The Night Watchman – Louise Erdrich (2020)
Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, The Night Watchman is a powerful and deeply personal novel inspired by the life of Louise Erdrich’s grandfather, who fought against Native dispossession in the 1950s. Set in rural North Dakota, the story follows Thomas Wazhushk, a Chippewa night watchman at a jewel-bearing plant, as he rallies his community to resist a U.S. government bill threatening to terminate tribal land rights. Interwoven with his story is that of Patrice Paranteau, a young factory worker who embarks on a perilous journey to find her missing sister in Minneapolis. Blending historical fact with luminous prose, Erdrich crafts a tribute to Indigenous resilience, activism, and the bonds of family and culture.
If You Liked This, Try:
- There There (Tommy Orange, 2018) – A multi-generational story of Urban Native life and identity.
- The Round House (Louise Erdrich, 2012) – A gripping coming-of-age tale centered on justice in Ojibwe country.
- Ceremony (Leslie Marmon Silko, 1977) – A seminal work of Native American literature about healing and tradition.
