The Northern Lights by Joy Harjo

First published: 1991

Type of plot: Psychological

Time of work: The 1970's and 1980's

Locale: Ashland, Wisconsin and Vietnam

Principal Characters:

• Whirling Soldier, a Native American Vietnam War veteran
• His father, an alcoholic who drowned
• His mother, the pillar of the family
• His daughter, a recovered alcoholic
• The narrator, who meets Whirling Soldier at a powwow

The Story

The story of Whirling Soldier, a Vietnam veteran and Native American, unfolds through a series of flashbacks, alternating between his war experience, his childhood, and his life after he is discharged from the military. As an unnamed narrator relates the story's beginning and end, the body of the story comprises a series of images that reveal the psychological and spiritual decline and subsequent recovery of Whirling Soldier.

The narrator meets Whirling Soldier at a traditional Native American powwow held on the shores of Lake Superior. In contrast to the natural phenomenon of the northern lights that blaze across the sky, the powwow takes place under the garish electrical lights of an auditorium. From his physical appearance it is apparent that Whirling Soldier still suffers the psychological trauma of war. However, despite his suffering, his attendance at the powwow demonstrates that he has reintegrated into the Indian community. The narrator and Whirling Soldier engage in small talk and look on proudly as the latter's niece and eighteen-year-old daughter, a recovering alcoholic, dance joyfully before their relatives.

Whirling Soldier confides to the narrator that he has suffered much pain because of his war experience and because of his father's death. Memories of his Vietnam experiences intertwine with those of his childhood. His first Vietnam memory is sparked by the appearance of the northern lights on the night of the powwow: At one moment during the war, he and a white companion take cover in a ditch. Gunfire from an unseen enemy reminds him of the northern lights. In his confusion, he cannot tell whether the gunfire originates with his ditchmate or with the enemy Viet Cong.

Whirling Soldier's confusion concerning the enemy gunfire is symptomatic of a deeper cultural conflict. The Vietnam War—which was orchestrated by white men in Washington—violated the "warrior code" with which he was brought up. He was disturbed by the wailing of children that the war left fatherless. In his own culture, the conquerors would have cared for the orphans. The distress of the children brings to mind events from his own childhood. Although he grew up in a poor family, his parents did the best they could to provide for their children. He fondly remembers his mother cooking breakfast for him and his sisters and days when he skipped school in order to be with his father. Images of Whirling Soldier's father frequently come to his mind as he fights in Vietnam. He remembers how his father got drunk while ice-fishing and drowned in an ice-covered lake. The image of his father's death haunts him as he daily faces the possibility of his own death. To dull his fears and pain, he becomes addicted to heroin and performs his duties in a drug-induced haze. Finally, he is wounded and discharged from the military as a hero.

After Whirling Soldier leaves the service, he does not return home even though he imagines his mother beading a blanket in honor of his status as a returning warrior. Instead he ends up in Kansas, becomes an alcoholic like his father, and pawns his medals to buy liquor. After a night of drinking, he wakes up one morning to a day that reminds him of his childhood. He remembers his mother making a venison sandwich and his father just waking up and asking him where he is going. The question takes on a deeper meaning as he wanders the roads of Kansas with only a bottle as his companion. As he walks, he notices a sunflower that reminds him of his two-year old daughter. He takes his last drink from his nearly empty gin bottle and reflects on the fist fight he had in a bar the night before. The contrast between his status as a war hero and his meaningless barroom brawl points up the extent of his decline. He begins to hallucinate and sees a vision of a "relative that he never met." The image of the relative spiritually reconnects Whirling Soldier with his family and ancestors and is the beginning of his rehabilitation.

The story ends where it begins—at the powwow in Ashland. The narrator does not tell of the intervening time between Whirling Soldier's vision of his ancestor and his return to his family. However, it is clear that returning home, the presence of his family, and rediscovering the importance of his Native American heritage have helped to heal his mind and soul. Whirling Soldier is not only surrounded by his human family but by his spiritual ancestors. The northern lights are perceived as relatives returned from the war. It is an unusual moment of grace and reconciliation for Whirling Soldier.

Bibliography

Adamson, Joni. "And the Ground Spoke: Joy Harjo and the Struggle for a Land-Based Language." In American Indian Literature, Environmental Justice, and Ecocriticism: The Middle Place. Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 2001.

Bryson, J. Scott. "Finding the Way Back: Place and Space in the Ecological Poetry of Joy Harjo." MELUS 27 (Fall, 2002): 169-196.

Keyes, Claire. "Between Ruin and Celebration: Joy Harjo's In Mad Love and War." Borderlines: Studies in American Culture 3, no. 4 (1996): 389-395.

Lobo, Susan, and Kurt Peters, eds. American Indians and the Urban Experience. Walnut Creek, Calif.: Altamira Press, 2001.

Riley, Jeannette, Kathleen Torrens, and Susan Krumholz. "Contemporary Feminist Writers: Envisioning a Just World." Contemporary Justice Review 8 (March, 2005): 91-106.

Scarry, John. "Representing Real Worlds: The Evolving Poetry of Joy Harjo." World Literature Today 66 (Spring, 1992): 286-291.