We are working, but even if we did become rich, that would have no bearing on our agreement with the government. We have a lot of smart Indians in this room. Moses Montrose: We are advanced in some ways. Some members of Congress heard or seem to believe that the Turtle Mountain Chippewa are so far advanced that they should be relinquished by the government. Hail: We know the Indian Department did not initiate this move that included the Turtle Mountain Chippewa Indians and the reservation. We are here on your behalf, but we cannot do such a thing. Cooper (abrupt laugh): That is out of the question. How about you relocate some of our neighbors who aren’t Indians? They are sitting on our best land. “Mary Montrose: This relocation isn’t my wish. Overnight, the tribal chairman job had turned into a struggle to remain a problem to not be solved.” So, as usual, by getting rid of us the Indian problem would be solved. Freed from the treaties that Thomas's father and grandfather had signed and that were promised to last forever.

This word would not stop banging around in his head. It had taken precious time to even get confirmation, or see the actual House Resolution stating, as its author said, that the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa was targeted by the United States Congress for emancipation.Įmancipation. Then Moses had to pry the papers out of his contact down in Aberdeen. By reading the Minot Daily News, he'd found out something was up. He had received no word from the government. And do they tell us when they plan to get rid of us? Hah. “But every so often the government remembered about Indians and when they did they always tried to solve Indians, thought Thomas. Subscribe to the MPR News with Kerri Miller podcast on: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify or RSS. To listen to the full conversation you can use the audio player above. Louise Erdrich is the author of 16 novels, volumes of poetry, children’s books and a memoir. Kerri Miller talked with Erdrich at a Kerri Miller Book Circle event about her novel, “The Night Watchmen ” identity and what she learned about her grandfather and family from his letters. His letters from this time period, which Erdrich calls “some of the treasures in my life,” were part of her research on the era. The tale centers on characters who call the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa reservation home, and their effort to fight this law along with day-to-day challenges.Įrdrich’s title character - the night watchman in the story - was inspired in part by the story of her grandfather, who helped take the tribe’s fight to Washington, D.C. In her latest novel, author Louise Erdrich takes her audience back in time to a sometimes forgotten period of history when federal policy terminated treaties and rights under the guise of emancipation.

Author of the night watchman