How to Write the Great American Indian Novel

All of the Indians must have tragic features: tragic noses, eyes, and arms.
Their hands and fingers must be tragic when they reach for tragic food.

The hero must be a half-breed, half white and half Indian, preferably
from a horse culture. He should often weep alone. That is mandatory.

If the hero is an Indian woman, she is beautiful. She must be slender
and in love with a white man. But if she loves an Indian man

then he must be a half-breed, preferably from a horse culture.
If the Indian woman loves a white man, then he has to be so white

that we can see the blue veins running through his skin like rivers.
When the Indian woman steps out of her dress, the white man gasps

at the endless beauty of her brown skin. She should be compared to nature:
brown hills, mountains, fertile valleys, dewy grass, wind, and clear water.

If she is compared to murky water, however, then she must have a secret.
Indians always have secrets, which are carefully and slowly revealed.

Yet Indian secrets can be disclosed suddenly, like a storm.
Indian men, of course, are storms. They should destroy the lives

of any white women who choose to love them. All white women love
Indian men. That is always the case. White women feign disgust

at the savage in blue jeans and T-shirt, but secretly lust after him.
White women dream about half-breed Indian men from horse cultures.

Indian men are horses, smelling wild and gamey. When the Indian men
unbuttons his pants, the white woman should think of topsoil.

There must be one murder, one suicide, one attempted rape.
Alcohol should be consumed. Cars must be driven at high speeds.

Indians must see visions. White people can have the same visions
if they are in love with Indians. If a white person loves an Indian

then the white person is Indian by proximity. White people must carry
an Indian deep inside themselves. Those interior Indians are half-breed

and obviously from horse cultures. If the interior Indian is male
then he must be a warrior, especially if he is inside a white man.

If the interior Indian is female, then she must be a healer, especially if she is inside a white woman.
Sometimes there are complications.

An Indian man can be hidden inside a white woman. An Indian woman
can be hidden inside a white man. In these rare instances,

everybody is a half-breed struggling to learn more about his or her horse culture.
There must be redemption, of course, and sins must be forgiven.

For this, we need children. A white child and an Indian child, gender
not important, should express deep affection in a childlike way.

In the Great American Indian novel, when it is finally written,
all of the white people will be Indians and all of the Indians will be ghosts.

Sherman Alexie, “How to Write the Great American Indian Novel” from The Summer of Black Widows. Copyright ©  by Sherman Alexie. Reprinted by permission of Hanging Loose Press. Source: The Summer of Black Widows (Hanging Loose Press, 1996)

The Lesser Blessed

One thing I can say about Native writers, they sure know how to get angst right! Like ‘John Hughes’ right. Richard Van Camp’s novel, The Lesser Blessed is no exception. I was introduced to this book from one of my professor’s.  I read it, wept, denounced humanity, cried some more, and then decided to write my Senior thesis on it. It is one of the most exceptional books I have ever read.

The story revolves around a Dogrib, First Nations teenager, Larry Sole, in the fictional town Fort Smith in the non-fictional Canadian Northwest Territories. Larry is a typical teen, he loves music, has a hate/love relationship with his frenemy Johnny, and is obsessed with doggy-styling it with Juliet Hope, but he also has a horrible secret from his past. And it’s a doozy.

Van Camp creates something so alarmingly poetic and raw. He blends traditional Dogrib stories with the contemporary, meshing a pre-and post-colonial narrative. As literary metaphors go this book is bursting with them. There is the juxtaposition of the loneliness of the Northwest Territories and Larry, fire and destruction, and physical & emotional scars. Then Van Camp rolls out the references to Dogrib culture combining a traditional Dogrib creation story with Larry’s own hilarious, honest narrative. References to ravens, ptarmigans, and blue monkeys are extremely metaphoric for Larry and the Dogrib people. Well, I don’t know about the blue monkeys.

The heaviness of the book comes from the issues it tackles; domestic violence, sexual and emotional abuse, drugs, alcoholism, and the intergenerational trauma from residential/boarding school horrors. The heart of the book lies within the flickering hope Larry Sole has about the future and the love he has to offer. Van Camp has created a character that you want to hold and comfort, then ditch school with to go listen to some Iron Maiden.

My thesis looked into the hope Native Literature can bring to the Native community. The effects of colonization are ever still present in the day-to-day life our people, and we struggle. We struggle in how to view ourselves, how we keep our traditions alive and how to find our place. It’s writers like Van Camp and characters like Larry that support us in those struggles, so we can determine how we see ourselves so we can change our future. This is why I love to read Native literature!! The Lesser Blessed is unparalleled in its humor, pain, and well-written First Nation experiences. As I read and re-read this glorious book, I always walk away with greater hope for my Native community.

The Lesser Blessed was also made into a movie and can be purchased on Amazon.com or iTunes. I have seen it and I loved it. I was so happy that they captured the feeling of the book. Joel Evans portrayed Larry’s sweet personality and he did a wonderful job. I would definitely add this to my movie collection. You can watch the trailer here: