Bears, Oil and Crime: Indigeneity and Wildlife in Dana Stabenow’s Alaskan Mysteries

Abstract

This article examines Dana Stabenow’s Alaskan mysteries through environmental and ethnic lenses, focusing on A Cold Blooded Business (1994) and Breakup (1997). It analyzes the employment of an indigenous perspective as a narrative strategy enhancing environmental awareness and several narrative devices supporting it. The novels present a worldview where humans and nature are deeply interconnected, which is neither congruent with strict wildlife preservation laws nor with environmental exploitation. Stabenow thus challenges traditional notions of wilderness, wildlife protection, oil extraction, and cultural heritage preservation. Finally, an analysis of the incorporation of bears into the crime narratives serves as a case study to illustrate these points.