The Only Good Indians

I don’t often read horror but once in a while I find stories that make me curious. The Only Good Indians is one of those books. I haven’t read a lot of books about Aboriginal culture and I thought this would be a good book to broaden my understanding. Take a look at the synopsis and I will tell you more.

A tale of revenge, cultural identity, and the cost of breaking from tradition in this latest novel from the Jordan Peele of horror literature, Stephen Graham Jones.

Seamlessly blending classic horror and a dramatic narrative with sharp social commentary, The Only Good Indians follows four American Indian men after a disturbing event from their youth puts them in a desperate struggle for their lives. Tracked by an entity bent on revenge, these childhood friends are helpless as the culture and traditions they left behind catch up to them in a violent, vengeful way.

Content Notes: Gore, Animal hunting and abuse, Compulsive alcohol use.

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Themes for Thought

The Only Good Indians is an eerie novel about four friends Lewis, Gab, Cass and Ricky. Ten years ago, they put down a huge herd of elks – illegal hunting. They were not supposed to be hunting in that territory (it was reserved for Elders of the Reservation) and in the midst of their blood lust, they killed a young pregnant elk. Can you guess what’s coming to haunt them?

In the ten years that have passed (the book does address why now?), all four of them have been banned from hunting. They have thought about that night and felt remorseful for it to varying degrees but that is not enough. The story is divided into four parts, depicting the revenge that an Elk spirit extracts on each of the men, sometimes driving them to madness, eradicating the people they are close to, similar to how her own family was killed during the mad hunt. It was kind of like the movie It Follows at times.

On Elks

Elks play an integral role in the Native American culture. For some tribes they symbolize protectors of women and are also used as clan animals in some Native American cultures. See this page for more information.

One of the stories that Gab tells his daughter in this book is about the collective memory of Elks. There are also mentions of the fact that elks no longer visit the area where the massacre had taken place. I think that story plays an important role in understanding this book that animals do not forget the wrong that is done to them. Lewis realizes when he seeing the elks he and his friends have butchered that what they did was very wrong, with regards to one elk calf in particular. He tried to treat its death with dignity and care but it is a mistake that haunts him throughout his life.

While the book starts off with sightings of elks in odd places like by a bar, I was not expecting the transformation into a human to take place into this book. The narrative also changes to second person where the writer is talking directly to the Elk Woman, making this even more creepy.

For them, ten years ago, that’s another lifetime. For you it’s yesterday.

From the Advanced Reader Copy

On Internalized Perceptions of Native Indians

I found it interesting that Lewis often talks in headlines. “Indian dies over brawl at the bar” is one of the examples of how the media portrays Native Indians and how this is woven into their thinking about themselves. There are talks about escaping the reservation. Gab’s daughters both play team sports and the kinds of chants that take place during these matches, disregarding the talent and hard work that the Indians put into the sport, is quite eye-opening and blends into Gab’s younger daughter Den’s thinking. The social commentary is unmistakable.

On the Title

According to Wolfgang Mieder, writing in The Journal of American Folklore in 1993:

There exist numerous stereotypes and slurs against Native Americans, but the proverb “The only good Indian is a dead Indian” is a particularly hateful invective. It has been in use in the United States since the 1860s, and General Philip Sheridan has repeatedly been named as its originator.

Abstract of Mieder’s paper

The proverb has been analyzed for its history and dissemination. Up until 1993 (time of publication of this paper) it was used with high frequency in American literature and the mass media. I am unsure about the timeline in which The Only Good Indians is set but it does reinforce the use of such slurs, especially once Den is introduced to the reader.

The Only Good Indians is a story of revenge and just like they killed the elks, the elks come back for the hunters. It is a full circle and I suspect that their deaths and suffering atone for what the elks went through. In that regard, they become good Indians – that is my interpretation.

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This is the spookiest novel I have read in a long time. Addressing themes of animal hunting, cultural perceptions about the Native Indians community in United States and how these have gotten engraved in the community itself, The Only Good Indians is a thought provoking book about the choices we make in the heat of passion and the consequences we never see coming. I enjoyed it because it was unique in its approach and would highly recommend it if you are looking for a book to open your horizons about cultures, both human and animal, and how they are intertwined.

** The Only Good Indians is available for preorder and will be released July 14, 2020. **
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Many thanks to the publisher for making this book available to me through NetGalley.

Cover image: Photo by Pascal Meier on Unsplash