American Indian Stories · Chapter
The Devil explained
The narrator recalls being told legends of evil spirits by old warriors, but never hearing of a chief among them who opposed the Great Spirit until a white woman showed her a picture of the devil from a large book.
What happens
The narrator recalls being told legends of evil spirits by old warriors, but never hearing of a chief among them who opposed the Great Spirit until a white woman showed her a picture of the devil from a large book. Terrified by the image, she dreams that the devil chases her around her mother's stove while her mother and a visitor remain indifferent. She wakes as her mother lifts her onto her lap, and the next morning she takes revenge by scratching out the devil's eyes in the Bible storybook.
Themes in this chapter
Spirituality vs. Christianity
The chapter contrasts traditional Dakota beliefs about evil spirits with the white man's concept of a singular devil, highlighting the clash between Indigenous spirituality and Christian teachings.
Colonial Violence and Injustice
The use of the devil figure to frighten and control Native children at school exemplifies the psychological violence of colonial education.
Resistance and Resilience
The narrator's defiant act of scratching out the devil's eyes in the Bible demonstrates a small but powerful act of resistance against the imposed Christian narrative.
Characters to notice
- Mother
Appears in the narrator's dream, sitting quietly by the stove as the devil chases her daughter, then lifts the narrator onto her lap, causing the devil to vanish.
- The Great Spirit
Referenced as the supreme spirit against whom the white man's devil dares to array his forces.
Key passages
“I never knew there was an insolent chieftain among the bad spirits, who dared to array his forces against the Great Spirit, until I heard this white man's legend from a paleface woman.”
I had no idea that the bad spirits had a leader who opposed the Great Spirit until a white woman told me the Christian story.
Introduces the narrator's first encounter with the Christian concept of the devil as a rebellious chief.
“I trembled with awe, and my heart throbbed in my throat, as I looked at the king of evil spirits.”
I shook with fear and my heart pounded as I stared at the ruler of evil spirits.
Describes the narrator's intense fear upon seeing the devil's picture.
“Then I heard the paleface woman say that this terrible creature roamed loose in the world, and that little girls who disobeyed school regulations were to be tortured by him.”
The white woman said the devil wandered the earth and would torment girls who broke school rules.
Reveals how the devil was used as a threat to enforce obedience at the boarding school.
“On the following morning I took my revenge upon the devil. Stealing into the room where a wall of shelves was filled with books, I drew forth The Stories of the Bible. With a broken slate pencil I carried in my apron pocket, I began by scratching out his wicked eyes.”
The next day I got back at the devil. I snuck into the room with the bookshelves, took out a Bible storybook, and used a broken pencil from my pocket to scratch out his evil eyes.
Shows the narrator's quiet rebellion against the Christian imagery that frightened her.