48 pages • 1 hour read
Keeper'n Me
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Book 3Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Book 3: “Soo-Wanee-Quay”
Book 3, Pages 163-190 Summary
Keeper explains that the drum is “the heartbeat of Mother Earth” and connects people to the “universal heartbeat” (163). It urges them to respect and remember female power, which sustains life like the Earth does. Each person carries two gifts inside them, their mother’s and their father’s. The main principles of an Indigenous way of life are simplicity and balance, and the drum is a reminder of that value.
Garnet feels bored and recalls the fact-paced living of the city. He feels torn, thinking that one part of himself is reconnecting to Ojibwe culture, while the other, “scared” part longs for the outside world. To bring modern energy to the community, he tells Wally that they could start a radio station, since radio is a big part of their entertainment as a community. Wally becomes excited and spreads the word.
The community starts preparing the White Dog One Network Radio. Keeper is suspicious, saying that they will have things to learn. Wally, who proclaims himself the station’s manager, makes the big announcement, saying that every household will have their own radio for $5 a month. Everybody is excited about the start of the radio network that will bring the modern world in the community.
Keeper tells Garnet that “things gotta come slow” so that people can find balance (184). He compares finding balance to how an eagle learns to fly, saying that it needs time and work. Keeper understands that Garnet feels lost again and tells him that he must find balance between the Ojibwe and the outside world.
Book 3, Pages 191-222 Summary
Wally excitedly announces that the station will only be playing records and he will be singing between each one. Everybody in the reserve becomes furious, and they rush to Wally’s, ready for a fight. Keeper intervenes to calm them. Many are disappointed. Keeper suggests that the whole community could contribute for the radio, and if they work well, they may get support from the government for a real radio station. Everybody calms down and they regain hope. After this event, the radio station becomes a success and “a tool for the community” (194). Soon, Garnet starts to “slow down,” realizing what Keeper means about balance.
Keeper emphasizes that change is an essential part of the world. History made Indigenous people scared of change. Keeper supports change but notes that the community will survive finding balance by “moving” between two different worlds. Culture is a way of life and the Ojibwe can exist anywhere in the contemporary world, carrying their traditional values.
Garnet attends the tribe’s annual pow-wow, and the radio instigates a funny event in the community. Wally forgets to turn off the microphones, and everybody listens to his lovemaking with a woman. Everybody laughs even more when the woman’s father, a visiting chief in the pow-wow, starts chasing Wally down the road.
Garnet forms a new habit: going out in the lake alone on his boat. He spends several evenings there admiring the magical blue color of the sky. He feels that he becomes part of the universe. He thinks of Keeper’s teachings, which begin to change him. Being in the lake helps Garnet to find inner peace. One night in the lake, Garnet hears a drum and an unknown voice from afar singing the phrase “Soo-wanee-quay.” Keeper explains that the word relates to female power.
Keeper notes that Garnet is also a guide for him, as his curiosity about Ojibwe teachings reminded him of what Harold taught him. He recalls a story that Harold told him about the importance of being connected to one’s inner self. He notes that Garnet has started to do the same and always returns wanting to learn more.
Book 3 Analysis
Wagamese uses the motif of balance to explore gender in this section. For Keeper, finding balance is key to the restoration of the self, and balance is hinged upon equality between males and females. People carry “two gifts” inside them, “[t]he gifts of the father an’ gifts of the mother” (166). Realizing “the power of the female to give life” is key to reconnecting to the natural world and finding inner balance (166). By linking balance to gender equality, Wagamese links misogyny to colonial oppression, suggesting that resisting one also resists the other.
Even though Garnet has found a sense of belonging, the influence of white culture is still evident in him. He becomes accustomed to the simplicity of Ojibwe life but part of him still desires “the flash and motion of the world” (169). Wagamese uses the onomatopoeia of “flash” to mimic the dynamism of the world that Garnet misses to emphasize his attraction to it. However, the introduction of the radio network in the community indicates how Indigenous people can adopt modern technology without losing their culture. From the start, Keeper tries to show everyone how the radio can be adopted to help the community and not just as a mimicry of the white world. As Wally’s individual management of the network does not work, Keeper encourages everybody’s participation and stresses to Garnet that people need time “to find balance with it” (184). Ultimately, the radio became “a tool for the community” as they all participate and use it as a means of communication with the whole tribe (194). The radio comes to represent the potential for modernization without the harm of colonialism.
Keeper provides a different perspective on change within Indigenous communities, extending the theme of The Impact of Colonialism on Indigenous Tradition. Colonialism brought monumental and traumatic transformations in all aspects of Indigenous life and made people afraid of change. For Keeper, though, change must equal balance, not loss. He notes that “change is the biggest law of nature” (196), suggesting its inevitability. Wagamese hence suggests that Indigenous people must adopt change without losing their identity and culture. They need to carry the traditional teaching with them and incorporate them into their daily lives, and in this way, they will always know who they are.
The theme of The Power of Nature and Being Connected to the Land becomes evident in Keeper’s teachings. To illustrate his point about finding balance with the radio to Garnet, Keeper explains how eagles learn to fly. To reach the freedom of flying, eagles strive to learn how “to see an’ feel” (185). Like eagles, people need time to learn a balanced living. This theme recurs as Garnet begins to feel connected to the natural world and spends nights at the lake alone without Keeper’s guidance. Being in nature is crucial for Garnet’s characterization and reinforces his inner transformation, helping him “balance [his] insides” (212). Nature helps Garnet reconnect with his inner self and completes his sense of belonging.
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By Richard Wagamese
