"Everybody makes mistakes," said the Lone Ranger.
"Best not to make them with stories."
This quotation occurs early in the novel as the four Indian elders struggle to decide how to begin telling a story. The Lone Ranger tries beginning with the opening lines of the Judeo-Christian Bible, but the others stop him and explain the importance of beginning in the right way. Lone Ranger's false start symbolically reveals the way in which the history and traditions of Aboriginal peoples have been eclipsed by European traditions. Even the Lone Ranger, an Indian, is more familiar with a European, Christian tradition. Ishmael's response when Lone Ranger protests that everyone makes mistakes reveals the theme of the importance of narrative in shaping history and widespread perceptions. It is important not to make mistakes when telling stories, because these mistakes can give rise to prejudices and mistaken views, such as the idea that Aboriginal people lacked a rich history of cultural traditions prior to European contact and exposure to Christianity. The quotation is also an echo of the conversation Norma and Lionel are shown having in the prior scene where they discuss choosing a color for carpets and Norma explains that if you make a mistake when choosing a carpet, you have to live with the consequences for a long time. The echo implicitly suggests that the mistakes in historical narratives can also inflict long-standing and enduring damage.
That GOD fellow doesn't eat anything. He stands in the garden with his hands on his hips, so everybody can see he is angry.
Anybody who eats my stuff is going to be very sorry, says that GOD. There are rules, you know.
This quotation comes from the first creation story, and reveals how the novel satirizes the traditional Judeo-Christian story of creation. In the Book of Genesis, the Old Testament God punishes Adam and Eve for eating an apple after they were forbidden to do so. Here, the God figure also tries to control what First Woman and Ahdamn are eating, but this is presented as petty and silly. There is an abundance of food in the garden, and no reason for him to make them stop eating. His insistence on rules suggests he cares more about power and obedience than anything else. This quotation is therefore critical of how organized religions can impose arbitrary rules.
The quote is also significant because it shows a Western figure trying to lay claim to land and resources that are not his own. God is originally outside of the garden, and has no reason to believe that the food within it belongs to him. He, however, thinks he has the right to control who eats what. This behavior reflects how European settlers entered North America and laid claim to it, believing they could make rules and insist on having Aboriginal peoples follow them.
"Wait, wait, wait," says Coyote. "Who are those other people walking out the gate with the Lone Ranger?"
"We'll meet them later."
"But what happens to Ahdamn?"
"Who cares."
This dialogue happens at the end of the first creation story, when First Woman walks out of the prison having assumed the identity of the Lone Ranger, and meets up with the other elderly Indians. Here, Coyote's confusion reflects the confusion the reader is likely to be feeling. Coyote doesn't understand how the stories have fused together, or where the other characters have come from. What Coyote and the reader do not yet know is that the other creation stories, featuring the other elders, will all end up with them in Florida as well. This quotation reflects how stories can operate in cyclical and interconnected ways rather than as separate and linear narratives. It also shows how quickly figures like Coyote (and the reader) get used to assuming that there is a right way and a wrong way of doing things, and become disoriented when things are different from what they are expecting.
It is because Coyote is confused that the narrator decides to begin the story over again. As some critics have noted, the conversation between Coyote and the narrator reflects a student-teacher relationship in which "by listening to the story told by 'I'... Coyote is supposed to learn the art of storytelling so that he will eventually be able to tell the story himself" (Neuhaus 157).
The quotation is also important because it shows that Ahdamn is not considered to be important. Even though he is a Western male figure, he is not a central part of the narrative.
And you couldn't call them Indians. You had to remember their tribe, as if that made any difference, and when some smart college professor did come up with a really good name like Amerindian, the Indians didn't like it. Even Lionel and Charlie could get testy every so often, and they weren't really Indians anymore.
This quote shows the perspective of Bill Bursum, a non-Aboriginal Canadian, and illustrates his lack of understanding of why Aboriginal identity is important. Bursum uses the outdated term "Indian" and while other Native characters also sometimes use this word, it is clear that coming from a white character, it shows a lack of sensitivity.
Moreover, Bursum is aware that Aboriginal individuals tend to not like to be called Indians, but he sees this as an inconvenience rather than a valid desire. His lack of interest in distinguishing different groups shows that he thinks that all people of Native descent are basically the same, which is a common trope of racism. He also mentions that to him, Charlie and Lionel, who are educated and progressive, are "not really Indians" and this suggests that for Bill and many other White people, Native people are defined by a set of narrow and rigid stereotypes.
In the end, he had become what he had always been. An Indian. Not a particularly successful one at that. The cabin was hardly bigger than his office at the university. No electricity. No running water. A wood stove.
