Fancy Dancer and the Seven Drums
by John Roskelley
Release Date: February 23, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-955690-43-0 / 978-1-955690-46-1
Tragedy strikes when a nine-year-old Nez Perce Fancy Shawl dancer, Beth Louie, is killed in a hit-and-run on the reservation. Despite challenges, tribal and FBI investigations focus on a white cattle rancher from Omak. In the racially biased 1950s, the story delves into whether an all-white Spokane jury will bring justice for Beth Louie.
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About the Author
Author and photographer John Roskelley is a dabbler in everything outdoors. If he’s not dodging rocks on some alpine face in Canada or scratching his way up a frozen WI6 waterfall, John can be found paddling the Columbia River from source to mouth. John admits adventuring flows in his blood. In his first half-century, John fought his way to the summit of four 8,000-meter peaks, including K2 and Everest, plus a plethora of devilishly hard unclimbed Himalayan and Karakorum faces and ridges. A graduate of Washington State University in geology, John has written three first person adventure books; a paddler’s guidebook to the entire 1,200 miles of the Columbia River; and edited, organized, and published his deceased father’s biography. His photography has been on the covers of National Geographic, books, posters, and other notable national magazines. John received the International Piolets d’Or Walter Bonatti Lifetime Achievement award in 2014 and is an honorary member of the Alpine Club of Great Britain, the Mountaineers, the Mazamas, and the American Alpine Club. John and his wife, Joyce, have been married 50 years and have three great kids.
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A nine-year-old Nez Perce Fancy Shawl pow wow dancer, Beth Louie, is killed on the reservation by a hit-and-run drunk driver while walking home from the bus stop with her younger brother. Tire marks and boot tracks on the remote gravel road suggest to a Colville tribal member Ben Moses and his grandson, Alex, who find the two children, that the driver of a pick-up truck tampered with the scene and evidence, and hid the body. Tribal law enforcement and the FBI are stymied, but evidence points to a white cattle rancher from Omak as the prime suspect. In the prejudicial environment of the 1950s, will an all-white Spokane jury convict and send the killer to jail?
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“Roskelley, a writer and adventurer familiar with characters who are defined by their terrain, tells a sweeping tale of Eastern Washington, with its mix of Indigenous and White characters, spanning over 50 years. The focus of the story is on Pete Louie’s family, including his wife Ann, and children Danny and Beth. But there are many memorable characters along the way, including Charlie Whitehorse, who doesn’t miss a thing, Alex and Ben Moses, and Jack and Jake Johnson whose existence threatens the lives of our main characters. Roskelley makes his characters come alive, without falling into classic White man and Indian cliches, to tell a tragic story that resonates to present day.” -Scott Rosenfelt
Scott Rosenfelt is one of Hollywood’s most successful independent producers and script writers. His films, such as Home Alone, Smoke Signals, Mystic Pizza, Teen Wolf, and Extremities, have garnered international acclaim and recognition for decades. Home Alone is the highest grossing live action comedy of all time, while Smoke Signals, written by novelist/poet Sherman Alexie, was the winner of the Audience Award and the Filmmakers Trophy at the 1998 Sundance Film Festival. He is a graduate of NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts.
“This book borrows from the prose of Steinbeck and McCarthy. Simple straightforward depicting the dominant White cultures oppression and disdain for Native Americans and Hispanic migrant workers. It begins with the horrible death of a young Native American girl but savagely travels through the history of the mistreatment of women, migrant workers, and Native American children through the years. Although there are graphic depictions of violence that were difficult with some scenes you were afraid to read they were mixed with scenes of courage and kindness that produced tears. An emotional ride throughout but worth it.” -H. Kelly
