Author's Afterword from the Novel
The Dream Singer story has been with me for many years. It evolved from a relatively simple idea sparked by two magazine stories I wrote about riding freight trains across the country and through the Pacific Northwest. Originally, it was a simple murder mystery, but morphed through numerous versions into the story of the life of Elijah McCloud, born of parents he never knew—a white father and a Modoc Indian mother, a member of a small, obscure tribe who once lived in the shadow of Mt. Shasta in northeastern California.
As the story evolved, I became increasingly cognizant that it ultimately might be very controversial. Not necessarily for the story, but because of the fact that I am white telling a story through the eyes of a Native American. Examples abound throughout American literature of authors crossing racial lines, igniting intense controversy—sometimes justified, sometimes not.
There are inherent risks in writers crossing such lines, most especially in this country when it involves a white author. Not only are there historic provocations for this, ranging from racial stereotyping to exploitation and worse, but also because of writers being susceptible to the cultural myopia of “white privilege”—despite the best of intentions.
I believe writers should have the liberty to write about whatever interests and engages them. The story of Elijah McCloud and his Modoc heritage grew to have immense fascination to me. The more I researched Modoc history, the more I felt that the frame of this story had never been adequately told. The challenge for me was to be as vigilant as possible in questioning my cultural assumptions, and in guarding against succumbing to racial stereotyping.
If Dream Singer sparks controversy, my hope is that it will also spur earnest discussion of issues around how Native Americans have been—and continue to be—treated and regarded in America. It is one of the most disturbing and tragic—and enduring—legacies in our history.
As the story evolved, I became increasingly cognizant that it ultimately might be very controversial. Not necessarily for the story, but because of the fact that I am white telling a story through the eyes of a Native American. Examples abound throughout American literature of authors crossing racial lines, igniting intense controversy—sometimes justified, sometimes not.
There are inherent risks in writers crossing such lines, most especially in this country when it involves a white author. Not only are there historic provocations for this, ranging from racial stereotyping to exploitation and worse, but also because of writers being susceptible to the cultural myopia of “white privilege”—despite the best of intentions.
I believe writers should have the liberty to write about whatever interests and engages them. The story of Elijah McCloud and his Modoc heritage grew to have immense fascination to me. The more I researched Modoc history, the more I felt that the frame of this story had never been adequately told. The challenge for me was to be as vigilant as possible in questioning my cultural assumptions, and in guarding against succumbing to racial stereotyping.
If Dream Singer sparks controversy, my hope is that it will also spur earnest discussion of issues around how Native Americans have been—and continue to be—treated and regarded in America. It is one of the most disturbing and tragic—and enduring—legacies in our history.