Chippewa Tradition vs. Catholicism Theme Analysis

As characters in The Round House engage in religious and spiritual practices, they straddle two different traditions: the Native Chippewa religion and the Catholicism that was brought to the reservation by Europeans. As these two traditions come into each other’s orbit, the two religions, which are ideologically different, sometimes clash with or eclipse one another.

Chippewa religion is a large presence in the novel, which is itself named after the reservation’s round house, a sacred site for Chippewa rituals. At the round house, the community gathers for events like the annual summer powwow, where they perform dances in traditional regalia. Some characters (medicine people, in the Chippewa terminology) like Mooshum and Randall practice traditional Chippewa medicine more fastidiously than others. Randall dances in the community’s powwows and sits in a sweat lodge to experience visions, while Mooshum recites the Chippewa legends that form the basis of Chippewa religion. Mooshum’s stories incorporate ideas like wiindigoo justice and thr concept of “doodems,” which give people special connections with different kinds of animals. Randall and Mooshum clearly feel extremely connected to Chippewa religion, and they help other members engage in Chippewa spiritual practice.

Catholicism, meanwhile, is also prominent in the community. Many Chippewas, like Joe’s aunt Clemence, have a strong attachment to the Catholic Church and regularly attend services led by Father Travis. Even less devout members of the community, however, like Joe’s parents, still baptize their children and make them undergo confirmation. Unlike the tradition of Chippewa religion, Catholicism is a theology with strong ties European thought and culture, and Joe and his friends often mock Catholicism more explicitly than Chippewa religion, perhaps reacting to how Catholicism represents the European hegemony (ruling order) that they have grown up resisting.

Joe draws the reader’s attention to Catholicism’s role in Native oppression, particularly through its often-harmful conversion practice, which historically attempted to suppress Chippewa religion and culture. Many of the older locals “had Catholicism beaten into them” at Catholic boarding schools, which attempted to erase any traditional Chippewa religious practices from their students. Meanwhile, prior to 1978, the Chippewa tribe was not allowed to practice their own religion, forcing them to disguise their traditional ceremonies as Bible studies and other Christian events.

Interestingly, however, Catholicism and Chippewa religion—which have been in conflict historically—do not seem to be especially in conflict for characters in the book. While some characters, like Joe’s aunt Clemence, have an exclusive attachment to the Catholic Church, and others, like Mooshum, reject Catholicism in favor of Chippewa traditions, many members of the reservation community partake in both religions intermittently, depending on their needs. Often these engagements with religion are not especially spiritual, and have more to do with convenience or opportunism than genuine faith. For example, Joe, Zack, Angus, and Cappy’s attendance at the Catholic youth group is primarily meant to impress Cappy’s soon-to-be girlfriend Zelia, while Joe and Cappy aid Randall in maintaining his sweat lodge in exchange for dinner.

In other instances, these two religions offer differing outlooks that individuals combine or choose between in an earnest attempt to fulfill their spiritual needs. When Joe is concerned by his dreams, for instance, he immediately decides to consult Mooshum, since Chippewa religion centers dreams in a way that Catholicism does not. On the other hand, when Joe goes to see Father Travis, hoping to learn to shoot a gun, Father Travis tells Joe about the Catholic understanding of how good inevitably comes out of evil, giving him perspective on his impending decision to kill Linden.

By portraying her characters’ blend of Catholicism and Chippewa religion as a positive hybridity, Louise Erdrich suggests the potential value of pluralistic religious practice and imagines the possibility of reconciling two traditions that have historically been in conflict. Erdrich also shows how people use religion practically in their everyday lives—both for genuine spiritual practice, and as a kind of cultural currency that can be used for personal gain. Erdrich, who seems to have a high tolerance for this kind of unsacred treatment of religion, appears to be implying that religion, rather than an unapproachable, homogenous monolith, should be a cultural institution which people actively question and shape.