Anton Treuer, author of Where Wolves Don’t Die
Young Adult Literature Category
Each week leading up to the 37th annual Minnesota Book Awards, we are featuring exclusive interviews with our finalists. You can also watch the authors in conversation with their fellow category finalists here.
What inspired you to write this book – or inspired you while writing it?
I have nine children and we have been launching a teenager every couple of years for the past decade. I think about parenting, coming of age, and the recent passing of my own parents often. I also teach our tribal language, Ojibwe, and officiate at many of our traditional ceremonies. My life has been filled with young people and elders and the rich tapestry of our ceremonial culture with one foot in the northwoods and another in my academic work. Writing Where Wolves Don’t Die didn’t require me to imagine Indigenous culture or Native places. It provided an opportunity for me to open a window for the reader to get an authentic view of our universe.
What is one detail you wanted to include in this book, but couldn’t find a place for?
Where Wolves Don’t Die is a both a coming of age story and a thriller. I had a storm sequence that I cut in order to keep the plotline tension moving along.
Tell us about someone (whose name isn’t on the cover!) who proved instrumental to the creation of this book.
This is a work of fiction, but I did draw upon life experiences of my own. I went to a summer camp and experienced racial bullying and the failure of staff to intervene. I lost my mother, but as an adult rather than a teenager. I have also been parenting my own nine children through coming of age. My son, Evan, who graduates from high school this spring has been on my mind especially during the writing of this book. I have two kids still at home and the rest have become adults. I have also spent a lot time with my elders, and the characters of Grandpa Liam and Grandma Emma feature prominently in the work.
Please tell us something about yourself that is not widely known. (It doesn’t have to be about the book in question – or even about your writing at all!)
I love to sing.
Share your thoughts about the role and value of libraries.
There are 10,000 books banned in American schools. We need you more than ever before!
Anton Treuer is Professor of Ojibwe at Bemidji State University and author of many books. He has sat on many organizational boards and has received more than 40 prestigious awards and fellowships. He is building an Ojibwe teacher training program at Bemidji State University.