BEMIDJI – Acclaimed author Anton Treuer has made his mark as a professor of Ojibwe at Bemidji State University and writer of Ojibwe language, history and culture. His equity, education, and cultural work has put him on a path of service around the nation and the world.
Treuer now tackles the world of fiction with his first novel, Where Wolves Don't Die, published by Levine Querido. This is a heartwarming story, part coming-of-age and part thriller where we are introduced to 15-year-old Ezra Cloud who would rather be up north in Red Gut (Nigigoonsiminikaaning First Nation) just beyond the Canadian border. But his father’s job as a professor of Ojibwe at a local college keeps them in Northeast Minneapolis with its pollution, drab surroundings and the bully who terrorizes him and his best friend, Nora.
In a recent What We’re Reading interview, Treuer explained that his main character Ezra is dealing with the death of his mother and he’s also under investigation for a crime that occurred in his neighborhood. He is sent north to stay with his grandparents and help his Grandpa Liam run the traplines.
The time in the outdoors helps Ezra transform and he strengthens his relationship with his Grandpa Liam, a forceful personality Treuer describes as “hilarious and outrageous and woodsy and knowledgeable.” While Treuer emphasized that Where Wolves Don’t Die is fiction, he acknowledged that he channeled “attributes of the elders that I have worked with and the great affinity I've often felt for them.”
While writing this book, Treuer faced off against some of his harshest critics: his children.
He read chapters out loud to them, figuring they’d let him know if they were bored by it. But they found the story engaging. Treuer recounted, “I was so excited because they were like, ‘What's going to happen next? Do you think Ezra and Nora are going to get together? Do you know who committed the crime?’ It kept them guessing throughout. I found all of that to be really heartening and hopeful.”
As Where Wolves Don’t Die joins the growing body of “native lit” in the past couple of decades, Treuer noted how many of these stories focus on trauma and tragedy. For his own story, he wanted to show how his culture can be “beautiful, alive and transformative.”
He also noted the long overdue emergence of works by female authors and authors of different gender identities, taking on issues and problems like toxic masculinity, which is something he wanted to treat differently with his character Ezra Cloud.
"What would be a healthy example of a boy coming of age in his own authentic cultural context?"Author Anton Treuer on writing about healthy masculinity.
The trauma of his mother’s death and being terrorized by a bully in his neighborhood weighs heavily on Ezra but rather than having him lash out in violence, Treuer wanted to show what could be an example of healthy masculinity. In writing this story he asked himself, “What would be a healthy example of a boy coming of age in his own authentic cultural context, grappling with things and finding not just transformation, but healing and a set of tools for healthy living and relationships?”
With the release of Where Wolves Don’t Die, Treuer is looking forward to future stories. “I have way more ideas than the time to bring them into the world. But you haven't seen the last of me yet,” he said.
You can find out more about Anton Treuer and his new novel at his website.
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