Thanksgiving Shivers Begin

On Thanksgiving morning, Mitch Caddo, the youngest-ever tribal operations director for the Passage Rouge Nation, feels a shiver that's more than just the Wisconsin cold. As he scrapes ice from his windshield and drives past the site of his mother's fatal accident, he questions the meaning of his work and the sacrifices he's made. The reservation is tense, with an election looming and the threat of losing power hanging over Mitch and his political partner, President Mack Beck. The day's festivities—handing out per capita checks and meals—are tinged with anxiety, as the community's goodwill feels fragile and transactional. Mitch's existential doubts foreshadow the storm to come, both in politics and in his own soul.

Power, Promises, and Per Cap

The annual Feast Day event is both a celebration and a campaign maneuver, as Mack and Mitch distribute checks and meals to the people of Passage Rouge. The gesture is meant to buy goodwill, but the mood is uneasy, with protests simmering and the opposition candidate, Gloria Hawkins, gaining ground. Mack, the ceremonial face of the tribe, relies on Mitch's behind-the-scenes work to keep their grip on power. Yet, the cracks are showing: the community's needs are great, the opposition is formidable, and the cost of maintaining control—through favors, banishments, and bending rules—grows heavier. The day ends with both men questioning whether their efforts matter, and what, if anything, they're truly thankful for.

Outsiders and Old Wounds

Mitch reflects on his outsider status—half Anishinaabe, half white, never fully at home in Passage Rouge or anywhere else. His mother's struggles and sacrifices, their years of moving from place to place, and the loss of his grandparents and mother haunt him. The Beck family, especially Joe, offered a surrogate home, but even there, Mitch felt like a guest. Childhood alliances and rivalries—especially with Mack and Layla—shaped his sense of self and his longing for acceptance. The ghosts of the past, both literal and figurative, linger in every corner of the reservation, fueling Mitch's drive and his doubts.

Hope and Change Elected

Two years earlier, Mitch and Mack rode a wave of hope and change to unseat the old guard. Mack, the local boy with the right look and connections, became president; Mitch, the outsider with a law degree, became his right hand. But the realities of tribal politics—corruption, addiction, poverty—proved intractable. Their promises to fix the blight went unfulfilled, and the community's faith began to erode. As the next election approaches, the same old problems persist, and the cost of power—personal and collective—becomes painfully clear.

The Beck Family Ties

The Becks are at the heart of Passage Rouge's power structure, but their bonds are fraught. Mack's relationship with his adoptive father Joe is a mix of gratitude, resentment, and rivalry. Layla, Mack's sister, is both confidante and critic, her own ambitions and wounds mirroring Mitch's. The tangled web of family, politics, and personal history shapes every decision, every betrayal. As the campaign heats up, old alliances are tested, and the line between loyalty and self-interest blurs.

Ghosts of the Past

The death of Mitch's mother casts a long shadow, as does the legacy of the elders and ancestors who survived and suffered on this land. The rituals of mourning—a fire tended for three days, stories told in the winter—are both comfort and burden. Mitch's sense of responsibility to the dead, to the tribe, and to his own fractured identity drives him, but also isolates him. The past is never past in Passage Rouge; it is a living presence, demanding reckoning.

The Protesters Gather

As the election nears, protests erupt over the tribe's policies of banishment and disenrollment—tools used to consolidate power and punish rivals. The Government Center becomes a battleground, with police in riot gear facing off against community members demanding justice and inclusion. Gloria Hawkins, the challenger, becomes a lightning rod for both hope and suspicion. The tension between tradition and modernity, sovereignty and exclusion, comes to a head, threatening to tear the community apart.

Banishment and Betrayal

Behind closed doors, Mitch and Mack plot to secure victory by any means necessary—including spreading rumors about Gloria's blood quantum and orchestrating the banishment of political enemies. The FBI circles, investigating corruption and land deals. Joe Beck, once a mentor and ally, becomes a target. The lines between right and wrong, friend and foe, blur as the stakes rise. Betrayal becomes both a weapon and a wound, leaving no one untouched.

The Long Night's Fire

As the crisis deepens, Mitch is haunted by memories of the fire he tended after his mother's death—a symbol of both connection and isolation. The relationships that once sustained him—his bond with Layla, his mentorship under Joe, his partnership with Mack—are fraying. The community's pain, the weight of history, and the failures of leadership converge in a long, dark night of the soul. Mitch is forced to confront what he truly wants, and what he's willing to sacrifice.

