Motorcycles and Sweetgrass

Reading Check and Short Answer questions on key plot points are designed for guided reading assignments, in-class review, formative assessment, quizzes, and more.

Prologue-Chapter 6

Reading Check

1. In the prologue, where is the young woman preparing to go?

2. What name does Sister Agnes give the young woman?

3. What is the name of Virgil’s cousin with whom he sits and talks outside his grandmother’s house?

4. What tribal business do people keep bothering Maggie about, even at her own mother’s funeral?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. Why does Sammy memorize Shakespeare in the shed?

2. How does the pretty Indigenous woman react when the old man shouts to her from his window?

3. Why does Maggie’s mother not want her to be the tribal chief?

4. Who is Wayne, and why does he live in isolation?

5. At the funeral reception, why is Virgil skeptical when Maggie tells him she will come home to cook dinner soon?

Paired Resources

“The Dark Legacy of Canada’s Residential Schools, Where Thousands of Children Died”

• This 14-minute video from 60 Minutes details some of the consequences of Canada’s residential school policy. (Content Warning: Mature content; mentions of family separation and abuse)
• This resource relates to The Continued Subjugation of Indigenous Societies.
• What did you learn from the video that you did not already know from Lillian’s experiences? Now that you know more about this issue, what do you notice about the tone used and the details offered in Taylor’s coverage of residential schools in Motorcycles and Sweetgrass? Why do you think Taylor made the choices he made in portraying the residential school era? How do both the video and Taylor’s book demonstrate the continuing impact of this era on today’s Indigenous Canadians?

“Chief Keith Knott’s August Message to Curve Lake Members”

• This address by Chief Keith Knott details the importance of community involvement with tribal government. Knott speaks from the Curve Lake Reserve, the reserve where author Drew Hayden Taylor grew up and the likely model for the novel’s Otter Lake community.
• Note that Chief Knott speaks in Anishinaabemowin for the first minute of the video; he switches to English around 1:05.
• How does seeing Chief Knott walking around the Curve Lake Reserve impact your understanding of the book’s setting? What is his attitude toward governing the reserve? How is it similar to and different from Maggie’s attitude? What motif in Motorcycles and Sweetgrass is reflected in Chief Knott’s use of Anishinaabemowin to open his address?

Chapters 7-14

Reading Check

1. What does Virgil watch when he sits on the big rock near the northern border of the reserve?

2. What building does Nanabush break into?

3. What kind of creature does Nanabush try to hit with his motorcycle?

4. Whose advice does Virgil seek in Chapter 14?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. In Chapter 8, John (aka Nanabush) “rescues” Maggie when she is stranded on the road. What is ironic about this?

2. When Virgil goes back to his favorite rock, what has changed about its appearance?

3. With whom is John staying while he is on the reserve, and where has this character appeared before in the story?

4. What does Virgil see John doing late at night by the dock across Beer Bay?

5. When Maggie and her friends confront John about his ability to speak their language, how does he manage to explain both this and his relationship with Lillian in the same story?

Paired Resources

“‘Reservation Dogs’ Uses Humor, Not Magic, to Conjure Native Culture”

• This New York Times article by Stuart Miller explores how the series Reservation Dogs uses Native humor to explore important issues. (Subscription may be needed for viewing.)
• This resource relates to The Continued Subjugation of Indigenous Societies.
• What does this article say is typical of Native humor? How does the article link this humor to oppression? What point does the article make about letting Indigenous peoples tell their own stories? What aspects of Taylor’s humor in Motorcycles and Sweetgrass do you see reflected in this article’s description of Native humor? How are the series Reservation Dogs and the book Motorcycles and Sweetgrass similar in their approach to serious issues affecting Native peoples? How do they seem to differ?

“Jesus Was a Shapeshifter, Ancient Text Reveals, and an Eagle”

• This article from an Australian news site briefly describes a recent translation of an Egyptian text about the death of Christ.
• This resource relates to The Trickster God and Theological Equivalence.
• What abilities does the ancient Egyptian text ascribe to Jesus? How are these abilities like those of Nanabush? What similarities does Nanabush see between himself and Jesus? Is the reader meant to accept Nanabush’s arguments at face value?
• In Motorcycles and Sweetgrass, Nanabush’s eyes keep changing color, and he keeps changing his name. How does this reinforce the fluidity of the trickster’s nature? How is this fluidity represented in Nanabush’s dual nature as both human and spirit being? Does attributing this kind of fluidity to Jesus, as the ancient Egyptian text does, necessarily mean that ancient peoples interpreted Christ’s dual nature the way Nanabush’s is interpreted today?

