Stick Houses: Stories By Matthew L.M. Fletcher (2025)
Michigan State University Press
part of the American Indian Studies Series
cover design:  Erin Kirk
cover art: “Metaphor,” by Jonathan Thunder

From the bio on the back cover of the book:

Matthew L.M. Fletcher is the Harry Burns Hutchins Collegiate Professor of Law and Professor of American Culture at the University of Michigan Law School. He is the author of _Ghost Road: Anishinaabe Responses to Indian Hating_, which has won several independent publisher awards. He has also published stories in the graphic story collections _Trickster_ and _A Howl_. Fletcher is a member of the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa and Chippewa Indians.

It is important to start with Fletcher’s bio because it is particularly important that you see who he is and where he is, as it shapes the tellings in this collection of short stories.

When I bought _Stick Houses_, I knew the above information because I’ve been following Fletcher’s blog, “Turtle Talk” on WordPress since 2021. Turtle Talk is a vehicle for Fletcher to get news out about lawsuits involving Native American individuals and tribes, where the tribe or the individual is suing various jurisdictions across the U.S. “Turtle Talk” also has notifications of job postings, training seminars, and other welcome and useful information to Native Americans and to those who are interested in knowing more about them.

Fletcher gave an interview with Interlochen Public Radio, which is how I learned about the book. After listening to the interview, my takeaway was that it would be a memoir of some kind. I also suspected it would be about non-native misconceptions based in ignorance or willful discounting. I was hoping to learn how and why the ways of Native Americans differ and align with “white (colonizer) ways.”

In the preface, I learned that Fletcher was born and raised in the lower peninsula of Michigan and has ancestry that includes Anishinaabeg, Potawatomi, Pokagon, and Grand Traverse Band Odawa.

I learned that the federal government illegally severed ties with the lower MI Odawa and Potawatomi tribal nations. I learned that Fletcher’s grandmother’s siblings were still placed in Mount Pleasant Industrial Boarding School, despite the administrative termination of the tribal nations by the federal government. Fletcher concludes the preface by saying the stories are fictional but are inspired by his and his families’ experiences.

There are 14 stories in the 120 or so pages, each story between 4-14 pages. Eight of them have been previously published.

“Truck Stop” is about a man meeting a woman who may or may not be his daughter.

“Knuckle-Curve” is about a group of kids who start playing baseball together.

“Badder Road” is about two people with nowhere to go.

“End of the World Resort” urges one to ponder, where will you go when the world ends?

“An Iranian in de Gaulle” fleshes out an object of hatred.

“Ten Year Visit” explores the question can you ever really go home?

“The Village by the Sea” flips the script on “savage.”

“Gram” a loving memoir of the vital shaping influence a grandmother has on her grandchild.

“My Father was in Jail Again” is about the lasting legacy we have on our kids through our actions.

“Boss Gorton” how colonialism’s fruits are bitter.

“Sarah’s Sister” is about separations and reunions.

“The Chain Gang” is a humorous spin on the term.

“The Sons of Leopold” aka Judgment Day.

“Thinking About What I’ve Done” is just what the title says.

Fletcher mentions, “walking in two worlds” in the IPR interview. After finishing the book, I almost feel like that should be the by-line. Clinical forensic snapshots is how I describe the stories. After my own 18+ year career of writing court reports, I recognize the “just the facts” style. This minimalism expects – maybe demands – the active participation of the reader to analyze the facts and find the underlying reality that’s found between them. Maybe that’s why I enjoyed reading _Stick Houses_ so much. It’s a thin volume, densely packed. Don’t expect to be spoon fed. You have to put the work in. It’s worth it. It’s impossible to choose a favorite. They’re all good. These stories are important in exploring what it means to be a Native American existing within, and navigating in, a colonized land. Thank you, Professor Fletcher, for making the time to write and share your thoughts.

Rating:  5 out of 5