This quote reflects Eli thinking about his life and identity after having returned to the reservation. Even though he went through a long period of being out of contact with his family, and tried to distance himself from his cultural identity, he has now come back to where he started from. This reflects the theme of circularity in the novel, and returning to the beginning over and over again.
The quote also suggests that even though Eli has tried to create a new identity for himself through his professional success, what is ultimately most important to him is his connection to his history. The quote makes it clear that the cabin is not very comfortable, and that it is a far cry from living in a large city, but Eli chooses to live there because it connects him to his past and his sense of who he truly is.
As long as the grass is green and the waters run. It was a nice phrase all right. But it didn't mean anything. It was a metaphor.
This quote reflects Bursum's perspective that Aboriginal peoples are misunderstanding and misinterpreting their rights to land and natural resource access. Over a long period of history, various treaties were signed between Aboriginal peoples and colonial governments, and these treaties were often either misleading, or later abandoned or contested. The phrase "as long as the grass is green and the waters run" suggests that the terms reached in the treaty should endure forever, and also reflect a traditional Aboriginal perspective that the passage of time be defined by the continuity of the natural world, not by technological and industrial changes. For Bursum, to assume that things would stay the same or the promises would be kept indefinitely seems ridiculous, and he uses this as further evidence for his belief that Indians are stubborn and old-fashioned.
"Wait, wait," says Coyote. "When's my turn?"
"Coyotes don't get a turn," I says.
"In a democracy, everyone gets a turn," says Coyote.
"Nonsense," I says. "In a democracy, only people who can afford it get a turn."
This dialogue between Coyote and the narrator as they argue about whether or not Coyote will get a chance to tell a creation story reveals another way in which the text is critical of Western European traditions and values. Coyote repeats an idea that celebrates democracy as a tool for equality and justice, and explains why democracy is usually presented as one of the core values of Western societies. The narrator, however, is more cynical and does not believe that even within a democratic society, everyone is treated equally. The various stories and events in the novel make it clear that individuals of color, women, and people with less education and money are often very limited in their freedom and how much control they have over their lives. Even though Canada is a democracy, that does not automatically ensure that everyone who lives there is treated equally, and the narrator illustrates that perspective by correcting Coyote's naïve belief about what he is entitled to.
"Oh, no, grandson," said the Lone Ranger. "It's too big a job to fix it all at once. Even with all of us working together we can't do it."
This quotation is Lone Ranger's response to Lionel's question about whether the elders are going to fix the entire world. It reveals that the four elders understand their limitations and do not believe they can control everything. They are focused on making small changes instead, and content to do what they can without worrying about reshaping the entire world. This quote shows how the elders, who have lived for a long time and have experienced the ups and downs of history, have more patience and judgement than younger characters like Lionel. They know that large-scale changes to unjust systems take a long time, and indeed may not even be possible at all. As they later suggest, the world may be too messed up to ever be entirely corrected. However, they still are willing to make the change they can make. This quote is important because it responds to a common challenge to acting for greater justice and equality: if everything can't be fixed, why even bother at all? The quote suggests that those with the most wisdom and experience see the value of starting small and doing what you can, without being overwhelmed by how many problems the world has.
"Look," said Lionel, "maybe you should save a whale or something like that."
"Whales don't need help," said Ishmael.
"No," said Robinson Crusoe. "It's human beings that need help."
This dialogue takes place between Lionel and the elders when he learns that they plan to help him by fixing his life. Because he is operating largely from a Western mindset, Lionel is confused about the relationship between humans and the natural world. He ironically suggests that whales, which are huge, powerful creatures, are in need of human help. He also doesn't seem to realize that if whales are threatened, it is only because of human activity like hunting and pollution. If left alone, the natural world functions just fine and has no need for human intervention. As the elders point out, it is human beings who tend to create problems for themselves and for the world around them.
"Silly Coyote," I says. "There are good points, and there are bad points, but there are never all good points or all bad points."
This quote shows the narrator explaining a key idea to Coyote as they discuss the good and bad points of one of the creation stories. Coyote at first wants to classify things as either good or bad. This reflects a desire for clarity that many people share, and that comes up in the novel when characters try to make logical sense out of what is happening around them. The narrator, however, understands the deeper truth that reality is almost always ambiguous and messy, and that people and things are rarely entirely good or entirely bad. By pointing this out, the narrator reveals one the novel's key ideas, and a large part of the reason why hearing stories from different perspectives is important. The idea of the co-existence of good and bad points is also central to King's project of offering a broader representation of Aboriginal characters. As Gabriele Helms notes, "King's character portrayals reject the binary of the white 'imaginary Indian,' displacing the familiar stereotypes of Aboriginals as unemployed, rural folk with alcohol and drug problems; Aboriginal characters ... are neither demonized nor idealized" (114).
