Rez Rebel

by Melanie Florence

  “Dad. I really need to talk to you about this.”

  “I know what I’m doing, Floyd. I know you think you’re helping. But I don’t need you judging me right now. I’m doing what I think is best for the rez.”

  “But, Dad —”

  “Floyd!” he shouted, stunning me into silence. “I’m the adult here! I’m also the Chief! You need to back off and let me do my job!”

  I sat there staring at him. My dad wasn’t a yeller. He had never yelled at me. And he had never talked down to me. But that was exactly what he was doing now.

  “Dad —” I tried one more time.

  But my father turned around and walked out of his office without another word. He walked away from me without looking back once.

  I watched him go. Then I pulled out my cellphone, and called Charlie.

  “Hey. It’s me. Grab Jasper and Mouse and meet me at my place. Yeah, right now.”

  Dear Diary

  Dear Journal

  To Whom It May Concern

  Captain’s Log - Stardate 2017

  Oh forget it. I’m just going to write.

  I’m watching my dad, who has always been an amazing role model — not just for me but for everyone on the rez — and I’m watching him crash and burn, spiralling into despair. Poetic maybe. But true.

  Why won’t he let me help? I have so many ideas! So many ways that I want to help our people. So many ways I think

  I can help our kids. Why won’t he listen?

  Doesn’t he trust me?

  The guys and I want to help before we lose anyone else.

  I want to help him before he falls apart completely.

  He tells me to be a leader. Why won’t he let me try?

  The guys were already waiting on my front porch when I got home. I let them in and motioned for them to follow me to my room. I knew we’d be alone. My mom was making arrangements for Mary’s funeral and my dad was probably showing Feldman around the rez. It made my blood boil just thinking about that has-been trying to cash in on our tragedy.

  I had tried to do the right thing and talk to my father. More than once. He wouldn’t listen. If he wouldn’t listen to me, I’d find another way to get his attention.

  I told the guys what the plan was. They loved it. It appealed to Charlie’s sense of justice. And Jasper was up for anything that caused chaos.

  Even if it was a little like anarchy.

  I led the guys into the basement. It was where my mom had packed away and stored every single thing we had ever owned, at my dad’s insistence. My dad was a pack rat. He kept everything.

  I pulled things out of boxes and handed them around. I took one thing back and replaced it with another. I adjusted things here and there.

  We were almost perfect.

  Almost.

  We needed to get out of the basement and head upstairs. The last thing we needed would be in my mom’s room. I sent the guys ahead and turned toward Mouse. He had spent the past half hour hovering around us on the outskirts of the action.

  “You okay, buddy?” I asked.

  “I guess,” Mouse said. He wouldn’t look at me. He picked at a fleck of paint on the wall with a fingernail.

  “You sure?”

  “Yeah. No. I don’t know.”

  “What is it?” I asked him gently.

  “Why didn’t I get some of that stuff?” he asked. He gestured at the boxes I had been tearing through.

  I felt awful that I had left him out without explaining. “Mouse, I’m really sorry. I should have talked to you before we started getting ready. I wasn’t trying to leave you out, buddy. But there is a pretty good chance that we’re going to get in a lot of trouble over this. Like . . . a lot of trouble. I don’t want you being part of it. I’d feel terrible if you got into trouble because of me. Do you understand?”

  Mouse nodded, wiping at his eyes. That small motion made my heart hurt. I just couldn’t dismiss him after that.

  “There is one thing though. It’s probably the most

  important thing. It won’t get you into any trouble, but we couldn’t do this without your help,” I told him.

  “Really?” he asked.

  “For sure. Are you up for it?”

  “Yeah! Of course. What do I do?”

  “We need a scout. A good one. We need someone to go ahead of us and make sure the coast is clear. We need you to keep anyone from seeing us before we get to the

  community centre. Do you think you can do that?” I looked him in the eye.