Chapters 15-22

Reading Check

1. What does Maggie see that the telephone pole at Sammy’s place has been carved into?

2. Who sees Maggie and John having sex on the dock at Beer Bay?

3. When Virgil sees Dakota at school, where does she tell him John found her on the previous evening?

4. What small creature does Nanabush rescue from a storm?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. On their date, what does John reveal about Lillian that Maggie finds difficult to believe?

2. With whom do Wayne and Virgil see John arguing, and what pivotal realization does this sight cause for Wayne?

3. In the diner, what does John argue with Dan about, and how does John “resolve” the argument?

4. At the Natural History Museum, what is ironic about the criticisms Nanabush makes of the canoe exhibit?

5. What does Virgil research on the school computer, and why?

Paired Resources

“Understanding Okichitaw and Okichitatawak (Worthy Young Men)”

• This 2-minute video by the leader of the Okichitaw Martial Arts Canada organization explains the origin of this Native Canadian martial art. (Please note: The speaker stands next to a stationary war lance, which is not used during the video.  Other videos in this series, contain images of weapons being actively used during practice.)
• Which cultural group does Okichitaw belong to? What are its origins? How does it seem to compare to Wayne’s martial art? Is there any evidence that Taylor was aware of Okichitaw when he wrote Motorcycles and Sweetgrass? What textual evidence tells you whether he intends Wayne’s martial art to be humorous? How do you guess Taylor might react to Okichitaw? How might Wayne react?

“Canada’s Museums Are Slowly Starting to Return Indigenous Artifacts”

• This Maclean’s article by Jaela Bernstien details the long fight Indigenous Canadians have engaged in to have their cultural artifacts returned from Canadian museums.
• This resource relates to The Continued Subjugation of Indigenous Societies.
• What ideas about ownership are at the heart of the battle between the museums and Indigenous peoples? What deliberate irony is there in Nanabush’s theft from the natural history museum? How does this highlight something important in his thought about museums being like icebergs? How does this issue relate to the book’s commentary about land ownership?

Chapter 23-Epilogue

Reading Check

1. With whom does Nanabush have a prolonged physical fight?

2. At Maggie’s press conference, what causes a reporter to scream?

3. Where does Virgil find Nanabush after Maggie tells Nanabush to leave the reserve?

4. At the end of the novel, what new skill are Virgil and Dakota practicing?

Short Answer

Answer each question in at least 1 complete sentence. Incorporate details from the text to support your response.

1. What does Nanabush do to settle his feud with the raccoons?

2. What causes Maggie to assault John and kick him off the reserve?

3. How does Nanabush respond when Virgil tells him that the road he intends to take reaches a dead end at the lake?

4. How does Maggie decide to change her life after her experiences with John?

5. In the Epilogue, what story is it revealed that Michael Mukwa has been trying to get people to believe for more than 17 years?

Recommended Next Reads

Green Grass, Running Water by Thomas King

• In this lighthearted novel by an Indigenous Canadian author, an eclectic cast of characters including the trickster Coyote assemble on a Blackfoot reserve in preparation for a Sun Dance.
• Shares themes of The Trickster God, The Continued Subjugation of Indigenous Societies, and Theological Equivalence
• Shares topics of control versus chaos, magical realism, and the impact of returning to the reserve after a period of absence
• Green Grass, Running Water on SuperSummary

There There by Tommy Orange

• In this poetic, dark, and sardonic novel by a Cheyenne/Arapaho author, 12 Native people travel from their communities to the Oakland Pow Wow, where shattering events unfold.
• Shares themes of The Trickster God and The Continued Subjugation of Indigenous Societies
• Shares topics of substance use disorder and infighting within Native communities
• There There on SuperSummary

Son of a Trickster by Eden Robinson

• In this darkly funny horror novel by a Haisla and Heiltsuk First Nations author, a dysfunctional 16-year-old discovers that he may be descended from a legendary trickster figure. (Note: This novel is intended for a young adult audience but has much to offer adult readers too.)
• Shares themes of The Trickster God and The Continued Subjugation of Indigenous Societies
• Shares topics of substance use disorder and magical realism
• Son of a Trickster on SuperSummary; includes Teaching Unit