Kent Nerburn takes a sensitive look at the communication gap between two cultures in Neither Wolf nor Dog.
Kent Nerburn, a native of northern Minnesota and a doctor of religion/theology and art, has made a name for himself by his diligent efforts to sensitively navigate the communication gap between Native American and white cultures. Neither Wolf nor Dog is only one of several published books that are geared towards understanding Native American culture and conveying that understanding to readers.
The story is based on Nerburn’s own experience. A reader might relate to the conflicting curiosity and nervous restraint that Nerburn’s character frequently displays when interacting with the two Native Americans, Dan and Grover, who have made it their mission to teach him about their culture.
Struggling to set aside his own perspective and understand the world through the eyes of his mentors, Nerburn fights against anger and frustration while also trying to remain respectful. Crossing the communication gap is no easy task for any of them.
“Neither Wolf nor Dog is a teaching story,” Nerburn explains. “By walking the non-Native reader into Native culture and handing them over to the Native people and point of view, I was able to give voice to both the non-Native curiosity and confusion about the Native world, and the Native understanding of life.”
As Nerburn tries to understand his mentors’ teaching, he is forced to confront and set aside his own assumptions, which, though he recognizes them as mistaken, tend to stand in the way of understanding. While Nerburn recognizes the portrayal of Natives in media are offensive to his mentors, he is mistaken as to why.
“That’s the way it is, Nerburn,” Grover explains. “White people don’t want real Indians, they want storybook Indians.”
According to Grover, the Natives in media do not reflect the true culture, and Nerburn’s mentors explain that they never saw the Native’s portrayed in film as being representative of themselves. However, other cultures did and imposed those expectations on the Natives they encountered.
“When we were kids we didn’t see a lot of white kids. Those we saw were just like us,” Dan explains to Nerburn. “Their folks might have had it better than our folks, but the kids seemed just the same. We never thought of ourselves as any different. Cowboys and Indians was just a game, like cops and robbers. It didn’t have anything to do with our real lives.”
As the book progresses, Nerburn finds himself fighting against his own impulses and point of view in an effort to understand the world from Dan’s perspective.
The idea of making Neither Wolf nor Dog into a movie has been tossed around since 1995, being picked up by a few potential producers and passed around. Finally, it fell into the hands of a small, independent director, Steven Lewis Simpson. At that point, the production began to move forward.
“I met him on the Pine Ridge reservation in South Dakota,” Nerburn explained. “It immediately became apparent that he understood the reservation and had a sensitivity to the subject matter. Though he was not well known, he could be trusted to treat the material respectfully and not make it into a film where the white actor became the star.”
Nerburn went on to express how pleased he was with how well the book has been turned into a movie. By virtue of the extreme difference between film and novel, the story had to be condensed and edited to bring it down to size.
In spite of the changes, however, Nerburn noted that the heart of the story is conveyed in the film.
“Ultimately, the magic of the movie is the man who plays Dan. His name is Dave Bald Eagle and he is 95 years old,” said Nerburn. “He is a luminous presence who brings the story alive. We are blessed to have found him. By his sheer presence he gives the book a new dimension of meaning because he allows the viewer to see the heart of a true Lakota elder. That, alone, makes the film special. You will never get a more authentic look into a Native heart.”
Although an exact date for the movie release is yet to be announced, efforts are being made to get it to distributors and film festivals.
Nerburn will also be coming to Grand Marais on February 24. Stop by the library from 6-8:00 p.m. to meet the author of Neither Wolf nor Dog and many others.
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