Tomorrow I will be having a ZOOM meeting with a book club about Neither Wolf nor Dog, my most loved and most read book. For those of you who don't know, Neither Wolf nor Dog, tells the story of Dan, a Lakota elder, as we journey across the plains of South Dakota together and he offers his thoughts on American culture, his people, and the values he thinks we all need to learn and share. Neither Wolf nor Dog won the Minnesota Book Award, was the South Dakota book of the year, and has become a favorite of people ranging from the singer, Robert Plant, to the editors of the American Indian College Fund.
As the author, I love the book, just as I love all my books. They are my literary children, and they represent the best of what I can do with the skills that I have been given. But I often wonder why Neither Wolf nor Dog, among all of the books I have written, has had such staying power and such influence. Then I go back and read a few pages, as I am doing in preparation for tomorrow's book club, and I am reminded that it is Dan and his insights that give the book such life.
Here's Dan speaking on racism. Agree with him or not, he certainly gives you something to think about.
White people are afraid of everyone who isn't white.
Look at how you define Black people. If a person had one Black ancestor back somewhere, and you can see it, you tell them they are Black. You don't do that with Italians or Irish. But one Black grandma? Bingo, you're Black.
But the thing is, you're not really saying they are Black. You're saying they're not white.
But at least with Blacks you let them alone once you decided they weren't white. You just threw them in a barrel —black, brown, tan, whatever— and called them Black. But us Indians, you couldn't even leave us alone to be Indians once you decided we weren't white. You start dividing us up, calling us half-breeds, full bloods. Try calling a Black person with some white blood a half-breed. See how that goes over.
You've got all sorts of rules that you don't even know. Like, it's okay for white people to adopt Chinese kids, but it's not okay for Chinese people to adopt white kids. If a white man is with a Black woman, then he's liberal. But if a Black man is with a white woman, he must be a pimp. It's the same with Indians. If a white man is with an Indian woman, it might be okay. That's the way they like to do it in the movies. But if an Indian man is with a white woman, there's something wrong with her that she would choose to be with one of 'those people'.
I think it has to do with conquering. The white man has to be in control.
Unique place, America.