The Birchbark House by Louise Erdrich

The Birchbark House

by Louise Erdrich

 Image Credit: The Birchbark House at https://www.publishersweekly.com

1. Bibliography

Erdrich, Louise.  The Birchbark House. New York: Hyperion Books for Children, 1999. ISBN 9780786814541

2. Plot Summary

This young adult novel is the story of a year in the life of a young Ojibwa girl who, over the cycle of four full seasons, comes to a deeper understanding of life, herself, and the relationship between the two. As it chronicles the year's events, the narrative thematically explores the connection between human beings and nature, the effect of whites on the indigenous culture, and the necessity of confronting fear.  (Summary Credit: The Birchbark House at bookrags.com)

3. Critical Analysis

Omakayas (or Little Frog in English) is the book’s principal character. The book's storyline follows her experiences, observations, and understanding, as she changes from an innocent, playful eight-year-old into a young woman. In many ways, she is a normal child - playful, occasionally uncooperative about household chores and tasks, admires her parents, annoyed by her siblings, and very emotionally involved with her grandmother. At the same time, she has clear unique abilities, especially her connection to nature. These two sides to her character are what make her an especially attractive, not to mention pertinent, character when it comes to the book’s target audience of young women.  Other characters important to Omakayas and her experiences are: her adored Grandmother Nokomis, her admired parents Deydey and Yellow Kettle, her “perfect” older sister Angeline, her irritating brother Little Pince and her much loved baby brother Neewo.  The story is set on an island (Island of the Golden-Breasted Woodpecker) in Lake Superior (Moningwanaykaning) and follows characters from an Ojibwa tribe in 1847.

            Since this story takes place in 1847, it is very important for the story to show the Ojibwa culture in the correct time period.  The author does an excellent job of doing this by describing many aspects of the daily lives of the Ojibwa tribe.  She describes the characters clothing.  Different characters are described wearing a dress embroidered with white beads, makazins (moccasins), a turban, beaded velvet vest, calico shirt, fine red cloth, a bandolier bag, earrings, necklace of bear claws, partridge-tail fan, bracelets, armbands, ribbons, shawl, and Old Tallow’s coat (new furs of lynx, beaver, deer hide, dog hide, patched with discarded bright calico, even black-beaded velvets).  Many chores, and tools needed to do those chores, are described including tanning the moose hide with the brains of the moose, making the hide soft enough for makazins, scraping with the sharpened deer shoulder bone, moose antler hoe, hoe from crooked tree branch, knocking the rice grains off into the bottom of the boat, picking reeds to make mats, smoking the rice, treading rice to crush the tough hulls, caulking canoes, fishing nets, fishing spear, rabbit snares, ice fishing and paddling to the rice camp.

            Many objects from their surroundings are mentioned and described like their summer cabin of sweet-scented cedar, tobacco pouch, treasure wrapped in a leaf, beaded velvet wrapping, pipe made out of sumac wood with bands beaded in black and yellow and bowl in the shape of an otters head, medicine man, intestine of moose to store meat, bundles of roots, bag of berries and dried crumbled leaves, long curls of inner bark, rabbit skin blankets, toboggans of stretched furs, dance lodge, lean-to storage, moose hide, beaver furs, sleeping mats (woven reed mats placed over tufts of moss), and their winter birchbark house (lined with lush furs, sleeping robes, red-and-white-point blankets).

Certain descriptions of things and events help to identify the Native American culture and the Ojibwa tribe culture, more specifically.  Deydey is described as having “half-white blood”. The different seasons are Neebin, Dagwagin, Biboon, Zeegwun and the different Ojibwa clans are Anishinabe (wolf clan), Anishinabeg, Adisokaan, and the Awausesee (catfish clan).  Omakayas is described as being eight winters old, the island is described as the drum of the thunder-being, characters “starve for a vision” or going to the sweat-baths, Grandfather Owl and Mukwah the bear are characters in their stories, when Deydey gets smallpox the family is worried he will “run to the land of the spirits”, the wind is the windigo spirit or the Hungry One, one time of year is described as Crust on the Snow Moon, boy hunt and girls do “things girls normally do” and white people (Chimookoman) “cheat us with treaties.

