The Night Watchman by Louise Erdrich

Fact:

‘On August 1, 1953, the United States Congress announced House Concurrent Resolution 108, a bill to abrogate nation-to-nation treaties, which had been made with American Indian Nations for “as long as the grass grows and the rivers flow”. The announcement called for the eventual termination of all tribes, and the immediate termination of five tribes, including the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa.’

I picked up this novel and became immersed in the different characters and their stories. The central characters are Thomas Wazhashk and his niece Patrice (don’t call me Pixie!) Paranteau. Thomas, based on the author’s grandfather, Patrick Gourneau, works as a night watchman at the jewel bearing factory near the Turtle Mountain Reservation in rural North Dakota. His niece, Patrice, works at the factory making jewel bearings. The work is demanding but poorly paid. Patrice is supporting her mother and brother, while her alcoholic father returns home frequently enough to terrorise his family and bully them for money. Patrice and her mother Zhaanat are worried about Patrice’s sister Vera, who moved to Minneapolis. They’ve not heard from Vera for months.

Thomas Wazhashk is worried. A senator in Washington has introduced a bill that would terminate the Chippewa tribe and the support they receive from the government. Thomas knows that if the bill is passed it will destroy the tribe. The tribe is poor and if support is taken away, they will need to sell the land they still have. Tribe members will disperse to cities and their culture and traditions will be destroyed.

‘You cannot feel time grind against you. Time is nothing but everything, not the seconds, minutes, hours, days years. Yet this substanceless substance, this bending and shaping, this warping, this is the way we understand our world.’

Patrice travels to Minneapolis in search of Vera, and temporarily falls prey to exploitation.  Patrice doesn’t find Vera, but she does find her baby son and brings him home with the help of the young Chippewa boxer, Wood Mountain. Thomas focusses on trying to save the Turtle Mountain homeland. And around them both, other lives continue. Thomas remembers this advice he was given when he went to boarding school:

 “Study hard because we need to know the enemy.”

 This is a complex story, filled with well-realised memorable characters. Through these characters, Ms Erdrich shows us the best and worst of human nature and taught me about a period of American history about which I knew nothing.

I picked up this novel purely by chance at one of my libraries and am still thinking about aspects of the story and some of the characters.

Jennifer Cameron-Smith