  He looked back at me, nodding his head seriously. “Yeah. Definitely. I’ll go out now and start looking around, okay?” He leaped to his feet and took two steps toward the stairs.

  “Wait!” I called out, bringing him to a dead stop.

  “What?”

  “You need to wear something dark . . . so you blend in,”

  I told him. “You know . . . like a disguise.”

  His face lit up. “Yeah! But . . . I don’t have anything but this.” He looked down at his yellow t-shirt.

  “Don’t worry, buddy. I’ve got you covered.” I dug back into one of the boxes.

  I got Mouse sorted and sent him out to do some recon. Then I headed upstairs.

  Charlie and Jasper followed me into my mom’s room and watched as I picked her makeup bag up off her dresser.

  I pulled out a couple of things and turned to look at the guys.

  “So . . . who wants to go first?” I asked.

  I handed a couple of tubes and pots to Charlie. He got to work on Jasper while I jotted down ideas about what I wanted to say.

  Chapter 22

  Ready for Battle

  As the time for the meeting drew near, a steady stream of people

  wandered toward the entrance to the community centre. Parents shook hands with the Council members and called out to friends and neighbours. Teenagers shuffled along behind the parents who had dragged them there, acting tough and bored. Small children were carried by their mothers or allowed to run wild like little wâpos, or rabbits.

  Mouse was darting around. He hid behind trees and ducked behind a dumpster. He threw elaborate hand signals back toward where Jasper, Charlie, and I were waiting out of sight.

  People were shouting greetings back and forth. “Tânisi!” from Auntie Martha. Hello! How are you? And a shouted “Miyo takosin!” back from Raynetta. It’s a fine night. Everyone on the rez loved a good gathering, no matter what the

  reason. Even in the midst of an epidemic. It was another excuse

  for the women to gossip to each other and the men to brag about their latest escapades with a hunting rifle, a new truck, or a woman.

  From our hiding spot, I watched everyone make their way into the centre. I saw Raynetta walk by with Kaya. I felt my heart stop. Kaya was wearing a yellow sundress and had her hair loose around her shoulders. She looked beautiful. I wasn’t sure how she was going to feel about me after this.

  There was Chief Burnstick, head of our tribal police.

  He wasn’t a big guy but there was something about him that screamed “authority figure.” I had never been in trouble but some of my friends had and they all respected the Police Chief. He treated people fairly and tried to steer them away from trouble if possible.

  He was younger than you might think a Police Chief would be . . . around forty. But Chief Burnstick’s dad had once been Police Chief and his grandfather had been too. So it was kind of his birthright. Just like being hereditary Chief was mine.

  After most of the people had filed into the building, Mouse popped up and signalled back at us.

  “I think he’s telling us to steal home,” Charlie quipped.

  I nodded at Mouse and took a deep breath. Here we go, I thought. Charlie, Jasper, and I sidled along the outside wall. We peered into the nearest window. The Council members were si
tting on the stage, watching everyone take their seats. I could see my father talking to a short white man in blue jeans, a rip-off Beatles t-shirt, and what looked like an odd assortment of turquoise and silver buckles, bracelets, and chokers. It was Kevin Feldman, B-list star of cheesy made-for-TV movies and heartthrob of, well, nobody that I knew. He looked like a complete dick. He smiled at my father and placed a friendly hand on his shoulder, laughing in what was supposed to be a humble way. Wow. He really had the Hollywood networking thing down to an art, phony laugh and all. And there was my dad, tribal elder, hereditary Chief, respected member of our community. And he was about to make a complete fool of himself.

  My dad moved toward the microphone. He held up his hands, calling the meeting to order.

  “Miyo takosin! Good evening. Thank you all so much for joining us. It shows how much we value our community and how strongly we all want it to succeed,” he said. There were a few nods from the older people in the crowd. But most of the audience stared at him without real interest and, in some cases, with outright disdain. Clearly word of what he wanted to do had spread. I felt my face burn with embarrassment for him. I couldn’t let him do this. I hated that he wouldn’t listen to me but I couldn’t stand anyone looking at him like that.