            Other characters in the story have names like Old Tallow, Ten Snow, Day Thunder, Swan, Auntie Muskrat, Old Man Migwans, Waubanikway, Mikwam (Ice), Andeg (crow), Fishtail, Little Bee, Twilight, Akewaynzee, Two Strike Girl, and Wishkob. Ojibwa words are used; some are repeated in English and the rest you get the meaning from context.  Words and expressions used include booni, geget, pakuks, windigos, kinnikinnick, ahneen, mino aya sana, hiyn, gaween onjidah, ashaageshinh, tikinagun, N’dai, makuk, place called Where the Sisters Eat, bekayaan, wakaigun, neshkey, ombay, saaa, ahneen, neshemay, gaygo, minopogwud, neshkey, and pikwayzhigun.  The characters animals and plants typical of the Lake Superior region in 1847.  Those items mentioned in the story include moose, maple sugar, berries, wild onion, wild rice, bear grease, chokecherries, parched corn, dried fish, smoked venison, beaver (amik), plums, corn soup, juniper berries, swamp tea, and rabbit.  And, a few celebrations and religious practices appear in the story including Grandmother giving her tobacco to the water and asking for a safe and smooth crossing, or blessing the cache of food.  The characters give offerings, the dead are buried in grave houses and ceremonies include drumming.  Overall, the story is an excellent, realistic representation of the life of one Ojibwa girl and her family in the Lake Superior region of 1847.

4. Review Experts

National Book Award Finalist

~Kirkus Review - " With this volume, Erdrich launches her cycle of novels about a 19th-century Ojibwa family, covering in vivid detail their everyday life as they move through the seasons of one year on an island on Lake Superior. A baby girl crawls among the bodies of her family, dead from smallpox. After that stinging beginning, an unexpectedly enjoyable story follows, replete with believable characterizations, humor, family love, and misadventures. Omakayas, now eight adores baby brother Neewo, detests rambunctious five-year-old brother Pinch, and worships her beautiful teenage sister, Angeline. Omakayas works and plays through the summer and fall, learning the ways of her people; she has a frightful adventure with bears and adopts a young raven as a pet. But in winter smallpox again affects her life: Neewo dies, and Angeline is scarred for life.  Omakayas cannot find her way back to happiness until an odd old woman tells her the truth of her past, in a novel that is by turns charming, suspenseful, and funny, and always bursting with life.”

~Publishers Weekly: “Erdrich's (Grandmother's Pigeon) debut novel for children is the first in a projected cycle of books centering on an Ojibwa family on an island in Lake Superior. Opening in the summer of 1847, the story follows the family, in a third-person narrative, through four seasons; it focuses on young Omakayas, who turns ""eight winters old"" during the course of the novel. In fascinating, nearly step-by-step details, the author describes how they build a summer home out of birch bark, gather with extended family to harvest rice in the autumn, treat an attack of smallpox during the winter and make maple syrup in the spring to stock their own larder and to sell to others. Against the backdrop of Ojibwa cultural traditions, Omakayas also conveys the universal experiences of childhood--a love of the outdoors, a reluctance to do chores, devotion to a pet--as well as her ability to cope with the seemingly unbearable losses of the winter. The author hints at Omakayas's unusual background and her calling as a healer, as well as the imminent dangers of the ""chimookoman"" or white people, setting the stage for future episodes. Into her lyrical narrative, Erdrich weaves numerous Ojibwa words, effectively placing them in context to convey their meanings. Readers will want to follow this family for many seasons to come.”

5. Connections

~Read books for middle schoolers that have received the American Indian Youth Literature Award or Honors:

            Starr, Arigon. Tales of the Mighty Code Talkers. ISBN 0990694755

            Nelson, Jonathan. The Wool of Jonesy. ISBN 9780990694748

            Marshall, Joseph III. In the Footsteps of Crazy Horse. ISBN 141970785X

Charleyboy, Lisa and Mary Beth Leatherdale. Dreaming in Indian: Contemporary Native American Voices. ISBN 1554516862

Offer books by other Native American authors such as Michael Dorris, Gayle Ross, Shonto Begay or Virginia Driving Hawk.

~Other possible Louise Erdrich books to read:

            The Round House. ISBN 0062065246

            The Plague of Doves. ISBN 9780060515126

            La Rose. ISBN 9780062277022