By Stephen Graham Jones
I came upon this book as part of my project to listen/read the recent years World Fantasy Award nominees. Although this book was shortlisted in 2021, it won the Bram Stroker Award and Los Angeles Book Prize in 2020, and the Alex Award in 2021. I listened to the audiobook version which I thought was nice because the narrator was Native American which gave the recording a very authentic feel.
Wonderfully grotesque, this horror novel accomplished something I never thought possible. I lost my appetite while listening. That is no small feat. I ate while watching Hostel and had no problem. I polished off a super-sized double quarter pounder with cheese meal while watching Morgan Spurlock vomit from having the same meal. My job involves blood, brains, etc. and I get hungry seeing it. So, for me to actually put down my lunch while starving is unheard of.
Ten years ago, four members of the Blackfeet Nation broke cultural norms and hunting laws. The loss of their hunting rights seemed like the only consequence of their actions, but now, something is stalking them. I was reminded of early Stephen King while reading. The novel was centered in an American culture that many aren’t exposed to.
I would like to address the use of Indians as opposed to Native Americans in the title. This is addressed later in the book and when it is, it made a lot of sense to me. A younger member of the Blackfeet Nation chastizes one of the main characters over his use of Indian as opposed to indigenous. The character explains it as thus: I grew up being an Indian and so that’s how I’ve always identified.
I think this brought up a very poignant example of how the lexicon evolves faster than we do. At what point does an identity that a marginalized group of people have grown up as become unacceptable? I could get myself in a lot of hot water by trying to talk about groups that I am not a part of and am not part of the conversation of how they identify. Instead, I’d like to use a more mainstream example. When I was growing up, nerd and geek had severely negative connotations. With the rise of tech billionaires, people happily embrace their identity as a nerd or geek. In twenty years if a new generation decides that those terms because of their defamatory beginnings are no longer acceptable and choose to identify as enthusiasts, ie. a comic book enthusiast, is it right for that younger generation to tell my generation that they can no longer embrace the identity they grew up with?
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