Reservation Blues

Victor, the guitar player for Coyote Springs, is one of the more complex characters in the book. Like all the characters, Victor struggles with poverty, having not bought new clothing since the ‘70s. Before joining Coyote Springs, Victor lives mainly by taking advantage of his friend Junior, who has a job. Victor is an alcoholic and bully. He is quick to anger and is always insulting and fighting others. Despite Victor’s cruel behavior, Junior and Thomas frequently defend Victor, citing the hardships he has faced and his loyalty to his friends. Victor had a difficult family life and was abused by a priest as a child. Although he does not always show it, Victor cares very deeply for his friends, especially for his best friend, Junior.  

When Victor picks up Johnson’s guitar and joins Coyote Springs, it is perhaps the only time in his life that he has been good at something. Whether due to the magic of the guitar or to his own talent, Victor’s guitar playing is very good, and much of the band’s success can be attributed to his skill. The band shows Victor a possible future, and when the record executives crush that dream, he is furious. After Junior’s suicide, Victor is even further devastated. Initially, however, it seems as though Victor is going to use Junior’s death as the inspiration to turn his life around. He vows to quit drinking and get a job. When the tribal council leader refuses to help him find employment, Victor’s resolve snaps. At the end of the novel, he is wandering around the reservation, drinking himself to death. It is as though he has finally been broken by all the difficulties he has faced.

Junior is Victor’s best friend and the drummer for Coyote Springs. Before joining the band, Junior is lucky enough to have one of the few jobs on the reservation, delivering water to drought-stricken areas. Despite holding a steady job, Junior also struggles with alcoholism. His parents were both alcoholics who died in a car crash. When he was younger, Junior left the reservation to go to college. There, he dated a white woman who got pregnant and refused to marry Junior because he was Indian. In his wallet, Victor carries a note from her telling him that she has had an abortion and will not see him again. When Coyote Springs returns to the reservation after failing to get a record contract, Junior commits suicide.  Though Junior’s emotional state is more subtly shown than other characters’, after his death his ghost returns to talk to Victor. He explains that he killed himself because he had nothing to believe in.

Chess and Checkers are sisters from the nearby Flathead Indian Reservation who join the band as singers and keyboard players. Their real names are Eunice and Gladys, but they prefer to use their nicknames. The girls grew up in extreme poverty, living through brutal Montana winters. Music was an important part of their household, and both girls sang in their Catholic church’s choir. During one harsh winter, their baby brother, Backgammon, died. After his death, their mother left, and their father began drinking heavily. 

The girls are known on the reservation for their beauty, especially Checkers. Although Checkers receives lots of male attention, she is only interested in dating older men. Checkers has a complicated relationship with men in general, and there are hints that she was sexually abused by her father. Over the course of the book, Checkers falls in love with Father Arnold. Her feelings are complicated by her strong religious faith, which, at one point, causes her to quit the band and focus on the church choir instead. 

Much of the novel’s discussion of gender roles and the role of race in relationships comes through Chess and Checkers. The girls both believe strongly that Indian men should date Indian women, not chase after white women. Chess, the older sister, begins a relationship with Thomas, who shares many of her values and beliefs. At the end of the book, Chess and Thomas decide get married and have children.

Big Mom, a deity-like figure of protection and care, lives in a blue house at the top of Wellpinit Mountain. She has been alive for centuries and has experienced many historical events important to the Indian people. Big Mom believes strongly in the power of music to heal and effect change, and she has taught many of history’s most famous and influential musicians. Big Mom is often used to represent Indian traditions and religions.

Father Arnold is the white Catholic priest on the reservation. He is a supportive and accepting person who wants to help his Indian parishioners. Coyote Springs reminds him of his younger days, when he played in a band before joining the clergy. Father Arnold has a crisis of faith when he begins to have feelings for Checkers, but he ultimately stays with the Church.

Sheridan and Wright appear in the novel in two different iterations. First, they are the US generals responsible for killing many Indians in the 1800s. As these generals, they haunt the characters’ nightmares. Later in the book, they appear as the record executives who take advantage of Coyote Springs. At the end, Wright appears to have changed, finally feeling remorse for his treatment of the Indians. He apologizes to the band and leaves the record company. Sheridan, however, remains unchanged.