Where Wolves Don't Die

Ezra and his father, Byron Cloud, drive from the Twin Cities to the Nigigoonsiminikaaning First Nation, also known as Red Gut, in Canada. During the drive, Ezra reflects on Minnesota’s changing landscape and the history of his Ojibwe ancestors. Byron often tells a story on these drives about a tribal chairman who stressed the need for modern “warriors”—professionals who could protect Indigenous land—but on this trip they simply stop at Hardee’s drive-through and gas up the car. Ezra gradually feels more at ease as they travel north. After crossing the border and passing a polluting pulp mill, they arrive at the home of Ezra’s grandparents, Grandpa Liam and Grandma Emma. Ezra thinks about his desire to learn traditional trapping from his grandfather at their family cabin at Chief’s Ridge. Ezra settles onto the couch for the night with Liam’s small dog, Buster, feeling more at peace than he did in the city. He watches a news report on a new disease in Brazil before watching a UFC rerun featuring Royce Gracie from the early 1990s, whose ground-based submission style Ezra admires as a model for self-defense.