Grace Elting Castle, A Time to Wail: An Indian Country Novel (2018)
Content warning:
Death of a child, discrimination and bigotry, domestic violence, incarceration, murder, sexual assault
Synopsis
A Time to Wail is a mystery novel set in Western Oregon in 1975. The story follows protagonist Ellie Carlisle, who grew up on a small section of the former Siletz Indian Reservation. As a rebellious teenager, Ellie was desperate to leave her rural Oregon home, but now she must return to bury her only child, seventeen-year-old Logan. Overwhelmed with grief, Ellie is uncomfortable returning to reservation life as she lost her belief in Native culture and traditions long ago. She feels angry with herself for failing to protect her son from the dangers that come with life on the reservation. Despite feeling disconnected from the land she once called home, Ellie finds solace in her community and the familiar landscape of her childhood. Ellie is an experienced investigator who worked with defense firms in Montana and Chicago. Motivated by messages from Logan beyond the grave, she agrees to investigate recent desecrations of tribal burial grounds, as well as the wrongful conviction of her cousin who was sent to prison for the murder of Ellie’s aunt. It is up to Ellie to find the connection between this murder and the grave robbings, and to protect her own son’s final resting place from being vandalized.
Essay
A Time to Wail is a captivating story full of mystery that is grounded by themes of grief, identity, and justice. Before the narrative begins, author Grace Castle provides a definition for the term “wail:” a mournful, prolonged cry or sound expressing grief; a Native woman’s honoring of a deceased person. The first time Castle experienced this traditional wailing was in honor of her Aunt Phonola (Van Pelt) Smith, a Hupa tribal member who died in a tragic car accident. Castle recalls hearing the heart wrenching sobs of Aunt Phonola’s sister-in-law, Aunt Clara, who explained to Castle, “‘Someone has to wail for her.’” Castle directly tells readers, “In many following years in Indian Country, where death is a constant, the sound has pierced my heart far too many times.” Expressing one’s grief and honoring the dead guides the entire narrative of A Time to Wail.
The story opens with the scene of Logan’s funeral, where Ellie wails for her lost son. After going back to her Chicago apartment, she finds a letter from Logan that he had written on the day he died. In the letter, he tells Ellie that the reservation needs her help to stop the onslaught of grave robbings. To honor her son, Ellie realizes she must return home. By returning to Oregon, Ellie is able to confront her grief for her son, and fight for justice both for her cousin and the reservation she once called home. Ellie works tirelessly to find the ghouls responsible for the continued desecration of tribal burial grounds, which is a very real issue in real life. The novel brings awareness to the existence of an international market for Native beads, trinkets, guns, knives, gold coins, and most horrifically, bones. Ellie’s character draws attention to this issue at a tribal council meeting. For both the benefit of the council and the reader, Ellie explains just how lucrative a business grave robbing is. She also makes it a point to mention how although there were some federal laws proposed to require museums to return their collections of Indigenous peoples’ bones, they could still be found on display across the country, and right here in Oregon. Thankfully, it has been illegal for Oregon institutions to display Native American remains since the 1990s, but the robbing of Indigenous graves is still happening today. A Time to Wail calls on its readers to acknowledge both past and present crimes committed against Native communities in Oregon, and contributes to Oregon literature by centering Siletz history and themes of Indigenous sovereignty.
Author Bio
A Time to Wail: An Indian Country Novel is Grace Elting Castle’s first novel. Castle is a retired professional investigator, writer, editor, reporter, and photographer who grew up on the Siletz Indian Reservation in Western Oregon. She helped plan and participated in the 1998 “Wrongful Convictions and the Death Penalty Conference” in Chicago, and has aided the re-investigation of wrongful convictions. Castle continues to be an ally to and protector of Native culture, natural resources, and sacred burial sites.
Further Reading
Charles F. Wilkinson, The People Are Dancing Again (2010)
- History of the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians.
Esther M. Stutzman, When Grandmother Sang Her Song (1979)
- Collection of Native legends retold by a member of the Confederated Tribe of Siletz Indians.