The Night Watchman

Louise Erdrich wrote this book to honor the work of her grandfather, the titular night watchman of a jewel bearing plant, was also a Chippewa tribal chairman who took the fight against the Indian Termination Policy all the way to Washington DC in 1954. Thomas, his fictionalized counterpart has a great story to tell. I only wish Erdrich has let more of his voice through, and not muddied the water with so many ancillary characters.

To be fair, the other characters give a fuller picture of life on the reservation. Perhaps if this book had been presented as a series of interlinked short stories, with Thomas's story to anchor it at the end, it would have worked better. Instead, we jump from one person to another, or see the characters interact in stilted, forced tones and situations. The pieces all add up to a picture of the fragility of life on the reservation, and the danger posed by the Indian Termination Act, but it's a choppy picture, and one that doesn't make for a very satisfying story.

This wasn’t an easy read, but it was worth it. This is an intense and heart-tugging account of the tribulations of the struggling native Indian communities in 1959s America. It focuses mainly on the Chippewa families who lived on the Turtle Mountain Reservation in rural North Dakota, and follows more closely the fate of a few members who ended up moving to the big cities. It is raw, tender and emotive. The reader comes to care deeply for the main characters as the realities of their every day lives are described in such eye-opening detail. I was shocked to learn of all the unacceptable ways the Indians were treated, on an individual level, but also the tribes as a whole. What happened during the European occupation is unforgivable and how I wish things had unfolded differently. I choose to be optimistic and to hope that we have learned from this history so that nothing like this will happen again. The short, bite-size chapters made it easier to digest and I think the fact that the author bases the character of Thomas Wazhashk on the life of her own grandfather makes the story even more compelling. I also really loved learning a little about the customs, language and humour of the Chippewa people - “most everything was funnier in Chippewa”. I didn’t really care much for all the boxing details, but that is just a personal preference. Overall, this was an educational and exceedingly well-written novel.