Termination Bill In The Nightwatchman By Louise Erdrich

In the 1900s, Turtle Mountain consisted of a tribe of Indians and Chippewa individuals. The fictional novel, The NightWatchman, by Louise Erdrich, portrays how tribe members lived and thrived together. Throughout the story, the tribe was given a Termination Bill from the United States government that stated many different claims, but the one that caught the eye of many was that the government would be taking away their land. The Turtle Mountain tribe tried to convince the U.S. government that the Termination Bill was bad for them and they were not treating them with respect or equality. The Termination Bill has many statements that negatively affect the tribe. The United States government crafted the bill with intelligent vocabulary in English and the majority of the tribe members do not speak fluent English. They struggled while reading and interpreting the bill, however, a tribe member and leader Thomas, was able to interpret the bill. Thomas stated, “in the newspapers,

Government occurred to help the tribe understand what the bill incorporates. Additionally, this meeting occurred so the tribe can try to convince the Government to not let the bill go through. A tribe member, Joyece Asiginak, states, “well, equal is not the way we see it. Our rights go down. So this bill does not suit me in any way. The government is backing out of its agreement. You left us on land that is too small a size and most of it cannot be farmed. The government should give more land back, not kick us off the leftovers” (Erdrich 197). The Indian tribe members are irritated with the Termination bill and attempt to communicate their thoughts with the Government. Additional members speak up with their concerns about the bill and they take a vote. Forty-seven people in attendance at the meeting voted against the bill and zero voted for the bill. As the meeting adjourned, the Government seemed displeased with their concerns and