Racial Equity Initiative Books to Discuss Together: The Night Watchman

In observance of Indigenous Peoples Day, please join us for a special event in the Library Lounge at 11:30 am focusing on Native Americans and their past and ongoing fight to retain their tribal identity and land. This will also be a kick-off for October’s Racial Equity Initiative book discussion for The Night Watchman.

A 2021 Pulitzer Prize winning novel, The Night Watchman was written by Louise Erdrich, a member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians. Based on historic events, Erdrich tells a moving story of her grandfather’s resolute battle to stop the U.S. Congress from taking Chippewa lands and identity – the unanticipated “termination” of the tribe. Strong characters populate the novel, especially women, and Erdrich describes their adventures and struggles in vivid, loving, and sometimes grim detail. This beautifully written novel is ultimately a tale of resistance, courage, and love.

“In this era of modern termination assailing us, the book feels like a call to arms. A call to humanity. A banquet prepared for us by hungry people. Erdrich ends the book, in the afterword’s closing, with a kind of blessing: ‘If you should be of the conviction that we are powerless to change…let this book give you heart.’” –Luis Alberto Urrea, New York Times Review

There will be four sessions: this in-person introductory session, followed by three online small group discussions at 6:30 pm on October 25, November 1 and November 8. Registration with a Zoom link will be available soon.

You may check out the book from your local library, or purchase from a local bookstore via IndieBound.org or from Amazon.com. Reading the book prior to the introductory event on October 10th is not necessary.

Please Note: This in-person event only and will be held in the Library Lounge. Masks will be required whether you are vaccinated or not and social distancing measures will be administered.

Any questions, please contact Kathy Bear at kathleendbear@gmail.com.

As part of Calvary’s Racial Equity Initiative (REI) to recognize and to educate ourselves about systemic racism and to explore the unconscious bias in our own hearts and minds, we have launched a series of programs to help promote discussion and understanding. Reading and discussing books together is one form of education.