Joe Beck's Fall

The campaign against Joe Beck culminates in his banishment from the reservation, a move orchestrated by Mack and Mitch under pressure from the FBI and their own ambitions. Joe's death in a plane crash—possibly suicide, possibly accident—shatters the fragile equilibrium. The loss reverberates through the community, exposing the hollowness of victory and the depth of the wounds inflicted. Mitch and Layla, both grieving and complicit, are left to pick up the pieces.

Riot at the Casino

The election descends into chaos as protesters storm the casino, police respond with force, and the community fractures along lines of loyalty and resentment. Mitch, caught in the crossfire, is beaten and arrested. The old order crumbles, and the cost of power—measured in blood, betrayal, and broken dreams—becomes undeniable. The riot is both an ending and a beginning, a reckoning for all that has come before.

The Walk into Winter

Cast out by his former allies, Mitch is forced to take the "long walk" into the winter woods—a traditional punishment for those who have outlived their usefulness. He nearly freezes to death, saved only by chance and the remnants of his own will. The ordeal strips him of illusions and brings him face to face with his own mortality, his failures, and the possibility of redemption.

Aftermath and Reckoning

In the wake of the riot and the election, the community struggles to rebuild. Gloria wins the presidency, but the problems remain. Mack and Buzz face federal charges; Bobby is exiled. Mitch, in protective custody, reflects on the cost of ambition and the meaning of home. Relationships are tested, some broken, some tentatively mended. The ghosts of the past linger, but there is a glimmer of hope in the possibility of change.

Ghost Dinner

A year after Joe's death, the community gathers for a ghost dinner—a ceremony to honor the dead and feed their spirits. Mitch, Maureen, Layla, and Gloria come together, each carrying their own grief and regrets. The ritual is both healing and incomplete, a reminder that some wounds never fully close. The fire burns, the stories are told, and the living find a measure of peace, if not resolution.

Homecoming and Letting Go

In the end, Mitch returns to Passage Rouge, not as a conqueror or a savior, but as a survivor seeking connection. The community is changed, scarred but enduring. Layla moves on, Mack is gone, and the old order has passed. Mitch finds solace in ritual, memory, and the simple act of feeding the fire. The story closes with a sense of acceptance: of loss, of imperfection, and of the enduring need for home.

Characters

Mitch Caddo

Mitch is the narrator and emotional core of the novel—a half-Anishinaabe, half-white lawyer who returns to Passage Rouge to serve his people but never fully feels at home. Haunted by the loss of his mother and the weight of ancestral trauma, Mitch is both ambitious and deeply insecure. His partnership with Mack Beck is pragmatic, built on mutual need rather than true kinship. Mitch's psychological journey is one of longing—for acceptance, for power, for redemption—and his greatest struggle is reconciling his own complicity in the tribe's corruption with his desire to do good. His relationships—with Layla, Joe, and Mack—are fraught with love, rivalry, and betrayal. By the end, Mitch is stripped of illusions, forced to confront the limits of his power and the meaning of home.

Mack Beck

Mack is the public face of Passage Rouge: massive, imposing, and deeply rooted in the community's traditions. Adopted by Joe Beck, he carries both the privilege and the burden of his family's legacy. Mack's strength is his ability to connect with people, but his weakness is a deep-seated insecurity and resentment—toward Joe, toward outsiders, and toward his own limitations. As president, he is both a figurehead and a manipulator, willing to do whatever it takes to hold onto power. His relationship with Mitch is codependent and competitive, and his downfall is both self-inflicted and inevitable. Mack's arc is a study in the corrosive effects of power and the tragedy of a man who cannot escape his own wounds.

Joe Beck

Joe is the tribe's longtime general counsel, a white man who has devoted his life to Passage Rouge and its people. He is both revered and resented, a source of wisdom and a symbol of the tribe's entanglement with outside power. Joe's relationship with Mitch is paternal, but also manipulative—he gives, but he also withholds, shaping Mitch's destiny in ways both generous and self-serving. His corruption, revealed late in the novel, is both a personal failing and a symptom of a broken system. Joe's death is a turning point, exposing the fragility of the community and the cost of secrets.

Layla Beck

Layla is Mack's sister and Mitch's complicated love interest. Smart, ambitious, and restless, she is both insider and outsider, torn between loyalty to her family and her own ideals. Layla's relationship with Mitch is marked by longing, missed opportunities, and mutual recognition of their shared wounds. She is a bridge between worlds—traditional and modern, family and community, love and duty. In the end, Layla emerges as a leader in her own right, channeling her grief and anger into action.

Gloria Hawkins

Gloria is the perennial outsider, a celebrity activist and political candidate who returns to Passage Rouge to challenge the old order. Her campaign is both a genuine effort to reform the tribe and a lightning rod for anxieties about identity, belonging, and change. Gloria's relationship with Mitch is complex—part rivalry, part kinship, part mutual recognition. She is both a threat and a promise, embodying the possibility of a new way forward. Her victory is hard-won, but the challenges she inherits are immense.

