This August, I’m thrilled to be releasing my latest Harlequin novel – my 40th, although I admit I’ve lost track. But the joy of publishing never fades. My latest series, Big Sky Country, is particularly dear to my heart as it features characters of Indigenous descent solving long-neglected cold cases and ultimately seeking justice for the victims.
Growing up with Native American roots was a complex experience. While I was happy to be part of a once proud people, I was also relentlessly teased because of my heritage. Back then, racist slurs were generally unquestioned and racist denigration was frighteningly normal.
As a child of Native American and Irish-German descent, I experienced firsthand the systemic challenges—limited access to health care, extreme poverty, and devastating addictions that destroyed families and perpetuated suffering across generations. Racial bias in the criminal justice system was particularly glaring.
Today, thanks to greater awareness and education, most people understand that derogatory terms like “squaw” are not harmless terms of endearment. In addition, initiatives such as the No More Stolen Sisters campaign, which started in Canada and has now expanded to the United States, aim to combat violence against Indigenous women.
This movement was the inspiration for the core of “Big Sky Country,” a series about a fictional Bureau of Indian Affairs task force dedicated to reopening unsolved cases involving Native American women in the hope of bringing long-delayed justice.
Although my novels are purely fictional, they are designed with elements inspired by true events. If you are interested in the No More Stolen Sisters movement, you can learn more through these resources:
Native Hope: Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women
(https://www.nativehope.org/missing-and-murdered-indigenous-women-mmiw)
Amnesty International: No more stolen sisters
(https://www.amnesty.ca/what-we-do/no-more-stolen-sisters/)
National Resource Centre for Indigenous Women
(https://www.niwrc.org/about)
Red Road Institute
(https://redroadinstitute.org)
I am also pleased to announce that I recently signed a contract to write three more novels in the Big Sky Justice series for 2025-26, further exploring these compelling themes and stories.
“Cold Case Secrets” is available now.
Kim Van Meter was formerly a full-time reporter for The Oakdale Leader, The Escalon Times and The Riverbank News and continues to write a monthly column. Reach her at [email protected].
