The Trickster of Liberty
Encyclopedia
The Trickster of Liberty is a 1988 novel by Gerald Vizenor
that acts as a prequel to his earlier novels Bearheart: The Heirship Chronicles
and Griever: An American Monkey King in China
. The novel is a collection of stories about the mixedblood descendants of Luster Browne and their lives on the White Earth Indian Reservation
. The novel continues Vizenor's focus on mixedbloods and trickster
s and includes characters from the previous novels, including Griever de Hocus and China Brown from Griever and Eternal Flame from Bearheart.
The novel develops Vizenor's rejection of social science theories that claim the trickster figure reflects an idea or model; to the contrary, Vizenor argues that the trickster is a purely linguistic phenomenon. The novel also develops Vizenor's attack on the "invented Indian", including a commentary on the fate of Ishi
and a satire on Native American scholars who perpetuate stereotypes of Indian-ness.
The novel was republished under the title The Trickster of Liberty: Native Heirs to a Wild Baronage in 2005.
Gerald Vizenor
Gerald Robert Vizenor is a Native American writer, and an enrolled member of the Minnesota Chippewa Tribe, White Earth Reservation. One of the most prolific Native American writers, with over 30 books to his name, Vizenor also taught for many years at the University of California, Berkeley, where...
that acts as a prequel to his earlier novels Bearheart: The Heirship Chronicles
Bearheart: The Heirship Chronicles
Bearheart: The Heirship Chronicles is a 1990 novel by Gerald Vizenor; it is a revised version of his 1978 debut novel Darkness in Saint Louis Bearheart...
and Griever: An American Monkey King in China
Griever: An American Monkey King in China
Griever: An American Monkey King in China is a 1986 novel by Gerald Vizenor. It won the 1986 New York Fiction Collective Award and the 1988 American Book Award...
. The novel is a collection of stories about the mixedblood descendants of Luster Browne and their lives on the White Earth Indian Reservation
White Earth Indian Reservation
The White Earth Indian Reservation is the home to the White Earth Nation, located in northwestern Minnesota. It is the largest Indian reservation in that state...
. The novel continues Vizenor's focus on mixedbloods and trickster
Trickster
In mythology, and in the study of folklore and religion, a trickster is a god, goddess, spirit, man, woman, or anthropomorphic animal who plays tricks or otherwise disobeys normal rules and conventional behavior. It is suggested by Hansen that the term "Trickster" was probably first used in this...
s and includes characters from the previous novels, including Griever de Hocus and China Brown from Griever and Eternal Flame from Bearheart.
The novel develops Vizenor's rejection of social science theories that claim the trickster figure reflects an idea or model; to the contrary, Vizenor argues that the trickster is a purely linguistic phenomenon. The novel also develops Vizenor's attack on the "invented Indian", including a commentary on the fate of Ishi
Ishi
Ishi was the last member of the Yahi, the last surviving group of the Yana people of the U.S. state of California. Ishi is believed to have been the last Native American in Northern California to have lived most of his life completely outside the European American culture...
and a satire on Native American scholars who perpetuate stereotypes of Indian-ness.
The novel was republished under the title The Trickster of Liberty: Native Heirs to a Wild Baronage in 2005.