The 2018 book Yellow Bird by Sierra Crane Murdoch tells the story of Lissa Yellow Bird and her search for missing Indigenous women on the Fort Berthold Reservation in North Dakota. The book provides insights into the crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women in the United States and Canada. Many readers have wondered whether Yellow Bird is based on a true story. In this in-depth article, we will analyze the facts behind the narrative to determine how much of Yellow Bird is true.
Summary of Yellow Bird
Yellow Bird centers around Lissa Yellow Bird, a 29-year-old woman from the Sahnish and Mandan tribes. After dropping out of college, Lissa returned to the Fort Berthold Reservation, where the fracking boom had resulted in an influx of oil workers and an increase in crime. When Lissa learns that her childhood friend Kristie had gone missing, she becomes determined to find out what happened.
Lissa starts the Facebook group ‘Looking for Our Girls’ to raise awareness about missing Native women in the community. She compiles a list of those missing and begins interviewing their families and friends. Lissa also collaborates with the local sheriff to access police records.
Through her investigation, Lissa learns about the alarming number of Indigenous women who have disappeared from Fort Berthold and surrounding areas. She develops theories about what happened to them, including abduction by oil workers or sex trafficking rings.
While searching for Kristie, Lissa also begins the healing process from her own traumatic past, which is interwoven throughout the narrative. As a child, Lissa had suffered abuse and witnessed her mother’s murder.
Ultimately, the details surrounding Kristie’s disappearance remain unsolved. But Lissa finds purpose in seeking justice for missing Native women and giving grieving families answers.
Fact vs. Fiction in Yellow Bird
Yellow Bird is a work of narrative nonfiction. This means the book is based on true events, real people, and factual reporting, but uses literary techniques to tell the story. Overall, the major events and characters portrayed in Yellow Bird remain faithful to real-life. However, some names and identifying details may have been altered.
Here is an analysis of what is fact vs. fiction:
Lissa Yellow Bird
Lissa Yellow Bird is based on a real woman named Lissa Yellow Bird-Chase. Like the book version, she is from the Mandan and Sahnish tribes and created the Facebook group “Looking for Our Girls.”
In a New York Times article, author Sierra Crane Murdoch explained that she changed Lissa’s last name partly to protect her anonymity. Some other personal details may also have been altered, but the book remains faithful to depicting Lissa’s efforts to draw attention to missing Native women.
Missing Women Cases
The missing women that Lissa investigates, such as Kristie and Sonya, represent amalgamations of real-life cases.
For instance, no single case perfectly mirrors Kristie’s disappearance and suspected murder. But her story draws from numerous tragic real disappearances of Indigenous women that remain unsolved.
By aggregating details from various cases, the author aimed to present a truthful portrait of the broader crisis plaguing the Fort Berthold Reservation. Real missing persons databases were used to compile the list that Lissa references.
Oil Boom on Fort Berthold
Yellow Bird provides extensive historical background on how the North Dakota oil boom drastically impacted the Fort Berthold Reservation starting in 2008. This context is factual – the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation resides on Fort Berthold in the heart of the Bakken shale formation, leading to extensive fracking and a population surge.
Statistics mentioned, such as increases in drug use and crime rates, accurately reflect the community’s grappling with these real consequences of rapid oil development.
Lissa’s Personal Story
Some aspects of Lissa’s backstory, such as witnessing her mother’s murder as a young child, draw directly from the real Lissa Yellow Bird-Chase’s life. In an interview, she attested to the truth of these traumatic experiences portrayed in the book.
However, other personal details may have been changed or fictionalized. For instance, the author notes that Lissa’s relationship with her boyfriend Mike is “closer to her real story than not.” This indicates that some relationship dynamics were altered or compressed for the purposes of the narrative.
Is Yellow Bird completely factual?
While Yellow Bird is not 100% factual, the core premise and overarching themes align with true events. Some key considerations:
- Lissa Yellow Bird-Chase experienced the real struggle of seeking justice for missing Native women.
- The missing women cases, while compressed, are based on actual unsolved disappearances.
- The setting and context of the North Dakota oil boom is historically accurate.
- Lissa’s personal trauma from her childhood draws from real-life events.
However, the narrative format necessitated some embellishment. As the author explains:
“While the central events and characters in Yellow Bird are real, I’ve compressed time lines, combined characters and reconstituted dialogue for the purposes of storytelling.”
So while not every word is verbatim true, the book remains faithful to conveying the essence of Lissa’s powerful story and the urgent crisis gripping her community.
True crime stories vs. true stories in narrative nonfiction
The blending of fact and fiction in Yellow Bird is typical for the narrative nonfiction genre. Some other notable books, such as In Cold Blood by Truman Capote, follow a similar approach.
Narrative nonfiction differs from traditional true crime reporting by using literary techniques to add drama and emotion to a real story. While not 100% factual, narrative nonfiction aims to capture the core truth of the events.
This contrasts with the pure information-driven reporting of true crime, which prioritizes strict accuracy over storytelling. The table below compares the two genres:
True Crime | Narrative Nonfiction |
---|---|
Factual accuracy is primary | Storytelling is primary |
May cover many cases | Typically explores one main case or story |
Objective, neutral tone | Literary techniques and voice |
Focus on facts of cases | Focus on human experience |
This table shows that while both true crime and narrative nonfiction explore real events, their aims differ. True crime reporters adhere strictly to just the facts, while narrative nonfiction writers employ storytelling tools to convey a subjective truth.
Conclusion
In summary, Yellow Bird is not pure fact, but remains faithful to the core truths and humanity at the heart of Lissa Yellow Bird’s journey. While specific details may be altered or compressed, the book gives insightful and emotional voice to the urgent crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women. By combining literary narrative techniques with factual reporting on this important issue, Yellow Bird tells a powerful story in service of truth.