Calling for a Blanket Dance

Everardo is Ever’s father. Born in Chihuahua, Mexico, to Mexican parents, he represents the strong tradition of intermarriage that exists between Mexican and Indigenous families, particularly in the US-Mexico borderlands and extending north into places like Oklahoma and Colorado. It is Everardo’s brutal beating at the hands of police officers in Mexico that in part triggers his son Ever’s anger, rage, and trauma, but it is also Everardo’s alcohol addiction and his own propensity for violence that damages his relationship with his wife and children.

Everardo’s alcohol addiction is one of his defining characteristics, and because it is such a key focal point within the novel’s early chapters, it initially seems as though alcohol is going to become a motif within the text. And yet, he does not pass this addiction on to his children. Although there are characters (such as Lonnie) who experience addiction, alcohol does not emerge as a thread that runs through the entire narrative. This is a profound rejection of stereotype on Hokeah’s part, and it serves as a reminder to readers that Indigenous identity is complex, varied, and that not all of the damaging stereotypes depicted in the media are representative of the many Indigenous communities that live in the United States and in Canada. And yet, it should be noted that his alcohol addiction does represent, for Turtle, the force of generational trauma: Her own father had an alcohol addiction, and Lena understands that because of this it is likely that her daughter will be drawn to the same kind of partner. Turtle, however, is able to free herself from Everardo, and in this way even Everardo’s alcohol addiction becomes a force that can be overcome, if not by Everardo himself, then by his wife and successive generations of his family, none of which will abuse/misuse alcohol.

It is much more Everardo’s violence that becomes a manifestation of generational trauma for Ever. Everardo’s violent outbursts not only scar his son, but they also unintentionally model for Ever an unhealthy stress response: As Everardo responds to stress and emotional triggers with violence, so too does Ever. Even as a young boy, Ever begins to redirect his inner pain outwards, and violence becomes his primary inheritance from his father. And yet, Ever will eventually overcome this violence. Like his mother, he inherits generational trauma, but he does not become a victim of it. He resists the negative forces that shaped him as a child and turns his life in a different direction.

Turtle is Ever’s mother. Although she narrates one of the story’s chapters, like Ever, much of what the reader learns about Turtle happens through description of her provided by other characters. Like her son, Turtle is a complex character. Although she has her own generational trauma, she is this text’s most overt exemplar of strength and resilience, and in this way embodies the theme of Resilience and Family Bonds. She is also firmly embedded within her family structure, and she does her best to be a loving presence, especially in the lives of her children.

Turtle’s father Vincent had an alcohol addiction, and although he ultimately commits to sobriety and dedicates himself to passing his cultural knowledge on to his grandchildren, during Turtle’s youth, he was not a positive presence. Readers understand that the legacy of such parenting is often, and certainly in Turtle’s case, the repetition of the mistakes of the previous generation: Although Turtle’s mother warns her not to marry Everardo (because of his own drinking), Turtle, having had no other example, falls into a relationship whose dysfunction in many ways resembles that of her parents’. The way that many of these characters repeat the same patterns that their parents did is one of this text’s most profound representations of generational trauma, and that Turtle finds herself drawn to a man whose faults so closely mirror her father’s illustrates for readers the difficulty of breaking unhealthy patterns.

Turtle also becomes (along with her son Ever) one of the faces of resilience in this novel. Turtle is introduced through her unhealthy relationship with Everardo, but readers also learn early on that Turtle has managed to find a job outside of the poorly paying and exploitive agricultural industry that is the sole option for many members of her Indigenous community. She has a strong work ethic, is intelligent, is responsible, and secures a position for herself at a local department store. Because of that job, she successfully applies for a home loan, and is able to purchase a house for her family. Readers do learn in successive chapters that she has lost the house and is now living in a rented trailer, but she never gives up her dream of stability and home ownership, and as the novel progresses, she inches closer and closer to those goals. Ultimately, it is clear that Turtle will escape the trap of generational poverty, and it should be additionally noted that she does so largely through her own efforts and commitment to providing the best life that she can for her children.

Although it is Turtle’s will, strength of character, and work ethic that help her to help herself, Turtle also embodies this novel’s interest in representing the importance of strong family bonds. Turtle, although she is in many ways working against the trauma that Everardo has inflicted on her children, Ever in particular, is a loving family member with close ties to her mother, her children, and the other members of her extended family. She is forgiving (even when forgiveness is perhaps not warranted, as in the case of her daughter-in-law Lonnie), and her focus is always on her family. She wants what is best for her children Sissy and Ever, and although it is her marriage that causes generational trauma to be passed down, especially to Ever, she also provides him with the tools to escape that trauma: Ever succeeds in part because of the work ethic passed down to him by Turtle, but more so (especially in a world which does not consistently reward the working poor for their hard work) because of his commitment to others. It is through helping his family and his community to heal that Ever heals himself, and this is a quality that was modeled to him by his mother Turtle.

Leander is Ever’s adopted son, and like so many of the other characters in this novel whose thematic structure is so closely tied to community and characterization, he embodies several of the text’s key themes. Leander is, like Ever, a representation of Generational Trauma. And yet, because he (with substantial help from Ever) is able to find inner strength and heal his emotional wounds, he also becomes one of the faces of Resilience and Family Bonds. And, like Ever, he grows and develops as a person. His Identity Development is (also like Ever) tied to the way that he helps his family and his community to heal.

Leander’s childhood was marred by trauma, abuse, and poverty. By the time Ever meets him in a program for at-risk youth, Leander’s anger and pain have long since begun to manifest as violence, and he has already had multiple run-ins with the police. Ever sees much of himself in Leander, for the two share a particular kind of anger that is born in trauma that neither Leander nor Ever completely understand. They do not know why they are so angry. They just know that their response to stress, difficult situations, and emotional triggers is violence. Where many others look at Leander and see a problem, a repeat offender, Ever sees a young man in pain. Helping Leander navigate his emotions and find a stress response other than violence will be a key focal point in the early years of their relationship.

Leander is a gifted artist, and Ever encourages him to pick up a pen and paper and draw when he feels rage coming on, and, albeit with a few setbacks, this method works for Leander. He draws cars, his neighborhood, the people he sees. Leander is not only a talented artist but a keen observer of his community. Readers get the sense that part of his healing process is a kind of reflection born out of the observation and recognition of the world he lives in. Journaling is a common therapeutic technique, but for Leander healing happens through visual art rather than through writing. Ever encourages him in this process and continues to encourage him when he falters and falls back on violence as a coping mechanism, withdraws emotionally, or struggles to move away from the unhealthy patterns that had defined not only his own life, but the lives of his parents and other family members.

Although drawing becomes a large part of Leander’s healing process, he ultimately continues to heal himself through the role that he plays in helping to heal others, most notably Ever’s own children. Lonnie, the mother of Ever’s children, has experienced addiction for much of her life. Although the children spent much of their youth without their mother, their early days with her coupled with years of complete absence from their lives has become a source of trauma in the children. Like their father, they engage in both outwardly directed violence and in self-harm. Leander patiently works with Ever’s children, using many of the techniques (and all of the patience, non-judgement, and acceptance) that Ever used when helping him. Like Ever, Leander illustrates the deep connection that the healing process has to both family and community. And like Ever, Leander becomes a character who, although initially associated with generational trauma, violence, and pain, comes to embody healing, family, community, and resilience.