BIBLIOGRAPHY
Erdrich, Louise. 2005. The Game of Silence. New York : HarperCollins. ISBN: 9780060297909.
PLOT SUMMARY
Her name is Omakayas and she lives in an Ojibwe village on the Island of the Golden-Breasted Woodpecker (Lake Superior) in 1850. The routine of the village is interrupted by the arrival of a group of desperate strangers without clothes or food. Her people take them in immediately; giving the orphaned children new homes and nurses the older travelers back to health. From these travelers the village learns that the whites are forcing all Native Americans to move west, despite the treaty. To be sure of the stories brought by these strangers the village sends their men in the four directions to learn why the chimookomanag are breaking the treaty and how the tribe will live in this western reserve (not well, as the men soon find out). A whole year passes before the first man returns. Meanwhile, Erdich tells the daily life and migrations of Omakayas and her family. Her dreams tell her that there is much change in her future –she will leave her island and seek a new home away from the white settlers.
CRITICAL ANALYSIS
It is 1850 and the lives of her have a familiar rhythm: they build their birchbark houses in the summer, go to the rice camps in the fall, and move to their cozy cedar log cabins near town for the winter. The historic novel paints a wonderful picture of Anishinabe culture during colonization. Erdich conveys the experiences of traditional family life in vivid language and dots the text with humorous and very real moments of childhood. The children play, get in trouble, care for (and terrorize) each other, animals, plan war parties, gather food and do their chores. Sometimes the parents sing the song for silence and the Game begins. Prizes are piled up for the children who win and they all sit quietly while their parents talk about the impending changes and search for a solution.
Erdich does not downplay the terror of colonization nor the fear coursing through the families; but neither do her characters wallow in despair. In town near their winter cabin the family has more interaction with the settlers. Omakay and her sister befriend a young girl in town; they go to school and teach their father to read and write; the family trades with the merchants there. The interaction between the two cultures is peaceful. The girls communicate through gesture and broken sounds –mostly they are curious of each other.
This novel glows with insight and appreciation for traditional Ojibwa life. Dozens of sweet pencil illustrations show the characters in their natural surroundings. Just a little open web research on the Anishinabe/Ojibwa people will confirm that Erdich’s literary illustrations are truthful to their history. Louise Erdrich is of German-American/Chippewa descent, a native of North Dakota, and she is a member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Ojibwe. She writes with both English and Anishinaabemowin. In the end pages she offers a comprehensive glossary of Ojibwe terms in the story.
I simply could not put this novel down. This is the middle of a trilogy set during the 1800's in Minnesota: The Birchbark House, then The Game of Silence, and finally The Porcupine Year. I think I'd like to read the series through. I love a good long tale and if this volume is like the others, I know what I’ll be reading over Christmas!
REVIEW EXCERPT
“A bloody brilliant piece of work.” E.R. Bird, Children’s Librarian.
AWARDS for Game of Silence
New York Times Notable
Scott O'Dell Award for Historical Fiction
Kirkus Editor’s Choice
Horn Book Fanfare
ALA Booklist Editors’ Choice
CONNECTIONS
Ojibwe culture: I hate to say it but Wikipedia is a pretty good starting place for finding out more about the Ojibwe Nation. They have collected some high quality links to information on all aspects of the tribes history. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ojibwe
Ojibwe language: http://www.ojibwemowin.com/ is the site for teachers of Anishinaabemowin. This is a great place to find research on language revitalization, curricular ideas, and to connect to other linguistic sites for Native languages.
Reviews and author biography at http://www.kidsreads.com/ among many.
No comments:
Post a Comment