Questions

for James Crowley, author of Starfish

1) When did you first become interested in the history of Native Americans?

I’m not sure, as I’ve been interested in Native American culture for as long as I can remember. I spent a lot of time outdoors as a kid, so I was always fascinated by the close connection that Native American cultures have with the natural world. I was drawn to their traditions and mythology, which reflect the Native Americans’ heightened awareness of their surroundings. I remember one time walking through a forest. The trees were immense and took my breath away. But what was amazing to me is that everyone I was with suddenly started to whisper as if we had walked into a great cathedral, mosque, or synagogue. And, in effect we had. It was amazing. There were no signs asking people to keep their voices down; it just happened. A natural reaction. It seems that Native American cultures were more in tune with that. In tune with what made us whisper, and I think it’s worth paying attention to.

2) What inspired you to tell a story about this particular time period?

I loved reading comic books as a kid (still do), which rely heavily on pictures to tell the story. I see stories that way. First the images come to mind, and then I try to convey those images through words. with Starfish, my inspiration started with the image of Beatrice and Lionel, although then they didn’t have names at the time. I could just see two kids on a horse running or returning back to nature.

I knew the story would be set around 1900, but didn’t have the exact year in mind until I sat down and started the research. And then I became fascinated with 1909 as a kind of transition year. The big push west for European immigrant exploration was winding down, but the inevitable settlement that followed was now becoming evident. I kept coming back to the idea that many people alive in 1909 would have seen firsthand the change from the Great Plains societies to the largely European settlement of the west. And the world was about to become a much smaller place with world war I just around the corner. It was also a time just before a large part of the Blackfeet lands would become Glacier National Park. For me, this transition time or “crossroads” in many ways echoes Lionel and Beatrice’s journey.

3) What research did you do to help you write a historically accurate story about the internment of the Blackfeet?

A few years ago, my work in film brought me to a job on the Blackfeet Reservation in Browning, Montana. I had heard about the existence of boarding schools (the inspiration for the Chalk Bluff boarding school), but I knew very little about their history. while spending time in Blackfeet country, I worked with several people who had either attended boarding schools like these or had relatives who had. Hearing their stories inspired me to do further research. I started with visits to the Museum of the Plains Indian and contacted the Piegan Institute in Browning. Their bookstores and recommended reading lists from their web sites were highly influential as well. one book in particular, The Reservation Blackfeet, 1882–1945: A Photographic History of Cultural Survival, edited by Dr. william E. Farr, was a great resource for me—the book is full of so many intriguing and haunting images that were really hugely impactful. And then, of course, one text would answer questions while simultaneously causing me to ask others, leading me to the next book.

4) There is a scene in the book in which some of the characters breach Blackfeet tradition. Why did you add this into the story?

In the sweat lodge scene, I wanted to show how Beatrice, Lionel, and the Heart Butte boys have a desire to connect with Blackfeet customs, even if the results are imprudent. Being raised at the boarding schools meant they were forbidden from speaking their own language and participating in any kind of Blackfeet religious ceremony, and so they must interpret the traditions on their own—which leads to some big missteps, like Beatrice taking part in the sweat lodge ceremony. They very innocently get things wrong. This scene was important to me because I also wanted to demonstrate the danger of true customs being lost in the face of the U.S. government’s assimilation policies. Beatrice in particular fights to hold on to Blackfeet customs, despite being told not to at school. In part, this defiance stems from her strong-willed character; on a deeper level, it’s a way for her to connect with her ancestry, to something larger than herself (even if that means figuring it out on her own). But she’s also a child who lost her parents at a very young age, and so a connection to the traditions of her ancestry means a connection to her parents, to her family.

5) Why did choose the title Starfish?

Choosing a title is tough. You write a story that is more than three hundred pages long and then try to sum it all up in a word or two. For me, the starfish is an important symbol in the book for a couple of reasons. one is that it ties in to the water theme that runs throughout the story. on my first visit to the Blackfeet Reservation and to Montana, I was struck by how the rise and fall of the hills on the plains that lead to the Rocky Mountains look like rolling waves of water. water also has great spiritual meaning in Blackfeet culture. As Grandpa mentions in the novel, the Blackfeet avoid fishing because of their belief that the Suyitapis, or Underwater People, inhabit rivers and lakes. The Suyitapis are a source of power for sacred items, such as medicine bundles. Then there’s the moment when Mr. Hawkins shows Lionel a starfish. It’s a childhood memento, from a faraway place, which I hoped would demonstrate Mr. Hawkins’s own journey. It also initiates a conversation between Lionel and Mr. Hawkins that explores the larger themes in the book—ideas about assimilation, as well as about resilience and adaptability. Lionel is experiencing firsthand the U.S. government’s assimilation policies and their attempts to eradicate Native American culture. He knows that, like the starfish, people have been displaced from their environment, with devastating results. But Mr. Hawkins also discusses the idea of resilience, something he sees in Lionel and his sister. To me, Lionel and Beatrice are two incredibly resilient characters. They survive even the harshest conditions on their journey—being lost, freezing cold, and nearly starving. we see Lionel’s struggle to adapt—to reconcile the stories Grandpa tells with those he’s learned at school, especially in the face of a great loss. And hopefully we see Beatrice’s perseverance in safeguarding Blackfeet customs, traditions, stories, and spiritual beliefs in her life and that of her brother.