Rez Dogs

Malian dreamt about a dog just like Malsum before she looked out of her bedroom window and saw him sitting on the driveway. Malsum is “the old name for a wolf” (2). Malsum, a rez dog, looks like a big wolf, with a broad muscular chest and “legs as strong as those of a husky” (61). He has distinctive white spots above his eyes which, according to Wabanaki lore, means he is a “[f]our-eyed dog” (3). Sergeant Ed comments that a four-eyed dog is “sort of a medicine animal” (144), highlighting Malsum’s mysterious, mystical nature. Grandma Frances also highlights the dog’s otherworldly aura when telling Malian: “When a dog like that just appears and chooses you, it’s not your decision” (4). Malsum is Malian’s protector, always watching over her and her grandparents. He knows who is safe and who is dangerous, keeping government officials and the coughing postman at a safe distance from the house. Malsum accepts the tribal policeman Sergent Ed, allowing him to scratch his head, but he chases the muskrateers up a tree, even though they are Indigenous friends of Malian and live on the reservation. Malsum seems to understand the danger posed to Malian’s grandparents by COVID-19 as well as the threats posed by government officials to the Wabanaki people.

Malsum listens to the traditional stories told by Malian’s grandparents and shows interest in the old photos of Wolf—Malian’s great-great-grandfather’s dog—occasionally nodding his approval. This suggests his intelligence, and the nodding lends him anthropomorphic or human qualities. Malsum is portrayed as the incarnation of Wolf, a protector and guardian of this Wabanaki family across multiple generations.

Martha Frances is a Wabanaki woman, married to Roy Frances. She is the mother of Thomas (Malian’s father) and is a loving, gentle, and kind grandmother to Malian. Martha and Roy live on the Penacook reservation where they tend a large vegetable garden. Martha was a primary school teacher before retiring. She is still a champion beader and usually wins the “best frybread” competition at the reservation’s annual festival. Martha is also an avid reader of ethnology and philosophy books—mostly to find out what white people think of Indigenous Americans—with a particular love of books by Henry David Thoreau.

Grandma Frances highlights the toxic do-goodery of white people. For example, she quotes from Thoreau’s book, “if you see someone coming to your house with the express purpose of doing good for you, leave quickly by the back door” (52). Martha is suspicious of white people, having been through the involuntary sterilization program that the Indian Health Services carried out during free “checkups.” As a child, she was sent to boarding school, where she had to wear a uniform and was subjected to harsh punishments by the Catholic nuns. Fortunately, unlike Malian’s mother, Martha avoided being taken by social services and put up for adoption.

Martha is quiet and walks so softly that Malian often doesn’t hear her coming. Martha is a traditional storyteller; she shares legends about the Creator and hunting with Malian, highlighting the respect Wabanaki individuals have for all living things.

Grampa Roy, who is a Wabanaki man, is married to Grandma Frances and is Thomas’s father. He is a loving and thoughtful grandfather to Malian. Before retiring, he had been a master carpenter and continues to create woodcarvings of bears and other animals. He learned carpentry at the boarding school he was sent to as a child.

Through Grampa, the books also shows the cruelty of white people toward Indigenous Americans. For example, all of Grampa’s knuckles had been broken by the nuns at some point during his schooldays.

Like his wife, Grampa is a great storyteller. He shares traditional creation stories as well as stories about rez dogs and farming with Malian, passing on the Wabanaki culture and ideology. Grampa Roy accepts Malsum into their life without question, understanding that rez dogs choose their people, not the other way around.