Louise Erdrich’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, “The Night Watchman,” was selected as the 2022 One Book, One Community title, and Erdrich discussed her book in the Centrum at Concordia College on Oct. 27.
The One Book, One Community reading project — now in its 11th year — centers on a community-wide reading of a single book and is dedicated to creating a shared conversation along with a range of related events and activities for residents of all ages.
“The Night Watchman” is set near the Turtle Mountain Reservation in rural North Dakota in the 1950s. It includes universal themes of community, family, love, and freedom. The novel is based on Erdrich’s grandfather who worked as a night watchman and carried the fight against Native dispossession from rural North Dakota all the way to Washington, D.C. It tells the little-known story of the U.S. government's efforts in the 1950s to “emancipate” the Turtle Mountain band and other tribes and end federal recognition of these tribes in order to force them off their ancestral land.
“The book is about how people fight for one another, fight for their communities, and try so hard to get things right and put things into a caring, loving perspective — and if not that, into some kind of perspective that can benefit as many people as possible in a community,” Erdrich said. “Sometimes we don’t realize how much the government’s actions have to do with what happens to each of us individually.”
Erdrich talked about the history of her grandfather and his connection to the book. She said her inspiration for the book was everywhere in her life for a very long time, but it was her grandfather’s letters written in the middle of the night while on duty that provided the momentum. In the book, she weaves Native American history, relocation, and missing/murdered Indigenous women together.
Erdrich said the government didn’t understand Native people’s relationship to the land. The way that Native Americans did not have individual ownership was considered too close to communism. “It was somehow un-American to be tied to land. At this time, the government was intent on moving Native people off the reservations and into cities in an effort to deplete the reservations of human resources — people.”
Erdrich was inspired by the work done to get the case to D.C. “They only had three months to try to save their place in the world. It’s an incredible story. And it’s a true story.”
Erdrich also took questions from the audience. Someone asked Erdrich’s advice on how to support efforts to find missing Indigenous women.
“Join in the effort to hold law enforcement, representatives, and people accountable,” Erdrich said. “For too long it’s been just a fact of life. Join in these larger efforts.”
When questioned on how she became interested in writing, Erdrich said her parents were her “literary influences” and she’s always appreciated libraries. “It is wonderful to be able to speak here to an audience of a library. They are our wealth in our country.”
She recalled that, when she was young, a local librarian tried to tell her a book she wanted, “White Fang,” was too mature for her, but her mother wrote a note to the librarian letting her know that Louise could take out any book she wanted.
Erdrich received two standing ovations, and the event ended with community members presenting her with an Indigenous blanket and performing an honor song.
A leader in contemporary Native American literature, Erdrich is an enrolled member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians. She has won numerous awards for both poetry and fiction.
One Book, One Community is a partnership with the Fargo, Moorhead, and West Fargo public libraries, Concordia College’s Carl B. Ylvisaker Library, Minnesota State University Moorhead’s Livingston Lord Library, North Dakota State University Libraries, Moorhead Area Public Schools Indian Education, the Indigenous Association, and the Historical and Cultural Society of Clay County. In addition to Erdrich’s presentation, the reading project featured several events including community book discussions, cultural presentations, exhibits, films, and other programs. For information, visit One Book, One Community.