Dennis Vickers

The conflict in Mikawadizi Storms arises when Grady Metals resolves to dig an open-pit mine in the idyllic forested hills that make up the ancestral homeland of La Roche Verde Indian nation. Many of the La Roche Verde oppose the mine and take a stand against it. Grady Metals prevails initially, and begins to dig the pit but, as the elders among La Roche Verde warn, the digging disturbs ancient mythical forces.

The storm surrounding this mining project touches all of the characters in this story, and there are a great many of them. Some support the project and act to bring it forward; others oppose the project and act to slow or end it. These characters lives run deeper than this single concern, though, and the disagreement over the mine reaches into their personal narratives to affect more than the surface.

A conflict of values stands behind the controversy the mine generates. On one side are advocates for aggressive use of natural resources to generate personal and community wealth. On the other side are those whose main goal is to find a healthy harmony with the natural world. Controversy over mining in the Mikawadizi Hills is resolved in the narrative of the novel; the deeper conflict, one of the principal sources of discord of our era, remains with us.