Below is a transcript of part two of our conversation with CMU Professor Emeritus of Political Science James Hill
David Nicholas: I'm David Nicholas and this is Central Focus, a weekly look at research activity and innovative work from Central Michigan University students and faculty. We return to our conversation with CMU Professor Emeritus of Political Science James Hill. His trilogy of political novels has focused on the role of the ordinary citizen when it comes to affecting change in government or elections in our modern times. His fictional character is a young Native American woman from Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and a story centered on actual events of nearly 70 years ago, when the US Army Corps of Engineers dumped munitions waste into Lake Superior. Professor Hill picks up the story of Velvet LeBlanc as she becomes an example for all of us to recognize the role any of us could play to bring about real change…
James Hill:
Back in the 1950s, that was perceived to be well, that's a logical way to (to) get rid of our munitions waste, if indeed that's what it was. I created the scenario where if someone wishes to probe at, someone like Velvet LeBlanc in my book, that she could raise some of these questions that people have considered long settled.
DN:
If your character was meant to look into this as the stories detail and you say that you're hoping that there will be a person that will emerge as your character in the books has done to (to) start digging back into this, can we assume that basically we, it has been completely put to rest, that nobody at this point has continued to look into this matter in any way, shape or form, and through the writing and the publishing of the books as it sparked any interest? Are you hearing from or talking to people that might be wanting to get back into finding out the story behind the story.
JH:
I. I guess, David, I (I) my (my) thought process is, this is just an example of a situation where a citizen has found an issue that was important and found a way to address it and I guess. So I'm (I'm) hoping that the books create a pathway for whatever the issue might be. It doesn't have to be just the (the) (the) Corps dumping, it could be any number of. It could be the Enbridge pipeline under, the whole oil pipelines in (in) the state of Michigan, there (there) are a number of environmental issues that I think we could spend. I'm thinking that now at this point in our juncture with a new administration coming. And it may very well be up to citizens to raise these issues because the government may very well not want to go into uncomfortable things and (and) I'm hoping that these books inspire citizens to say, you know what? This may be uncomfortable, but I'm going to pursue it. No, no, you know, Velvet did it, why can't I? So, I took the most detached person from the political process in a politically powerless situation. The Upper Peninsula's a very small part of the state of Michigan. As a woman and a Native American. And I (I) (I) tied in there, her spiritual beliefs. The spiritual love of (of) Gitche Gumee that Native Americans have, the special, the special feature, and I thought I've created the most impossible person to address an issue that nobody wants to talk about, and she steps forward and does it. And I walked her through the (the) (the) minefields and the and the political obstacles. And try to show somebody see it's possible. There is hope. The power of the individual, if they have this belief and they carry it forward and they've learned the rules of the game, but they also persist. I'm hoping that this is the goal of these books. The hope that anyone with strong feelings about things feels that they have the ability to make government work, even if they feel that maybe people aren't listening. I'm still the voter. I'm still the citizen. I still have a responsibility and democracy to make it work.
DN:
Professor Emeritus of Political Science James Hill from Central Michigan University. Jim, congratulations on the trilogy of the books. Finding the story that can frame the actual events and potentially inspire others to take up the path as your character has done. Thank you so much for taking the time to talk with us. Congratulations on the books and we will wait to see if it is a Velvet or someone else who continues the storyline as we move forward from here.
JH:
Thanks so much. It's been a delight talking with you.