  He was still our Chief. And he was still my dad.

  Mouse gave us the nod. The coast was clear. It was go time.

  My dad went on. “As you know, the problems that our children and our community face as a whole is one of the issues I work hard to . . .” His voice trailed off as he caught sight of Jasper, Charlie, and me entering the room. Heads turned to see what he was

  staring at so intently and gasps went up as the adults registered the scene before them. The teenagers and kids laughed and pointed as Charlie, Jasper, and I strode into the room.

  We looked neither right nor left and strode to the front of the room. We stopped in front of the stage and I glared as menacingly as I could at our ‘special guest’. Kevin Feldman’s mouth was hanging open. He was clearly at a loss for words.

  I tossed my braided hair over my shoulder, setting the eagle feather placed into the back dancing. My face was fierce, painted as it was with my mom’s lipstick and eyeliner and an old watercolour set I had found in one of the boxes. One side of my face was stark white with a bear claw drawn in black under my eye. The other side was black and featured red tribal

  symbols of strength and power. At least that’s what the images were according to Jasper, who claimed to know a lot about these things. A beaded choker that I had borrowed from my mother’s room was around my throat. I wore an old bone breastplate that I had found in the basement over my naked chest.

  My friends were painted and costumed too, and the overall effect was, I thought, pretty startling. We stood there in a line, dragging the attention away from my dad.

  My father looked confused. He clearly had no idea what we were doing. He started to walk toward us. He could clearly tell it was me and my friends. For a split second, I felt bad about showing him up this way. But this wasn’t about him. It was about saving our people. I looked from my dad to the guest of honour. I raised a hand toward Feldman and uttered one word.

  “How!”

  Pandemonium erupted. The audience went wild with laughter. Even Kevin Feldman was laughing. He was

  clapping my father on the back. It looked like he thought this was some kind of traditional welcome. Some sort of honour.

  I thought it again.

  What a dick.

  Jasper and Charlie stood beside me but out of the corner of my eye I caught a glimpse of Mouse slinking along the wall. I gathered strength from my friends and took a deep breath.

  I stepped forward until I was standing right in front of my dad and his guest.

  I pointed at Feldman. It stopped his laughter pretty much right away. He looked at my dad nervously and then back at me.

  “Floyd,” my father began. This isn’t about him, I reminded myself. I didn’t even glance at the person responsible for this whole debacle — the Chief, my dad.

  Chapter 23

  Face to Face

  Kevin Feldman’s mouth was hanging wide open. I stopped in front of him, feeling Jasper and Charlie move in behind me to flank me on either side. I stared him down, letting him take us in, before I launched into my speech.

  “Is this what you want?” I demanded, gesturing at myself. “You want us to dress up in your idea of Native clothes and prance around, talking in some phony accent? I don’t know if you’re disrespectful or just ignorant. But this is not who we are.

  “You’ve come here to talk us into letting you make a movie about our people. But you don’t know us. You want us to embody a cliché to make you look noble. You look at us and you see people who are suffering. People who seem to be in the perfect position — desperate enough to let themselves be taken advantage of. You think if you throw money at us, you’ll get what you want. You say you want to bring money to the poor Indians. But at what cost? So you can cash in on what you think people want to see. But we’re strong and we’re proud of who we are. We don’t need a Hollywood has-been to take advantage of us to make a buck.

  “If we let you make your movie here, you’ll kill our forest and destroy our resources. You won’t give a second thought to the mess you’ll leave behind for us to clean up. We may not have much but we’re proud of where we live. We’re proud of our culture. Nothing you can say and no amount of money you can throw at us will make us turn our backs on our culture or our home.

