Calling for a Blanket Dance

Oscar Hokeah's electric debut takes us into the life of Ever Geimausaddle, whose family--part Mexican, part Native American--is determined to hold onto their community despite obstacles everywhere they turn. Ever's father is injured at the hands of corrupt police on the border when he goes to visit family in Mexico, while his mother struggles both to keep her job and care for her husband. And young Ever is lost and angry at all that he doesn't understand, at this world that seems to undermine his sense of safety. Ever's relatives all have ideas about who he is and who he should be. His Cherokee grandmother, knowing the importance of proximity, urges the family to move across Oklahoma to be near her, while his grandfather, watching their traditions slip away, tries to reunite Ever with his heritage through traditional gourd dances. Through it all, every relative wants the same: to remind Ever of the rich and supportive communities that surround him, there to hold him tight, and for Ever to learn to take the strength given to him to save not only himself but also the next generation.

How will this young man visualize a place for himself when the world hasn't made room for him to start with? Honest, heartbreaking, and ultimately uplifting, Calling for a Blanket Dance is the story of how Ever Geimausaddle finds his way home.

These discussion questions were provided by a Bookclubs user

Book club questions for Calling for a Blanket Dance by Oscar Hokeah

Use these discussion questions to guide your next book club meeting.

The book is a collection of stories about Ever from the point of view of various relatives. How did you like the format? Which story or character was your favorite?

After 6-month-old Ever witnesses his father’s beating, his grandmother worries that he has been “witched” by the experience. What would be the impact of witnessing brutality at such a young age?

Lena refuses to give her daughter, Turtle, money for a down payment for a house in Lawton because she wants her to move to Tahlequah. By the time she has a change of heart, it’s too late; others have provided the money. Parents may try to control their children through gifts while children may expect parents to finance the child’s needs/wants. What do you see as the obligation in this case of mother to daughter and vice versa? Have you ever experienced this dynamic?

Several people in this story receive “per cap” (per capita) money. What do you think of cash distributions like this? Would you change them if you belonged to one of these tribes? How would you do it?

Oscar Hokeah drops a lot of native and Spanish words into the story without defining them. How did this affect the way you perceived the story? Did it make it seem more authentic? Confuse you?

When Vincent finds out he is dying of cirrhosis, he suddenly develops a desire to teach his grandsons Kiowa culture. “If I didn’t teach this to my grandsons, then I might be the last one to know.” Why do people wait until it’s almost too late to do something that matters to them? Do you have anything that it’s important to you to finish before you die?

Lena made “magic” quilts for each of her grandchildren with their names embroidered in a corner. How might an inanimate object have healing powers? Do you have any such object?

The characters in this book, including Ever, are beset by many mental, emotional and financial problems. Even his mother, the hard-working Turtle, turns to television to tune out reality, ignoring her children. How do you think Ever was able to rise above these problems and become a good dad?

Ever requires Leander to pick up a pencil and draw whenever he is angry. Why do you think that was effective? Have you ever used that or any other trick to change your focus?

Has anyone ever been to Lawton or Tahlequah?

What did you think of the blanket dance? How does it compare to a “Go Fund Me” appeal?

Calling for a Blanket Dance Book Club Questions PDF

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Winner of the PEN America/Hemingway Award for Debut Novel * Finalist for the 2023 Aspen Words Literary Prize * Finalist for the L.A. Times Book Prize/Art Seidenbaum Award for First Fiction

"A profound reflection on the intergenerational nature of cultural trauma... Hokeah's characters exist at the intersection of Kiowa, Cherokee and Mexican identity, which provides a vital exploration of indigeneity in contemporary American letters." --The New York Times Book Review

"STUNNING." --Susan Power, author of The Grass Dancer