Buzz Carlisle

Buzz is the former tribal president and the embodiment of the old, corrupt order. Cunning, ruthless, and self-serving, he is both mentor and adversary to the younger generation. Buzz's survival instincts are unmatched—he knows how to play every side, and his influence lingers even after he is ousted. His relationship with Joe, Mack, and Mitch is transactional, built on mutual benefit and mutual suspicion. Buzz's ultimate fate is a testament to the persistence of the old ways, even in the face of change.

Bobby Lone Eagle

Bobby is the chief of police, a childhood tormentor of Mitch's, and a symbol of the tribe's turn toward militarized policing and internal exile. Loyal to Mack but driven by his own insecurities and need for power, Bobby is both a victim and a perpetrator of the system's violence. His relationship with Layla is fraught, and his actions—especially during the riot and the "long walk"—mark him as both a villain and a casualty of the tribe's dysfunction.

Maureen Beck

Maureen is Joe's wife and the emotional anchor of the Beck family. Stern, pragmatic, and fiercely protective, she is both a source of comfort and a gatekeeper. Her relationship with Mitch is complicated by her loyalty to Joe and her own grief. Maureen's role in the ghost dinner and her eventual departure from Passage Rouge symbolize the end of an era and the difficulty of letting go.

Reed Paulson

Reed is a disenrolled tribal member, activist, and frequent target of the tribe's banishment policies. His defiance and suffering—culminating in his shooting during the protest—make him a symbol of the community's pain and the consequences of exclusion. Reed's interactions with Mitch are charged with suspicion, anger, and a grudging respect.

Rhonda Caddo (Mitch's mother)

Though deceased, Rhonda's influence pervades Mitch's life. Her struggles, sacrifices, and dreams for her son shape his sense of duty and his inability to find peace. The rituals of mourning and the memory of her love are both a comfort and a burden, driving Mitch's quest for belonging and meaning.

Plot Devices

Duality of Outsider/Insider

The novel's central tension is the duality of being both inside and outside—of the tribe, of family, of power. Mitch's mixed heritage, Gloria's outsider status, and the policies of disenrollment and banishment all serve to explore who gets to belong and who is cast out. This device is mirrored in the structure of the story, with characters constantly crossing boundaries—literal and figurative—and facing the consequences.

Cyclical Structure and Ritual

The narrative is structured around cycles—elections, seasons, rituals of mourning and celebration. The ghost dinner, the tending of the fire, and the recurring references to winter and spring underscore the persistence of the past and the difficulty of true change. The story's events echo each other, suggesting that history repeats until the cycle is broken.

Political Intrigue and Moral Ambiguity

The plot is driven by political maneuvering—campaigns, backroom deals, betrayals, and investigations. Characters are forced to make morally ambiguous choices, often sacrificing ideals for survival. The use of banishment, rumors, and manipulation as tools of power highlights the corrupting influence of politics and the personal cost of ambition.

Foreshadowing and Symbolism

The recurring motif of the shiver—a physical and spiritual response to fear, loss, and change—foreshadows moments of crisis and transformation. Fires, both literal and metaphorical, symbolize connection, memory, and the possibility of renewal. The landscape itself—frozen lakes, haunted woods, ancestral homes—serves as a living symbol of the community's struggles.

Intergenerational Trauma and Healing

The novel weaves personal and collective histories, showing how trauma is inherited and how healing requires both individual reckoning and communal action. The ghost dinner, the protests, and the final acts of forgiveness and remembrance are all attempts to break the cycle and find a way forward.

Analysis

Jon Hickey's Big Chief is a powerful meditation on the complexities of Native identity, the corrosive effects of power, and the enduring human need for belonging. Through the lens of tribal politics on the Passage Rouge reservation, the novel explores how history, trauma, and ambition shape both individuals and communities. The story's structure—anchored in cycles of ritual, loss, and renewal—mirrors the characters' struggles to break free from the past while honoring it. Hickey's characters are deeply human: flawed, wounded, and searching for meaning in a world that offers few easy answers. The novel's use of banishment and disenrollment as both plot devices and metaphors for exclusion speaks to broader questions of who gets to belong, who decides, and at what cost. Ultimately, Big Chief is a story about the limits of power and the possibility of redemption—not through victory or purity, but through the messy, ongoing work of community, memory, and forgiveness. The lessons are clear: true leadership requires humility, healing demands honesty, and home is not a place, but a commitment to each other, even in the face of loss.

Last updated: August 21, 2025