  “We’re dealing with serious issues that you can’t possibly see from your Hollywood Hills office. We will not allow you to profit off of our tragedy. I watch the news. People care about what’s happening. If we reach out, we’ll be able to reclaim our home without giving up what’s most important to us. Go back to Hollywood, Kevin Feldman. We don’t need or want you here.”

  I took in the look of horror on my father’s face before

  I turned my back on Feldman. A roar of applause rose from everyone else in the room. Jasper and Charlie were grinning widely. I saw Mouse back near the entrance, jumping up and down. Holding my head high, I led the way out, followed by Charlie and Jasper.

  As soon as I got outside, I was tackled by my friends. Jasper all but climbed onto my back. Charlie high fived me so hard he left my hand stinging. Mouse came flying around the corner — he must have come out the back. He jumped into the air when he was still about six feet away, hurling himself at me and throwing his arms around my neck.

  “Floyd! That was amazing!” he yelled.

  “Yeah, it was,” Jasper agreed. “Seriously. That was awesome.”

  “You said everything we all wanted to say,” Charlie added.

  “Yes, you did,” said another voice.

  I looked up. There was a steady stream of people coming out of the community centre.

  “I’m glad someone said something,” another voice called out.

  People were slapping me on the back and thanking me.

  I knew my friends and I couldn’t be the only ones who thought having Kevin Feldman here was a bad idea. But I had no idea how many people — particularly grown-ups — felt the same.

  Charlie and Jasper were basking in the attention, accepting congratulations and handshakes. Mouse was telling anyone who would listen that he was the scout and was in on the whole thing. I shook so many hands that I lost track of who was in front of me.

  In the middle of it all, I caught sight of my dad standing inside the doorway, watching the commotion. I was trying to decide if I should go talk to him when his eyes met mine. Before I could decide what to do, I saw his eyes narrow.

  He turned away and walked back into the community centre.

  I had done the right thing. I knew I had. Someone needed to take a stand. I hoped I would remember the look on Kevin Feldman’s face for the rest of my life.

  And I hoped som
eday I would forget the look on my father’s face as he turned his back on me.

  Chapter 24

  Chief to Chief

  It took us a while to extricate ourselves from the crowd of people offering their thanks and support. Everyone had heard about Kevin Feldman’s plan and it didn’t look like anyone other than my father had actually liked it.

  I should have been happy. I should have been revelling in this moment. But all I could think about was the look on my father’s face.

  I didn’t want to go home. But I was wearing a bone

  breastplate and nothing underneath it. Truth be told, it was chafing a bit. Jasper’s house was closest, so we headed over there. I tried to tune out the sound of the guys rehashing the whole thing ad nauseum.

  “Did you see Feldman’s face?” Jasper asked, jumping around in front of us.

  “His mouth was hanging down around his knees!” Charlie crowed.

  “That was awesome!” Mouse yelled, pumping his fist in the air.

  I tried to smile. I really did. I knew that what we had done was pretty huge. We had stood up for ourselves and for everyone else who thought making a Hollywood movie here was a bad idea. We had done the right thing. But I also knew that I had hurt my dad.

  I had embarrassed him. I had ruined what he had planned to help us all.

  And I’d have to face him eventually.

  I pulled off the chest plate and tossed it down on Jasper’s bed.

  “That’s better,” I breathed. “Do you have a t-shirt or something I can borrow?”

  “I’m never taking this thing off, man.” Charlie patted his own chest plate. “The ladies loved it! Did you see Amber? She was all over me!” He flopped down on Jasper’s bed.

  He stretched out and put his arms behind his head, crossing one leg over the other.

  “I saw it, Charlie,” Mouse told him.

  “Everyone thought you were pretty cool too, buddy.”

  I smiled at Mouse and he beamed back. I wish I felt half as good about myself as Mouse felt about me.

  Jasper threw me a t-shirt. I held it up. The Incredible Hulk. Nice. I pulled it over my head. It was a little short but it would get me home.