouldn’t normally pick up. I also instruct them in the art of close reading, so that they can see how more experienced authors achieve their intended effects. Finally, I encourage them to tell their own stories—the tales inspired by their personal journeys and truths—which many budding writers avoid, believing that their own experiences are mundane or boring. I know that the mechanics of writing can be taught to nearly anyone, but the art—the unique inspiration and vision of each author—can only come from the writers themselves.

RHD: You also write short fiction, essays, nonfiction, and children’s books. How does practicing your craft in these other forms impact your skill as a novelist?

DHWW: I really enjoy writing short stories because they present such a different challenge for a novelist. The brevity of short fiction helps me to focus on crafting very tight scenes and summaries. I’m probably more comfortable with the long form, but I appreciate the opportunity to create a self-contained, shorter tale. In addition, I’ll try things in short stories that are new to me, and sometimes I use those later in my books. In a sense, my short stories are like laboratories for my novels.

As for nonfiction and essays, that writing helps me to focus my thinking about the issues that concern me. I recently wrote a book chapter, “Leonard Peltier’s Sun Dance,” for The Cambridge Companion to American Prison Writing and Mass Incarceration, and it was interesting to make a deep dive in the Peltier case, of which I’d only had a glancing familiarity. But the most satisfying essay I’ve written is “Carlisle Longings,” which examined my grandmother’s experience at the Carlisle Indian Industrial School as well as the terrible history of the Native boarding schools in general. I used that research—which involved a visit to the Carlisle Barracks and a confrontation with military police—to inform the central historical issue in Wisdom Corner.

RHD: Virgil Wounded Horse serves as the protagonist of both Winter Counts and Wisdom Corner, as well as several short stories. A vigilante, Virgil delivers justice for victims of crimes gone unpunished or often even uninvestigated by the American legal system or the tribal council. I’d love to hear how you created an arc for such a complex character, and whether we will meet Virgil again in future stories?  

DHWW: The inspiration for the character Virgil Wounded Horse came from my years of teaching about the laws governing criminal justice on reservations. I’m trained as both a lawyer and political scientist, so I’ve been studying and teaching these issues for a long time. Because of a law passed by Congress in 1885, the Major Crimes Act, tribal authorities on reservations cannot prosecute serious felony crimes that occur on their own lands. Instead, they must send these cases to federal agencies:  the FBI and U.S. Attorney’s Offices, who have sole authority to investigate and prosecute these offenses. But the FBI and U.S. Attorneys are declining to prosecute a large percentage of those cases, which means that these criminal offenders are released, free to commit more crimes. Naturally, this is a horrendous outcome and contributes to the high crime rates found on some reservations as well as contributing to the phenomenon of Missing and Murders Indigenous Women and Relatives.

Due to this, hired vigilantes have appeared on a number of reservations. These individuals will impose some street justice when the government won’t act. Virgil’s price is one hundred dollars for each bone he breaks and tooth he knocks out. In Winter Counts, Virgil took action against a group bringing hard drugs to the reservation. But in Wisdom Corner, he’s taken a step back from his work as a hired enforcer.

Creating an arc for Virgil Wounded Horse in the new novel was challenging. Although Virgil is not formally educated, he’s very intelligent and struggles with the morality of taking the law into his own hands. He possesses enough self-awareness to realize that he was beginning to enjoy the beatings too much. He’s also raising his teenage nephew Nathan, and he worries about the example he’s setting.

So, the arc for Virgil in Wisdom Corner became clear after some thought:  he had to step away from his work as a hired vigilante. But that decision removed the central construct of the books—the moral ambiguity of a private enforcer working to bring justice in the absence of governmental action. The solution, achieved after many late nights and pots of coffee, was to create a circumstance where Virgil would be compelled to return to vigilantism. I won’t give any spoilers here, but I believe I created a plot event that satisfied these conflicting mandates.

As for seeing Virgil again in future stories, I’m hoping that will be the case. He’s been such an interesting and fascinating character to write, and I believe there’s much more ground to cover. In addition, I created some new characters in Wisdom Corner that allowed me to cover new ground. Specifically, I introduced Professor Rich Cortings, who’s come to the reservation’s tribal college from an elite liberal arts college back East. This character allowed me to bring in a taste of academia, where I spend my time when not writing. And there’s Rose Charging Cloud, the chief of police for the Rosebud Reservation, who’s equally adept at making star quilts as she is arresting wrongdoers on the rez.

I’ll close this interview by thanking you for the great questions and the opportunity to expand on my new novel and related topics. Wopila!

Wisdom Corner by David Heska Wanbli Weiden
Ecco, an imprint of HarperCollins, 2026. 320 pages. $30 hardcover.