The Night Watchman
by Louise Erdrich
Awards: Aspen Words Winner 2021, Pulitzer Winner 2021
Nominations: Carnegie Longlist 2021, Dayton Literary Peace Finalist 2021
Date Read: August 12, 2021
This richly textured, highly detailed and slow novel from Erdrich chronicles the attempt by the U.S. government to terminate the tribal lands of the Chippewa tribe. Largely based on her grandfather’s life, Patrick Gourneau, was a resident of the Turtle Mountain Reservation in North Dakota in the 1950s when the termination was first proposed.
Knowing that this actually happened in reality is infuriating, realizing that the attacks on Native people and their land is simply ghastly. Had this legislation passed, it would have violated long-standing treaties between Native tribes and the U.S. government. Gourneau was head of the Turtle Mountain Reservation at the time and lead the resistance to the termination.
Erdrich follows numerous peoples that form a web of complex relationships and familial lines across tribes and throughout the reservation. Her skill at describing the smells, textures, rituals, language and tastes from her childhood are so vivid, I truly feel refreshed from the cold birch sap, although I have never tasted it. These are hard-working people, doing everything within their power to overcome the deliberate obstacles put in their path. Their poverty is startling. Their sense of community and legacy are rich.
Thomas, the main character based on Erdrich’s grandfather, is a man of integrity, working hard as a farmer, a night watchman at the jewel factory and as head of the Turtle Mountain Reservation. Readers are introduced to a variety of individuals that excellently capture the various experiences and challenges of living on a reservation in the 1950s.
My favorite character by far is Patrice (“Pixie”). She is loyal to her family, providing much-needed income since her father is largely absent and typically drunk and violent. She is level-headed and capable, inexperienced but possessing innate wisdom. She is dedicated to finding her sister, Vera, who has disappeared after moving to Minneapolis, having been essentially trafficked. Although she is unsuccessful at finding her sister, she is able to return with Vera’s son, Patrice’s nephew. The entire trip is strange and new, as she has never ridden a train or rode in a taxi. The city is completely foreign place to her, yet she bravely navigates her way, making for her a small fortune in the process as a WaterJack.
Patrice is somewhat stoic when it comes to love but she has two ardent pursuers, Wood Mountain, native of the reservation and Barnes, a white school teacher who really wants to marry a native girl. While both have deep feelings for her and it looks as if she might end up with Wood Mountain, in the end Patrice remains on her own, standing solidly on her own two feet.
I have been and continue to be a lover of Erdrich and all her work. She is such a gifted artist and I was absolutely thrilled when I learned she had won the 2021 Pulitzer. She is, for me, a rock star of the literary world.
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