A Review of Ben Mikaelsen's TOUCHING SPIRIT BEAR
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SEPTEMBER 20, 2006
American society loves to love Indians and things-Indian. Or rather, things they think are Indian. There’s a long history of exploiting our ways of being. Touching Spirit Bear is another example of that exploitation. You don’t have to buy or read it. There are better books available. To find them, visit the Oyate website.
[Note: This review is used here with permission of the author, Beverly Slapin. It may not be published elsewhere without her written permission.]
For centuries, restorative justice or circle justice has been practiced in one form or another by many Indian communities. The object is to restore the wellbeing of the victim or the victim’s family, rather than to punish the offender. This is done through a multi-step talking-circle approach, in which the people most affected by the crime, along with community representatives, come together to heal and to try to agree on a fair and reasonable settlement. The sentencing plan involves commitment by the community, family members, and the offender. In 1996, a pilot circle justice project, in conjunction with the criminal justice system, was initiated in
In Touching Spirit Bear, Cole Matthews is an angry, out-of-control
Ben Mikaelsen’s writing, in places, is evocative and a dead-on accurate portrayal of a troubled teen. After the bear near-fatally mauls Cole, there are excruciatingly detailed descriptions of his struggles to survive by eating worms and bugs, a live mouse and even his own vomit. With broken ribs, legs and an arm, and too weak to get up, he defecates in his pants, and fights to stay alive. It is during this time that Cole begins to understand his vulnerability and his relationship to everything that surrounds him. It is here that his transformation begins.
All of this having been said, Touching Spirit Bear is fatally flawed by Mikaelsen’s inexcusable playing around with Tlingit culture, cosmology and ritual; and his abysmal lack of understanding of traditional banishment. It is obvious that what he doesn’t know, he invents. Edwin, the Tlingit elder, instructs Cole to: jump into the icy cold water and stay there as long as possible; pick up a heavy rock (called the “ancestor rock”) and carry it to the top of a hill; push the rock (now called the “anger rock”) back down the hill; watch for animals and dance around the fire to impersonate the animal he sees (called the “bear dance,” “bird dance,” “mouse dance,” etc.); announce what he’s learned about the characteristics of that animal from his dance; and finally, carve that animal on his own personal “totem pole.”
This is all garbage. The purpose of banishment is to isolate a person so that, in solitude, he can think deeply about his life and relations, and prepare to rejoin his community. When someone is banished, he is left to learn on his own whatever is to be learned. It is not about white boys “playing Indian.” It is not about teaching white boys the rituals of another culture. And most especially, it is not about carrying rocks up a hill and performing a bunch of stupid cross-cultural animal impersonation dances.
The author’s own relationship with bears and his supposed almost-close-enough-to-touch encounter with a “three-hundred-pound male Spirit Bear” notwithstanding, Touching Spirit Bear is a terrible book.
—Beverly Slapin
[Update, 5/7/2008: Please read further information about Touching Spirit Bear here and at the links at the very bottom of this page.]
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8 comments:
I can totally understand the focus of the Native American critique of Touching Spirit Bear as violating some of the precepts of the Native American Culture. Still, with that in mind, "Touching Spirit Bear" is the most powerful adolescent novels dealing with teenage anger and hostility. If this novel has even helped one teenager ridden with angst, it makes this book a giant success. Ben Mikaelson's writing style carries tremendous power and self-reflection. Though this book has some flaws in its depiction of the Tinglit culture, it is a must read for so many!
I believe you have misunderstood the purpose of the book. It is a powerful book rich in figurative language. Cole IS NOT a white boy playing Indian nor does Mikaelsen pretend to know all about the Tlingit culture. He uses what he has learned from his research to portray a troubled teen's journey toward freedom from anger and despair. He never totally achieves that freedom in this book, and that is intentional for one never really totally loses anger. As Mikaelsen shows, it's all in how we look at life. Shouldn't we all take and savor life one day at a time. Or, did you miss that message?
I was sadden to read the negative comment about this book. I've used this book for 9th graders for two years. Each year it has had a positive impact on more than one student. I take my time reading it to them,allowing them time to reflect on their own lives. We all realize I think that this is book of fiction, based on some facts...but with many great truths about life and identity. CS, Jacksonville FL
Personally, I thought this was a great book. It really doesn't matter if the author follows all of the Native customs and rituals, it matters if the author can portray his message. And he completely did that. You should have seen that this was a book that has a lot to teach everyone.
I personally though the whole thing was just horribly written. Good if it's helped some people, but I was not impressed with any aspect of the characterization or prose.
I generally struggle with books written about a culture by those who are` not part of that culture. I know very little about the Native American culture, and therefore don't know what is accurate or not. That said, I hate this book. It is so poorly written to be almost laughable. The characters are`poorly developed, the plotline makes little sense. As I read, I kept thinking, "this is stupid". As a Young Adult Librarian, I read many many books for teens. I can't imagine this book speaking to troubled teens in any way. Bear, on the other hand, may enjoy it.
I am a 7th grade English teacher and my Pre-AP classes are reading Touching Spirit Bear currently. It is a FICTION book and I may need to be corrected but fiction rarely is exact when it comes to facts. I can tell you this.... my students are so captivated by Cole's story and have been able to relate to him so easily. I will continue to teach using this book but I am sad to hear the negative comments about it. Something students can do is research the Tlingit people and then compare their research to the story, then you can have a conversation about fact and fiction!
I am horrified by this book. I am reading this book with my 11 year old son who has been assign this book in class and has been complaining that he is getting sick every time he reads from it. Thinking this was just his way of getting out of reading, I took it upon my self to read with him. After reading Chapters 8-12, I ended up in the bathroom with dry heaves.
I have never read such morbid literature before, shame on any one for thinking this is what an 11 year old should be reading.
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