(Two books in a five-part series, reviewed by Ramona Kiyoshk)
THE BIRCHBARK HOUSE
By
Louise Erdrich
Young
Adult Fiction
192
pages (with drawings and notes)
The Birchbark House and its sequel, The Game of Silence, are set in mid-1800s at the height of western European expansion, when whites (chimookomanag) and the indigenous people (Anishnawbe) were living side-by-side on the “frontier.”
The daily activities of the Ojibwe in their tribe’s ancestral home
on an island in Lake Superior are portrayed with authenticity and
warmth. Ms. Erdrich gleans details from her personal family history.
Born to Ojibwe and German parents, Erdrich has achieved international
celebrity for her writing of adult fiction, non-fiction and poetry.
Her bookstore/gallery in Minnesota is a popular showcase for Native
American literature and art.
The
Ojibwe (Chippewa) were farmers, who hunted, fished and collected wild
fruit and rice. The tribe lived according to the seasons,
moving out of their snug winter log house in town when spring
arrived. The summer birchbark home by the lake was surrounded by
gardens and fish-drying racks. It was also where they tanned hides
and prepared food for the long winter. Another temporary camp was for
harvesting wild rice and the children eagerly anticipated the trip.
The
Birchbark House is the story of one family, told through the eyes of
the youngest daughter, Omakayas (Little Frog). The household includes
her three siblings, a wise, kind grandmother and a strong, loving
mother. Omakayas’ father, Mikwan, is a hunter, as well as a
community adviser and leader. His hunting and trading
excursions take him away from home for long periods of time.
Omakayas’ close companion is her pet crow, Andeg. Her best friend
is a quiet cousin named Twilight. Her favorite job is taking care of
her baby brother.
The
day-to-day chores of tanning hide, cleaning fish, hauling wood and
water, and picking berries are necessary jobs performed by the
village children. Still they manage to find time for rowdy encounters
with cousins and friends, stolen swims in the cold lake, snatches of
maple sugar candy and snuggling up for songs and stories by Nokomis
(grandmother.) Their mother’s fragrant stew and tasty bannock are
treats the youngsters relish.
A
virulent outbreak of smallpox takes Omakayas’ beloved baby brother,
Neewo, and scars the face of her beautiful sister, Angeline. Omakayas
does not get the disease, and in an extraordinary story, Old Tallow,
an ancient huntress in the tribe, explains to her why she was spared.
The
Birchbark House is the first in a series by author Erdrich, which
proposes to follow Omakayas into old age and provide a history of the
Ojibwe people in the Lake Superior area.
THE
GAME OF SILENCE
By
Louise Erdrich
ISBN:
0060297891
Juvenile
fiction
Trade
paperback
$5.99
272
pages (with drawings and notes)
Readers
who enjoyed The Birchbark House, the first entry in this two-volume
series, will welcome The Game of Silence, the continuing story of
Omakayas, the young Ojibwe girl whose life is complicated by her
pesky younger brother and her beautiful, but sometimes distant older
sister.
The
Game of Silence was developed to keep the children quiet during
council meetings when the adults were dealing with serious issues.
Native people rarely left their children home alone. Community
gatherings began with singing and a feast. Afterward, when the adults
were discussing business, the children were enticed into silence by
gifts contributed by members of the community. The youngsters were
allowed to look over the pile of treasures, deciding which one they
hoped to win, motivating them to work harder than ever at being
quiet.
This
sequel opens with the family enjoying life in their summer home by
the lake. Omakayas is down by the water, skipping stones when she
sees approaching canoes in the distance. A dozen worn canoes
are weighed down with what could be construed, in today’s terms as
refugees. The raggedy ones, as they came to be known, were driven
from their homes by white settlers. They had been relocated to the
traditional territory of the hostile Lakota (Bwaanag) Nation, who in
turn drove them out. Half starved and almost naked, the ragtag
survivors ask for asylum and food. Since they are also Ojibwe and
some even relatives of the people in Omakayas’ camp, they are taken
in and provided for.
While
life resumes, with the newcomers absorbed into the community, it is
apparent that something is happening that will have a profound impact
on the future of the Ojibwe people.
Negotiations
with the white government seem to be breaking down. The members of
the tribe, who have kept their word to let their white neighbors live
in peace, find that the whites do not intend to stick to the terms to
give money and food to the tribe in exchange for land. Since the
Ojibwe have not broken their word, they think that someone else might
have and send some of their men out on a yearlong search to find the
person who may have killed a white settler. The Ojibwe are further
rebuffed when the food they are given is rancid and many die from
eating it. The money promised never materializes.
When
winter returns and the family moves back to their log house in town,
Omakayas joins her older sister at the school where they struggle
with the foreign concepts of reading and writing. In the evenings at
home, they teach their father to read, so that he can better
understand the documents the white men give him to sign.
Finally,
the tribe is told that they must move from the island, as the white
people need it for expansion. Heartbroken, Omakayas asks her
grandmother why they don’t ignore the order and stay. Nokomis tells
her granddaughter about the tribes in the East and Southwest, who
were either killed or removed by soldiers, many dying in the long
walk to their new homes. She says they must move.
The
preparations for the journey are sad, since the canoes can carry just
so much and many treasures are abandoned. Omakayas’ precious little
dog, Makataywazi, may have to stay behind, until a miracle happens.
The
group travels westward through enemy territory, paddling noiselessly
under the cover of night. The Game of Silence, played at tribal
council meetings with prizes for the children, now becomes a game of
survival, as the youngsters bite their lips, and hope they will not
be discovered by the hostile Bwaanag.
Although
frightened, Omakayas embraces the adventure and is hopeful. A new
chapter in her life is beginning.
For
information on Louise Erdrich, visit https://birchbarkbooks.com/
For the complete series. https://www.goodreads.com/series/96975-birchbark-house
