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The Night Watchman, a Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, was inspired by Erdrich’s own grandfather who belonged to the Turtle Mountain Reservation on which this book’s story is based.

The novel tells the story of the resistance to repeated oppression and the real-life assimilation and termination policies against native peoples.

Thomas Wazhashk is the night watchman at the jewel bearing plant in Turtle Mountain, a plant that actually existed – the Turtle Mountain Ordnance Plant!

The Termination Bill

In 1953, Congress considered a Bill that was meant to promote the assimilation of Native Americans. The Bill, House Concurrent Resolution 108 or HCR 108, proposed the end of the reservation system. Congress intended termination to lead to full assimilation of Indigenous peoples of America.

In other words, Indigenous peoples would no longer be tribal members. They would be American citizens without ties to a tribe. Under termination, Indigenous peoples were expected to give up their cultural heritage.

“‘I don’t get why it’s so bad,’ said Barnes. ‘It sounds like you get to be regular Americans.’…
‘Because we can’t just turn into regular Americans. We can look like it, sometimes. Act like it, sometimes. But inside we are not. We’re Indians.’
‘But see here,’ said Barnes. ‘I’m German, Norwegian, Irish, English. But overall, I’m American. What’s so different?’
Thomas gave him a calm and assessing look…”

The Night Watchman

Thomas Wazhashk is a character that embodies the trauma and cultural erosion brought on by the assimilation and termination policies that were enacted against Indigenous peoples. The language used in the Termination Bill, which promised to lead to full assimilation and the end of the reservation system, was actually the language of oppression, not emancipation.

Indoctrination

Additionally, Erdrich touches on the subject of indoctrination, as many Indigenous children were taken from their families and sent to boarding schools to be ‘educated’ but in reality, they were being indoctrinated and their cultures, languages, and spirituality were erased.

Thomas Wazhashk, the Night Watchman, is haunted by his boarding school experiences. He constantly sees the ghost of Roderick, an old school friend and victim of the system. Correspondingly, when Thomas starts seeing ghosts, he sees not only animals but also Jesus. Evidently, this highlights his inner conflict between his own culture and the one he was indoctrinated with.

Magical Realism

I found the fragmented nature of some of the chapters a little disconcerting and difficult to follow. For example, there is a short chapter written from the perspective of one of the horses getting it on with another horse, which is then never mentioned again.

“After the sex was over, they were bored and irritated. And also there was nothing to eat. They didn’t exactly break up, but they did manage to ignore each other as they plodded around looking for some juicy grass.”

The Night Watchman

Emphatically, the above highlights the antithesis between the cultures of the ‘coloniser’ and the ‘colonised’. Whilst white Americans were focused on iconising colonial figures, naming places after them as symbolism for what they had taken, Indigenous culture focuses on the symbols of life – nature, life and death; on the present. To that end, this is also perhaps why there are snippets of ‘surrealist’ anthropomorphism (unconnected to the main story) woven throughout the novel.

“Things started going wrong, as far as Zhaanat was concerned, when places everywhere were named for people—political figures, priests, explorers—and not for the real things that happened in these places—the dreaming, the eating, the death, the appearance of animals…And now even these half-ruined places that bore the names of saints and homestead people and railroad owners, these places were going to be taken.”

The Night Watchman

Markedly, Louise Erdrich “employed the narrative technique of magical realism in order to express [her] own personal interpretations of [her] cross-cultural contexts in the face of domination by European American culture” (p.80, Bowers, Maggie Ann (2004) Magic(al) Realism. London: Routledge).

Conclusion

Overall, I believe the takeaway in ‘The Night Watchman’ is the messaging e.g., the depiction of the trials and tribulations faced by the Indigenous peoples of America, which still remain today. Specifically, Erdrich comments on the issues that still persist within Indigenous communities today, stating “it’s true that the policies that start with dispossession do not stop there.”

For instance, when Pixie goes to the big city, we see how many people of Indigenous origin are living in terrible conditions, are subject to human trafficking or are affected by alcoholism. In truth, Patrice, or Pixie, doesn’t get the fairytale love story ending that you expect. The narrative doesn’t end neatly or happily, just as Indigenous peoples of America are still struggling for their rights and recognition in society today.

In conclusion, The Night Watchman is a powerful reminder of the ongoing fight for justice and equality for Indigenous peoples and the importance of acknowledging and preserving their rich cultural heritage.