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Owls Don't Have to Mean Death

Owls Don't Have to Mean Death

Infobox
BarnOwl
Author	Chip Livingston
Publisher	Lethe Press
Date of Publication	October 7, 2017
Genre	Gay Fiction

Owls Don’t Have to Mean Death is a gay fiction novel written by Muscogee Creek (spelled in the novel as Muskogee/Mvskoke) author, Chip Livingston, and published in 2017 by Lethe Press. Originally written as a master’s thesis for the University of Colorado in 1992, select chapters from the initial draft of Owls Don’t Have to Mean Death were first published as short stories in Livingston’s 2014 short story collection, Naming Ceremony. The novel focuses on highlighting the impact of health complications and trauma arising from the AIDS virus and the role of Two-spirit identity, a pan-Indian form of gender and sexual expression, in the lives of the characters and the Warmouth Springs Muskogee Creek Village. Set in the modern day Southeastern United States, the novel follows the growth of the relationship between Peter Strongbow, a Muscogee Creek man, and his lover, Cache Highwater, who struggles under deteriorating health due to HIV / AIDS. Beginning in Peter and Cache’s early twenties, the novel progresses through a nonlinear narrative and chapters focusing on Peter’s family living in the fictional Hoyet, Florida, his cousins from The Muscogee (Creek) Nation in present-day Oklahoma, and Peter’s tribe residing in the fictional Warmouth Springs Muskogee Creek Village set near present day Tallahassee, Florida. In reviews, critics note the depth and realism with which Livingston pens Cache and Peter’s relationship, the poetic tilt of his prose, and his emphasis on the intersection of traditional Muscogee Creek practices and modern living.

Background

Chip Livingston

Chip Livingston was born in Fort Walton Beach, Florida and raised in Pensacola, Florida. Livingston earned his MA in fiction at the University of Colorado and an MFA in poetry from Brooklyn College. He has taught at the University of Virgin Islands, University of Colorado and Brooklyn College. He is currently a faculty member at the Institute of American Indian Art.

Livingston’s previous works include Alarum, a poetry chapbook published in 2007, as well as Museum of False Starts (2010), Crow-Blue, Crow-Black (2012), all of which are full-length poetry collections and Naming Ceremony (2014), a collection of short stories and essays, which includes the title story from Owls Don’t Have To Mean Death.

Muskogee (Creek)

Traditional Muscogee Creek territory as demonstrated by Creek Land cessions 1733 - 1832

Peter Strongbow, the novel’s protagonist, is Muscogee Creek, spelled in the novel as Muskogee/Mvskoke, but his exact tribal affiliation is not specified. There are several Muscogee Creek Tribal Nations, such as the Federally recognized Muscogee (Creek) Nation of present-day Oklahoma and The Poarch Band of Creek Indians of present-day Alabama, as well as one state-recognized tribe, the Lower Muskogee Creek Tribe of Georgia. The Muscogee, once spanning portions of the geographic Southeastern United States in tribal unions, formed into a confederacy during European invasion. After the Indian Removal Act of 1830 initiated the Trail of Tears, many Muscogee Peoples either went into hiding for protection or were forcibly relocated west of the Mississippi River to Indian Territory. The Poarch Band of Creek Indians are members of the original Muscogee Nation that remained on their lands after the relocation of the majority of Muscogee Nation members to Indian Territory. The first “Naming Ceremony” chapter in the novel takes place in Warmouth Springs Muskogee Creek Village, a fictitious space that is set near Tallahassee, FL where the novel mentions land ties to The Seminole Tribe of Florida and The Miccosukee Tribe of Indians of Florida.

Symbolism of the Owl

In addition to the use of the owl in the novel’s title and opening chapter, the 2017 edition of Owls Don’t Have to Mean Death has an image of owl feathers on the cover and depictions of the bird and its feathers appear throughout the novel.

The owl is of great significance to Muskogee Peoples and many believe that the owl's presence and sightings can indicate that unfortunate circumstances, or even death, may occur.

Two Spirit Identity

In the first “Naming Ceremony” chapter, the Mico, Chief of the Warmouth Springs Indian Village and also known as John Carver, speaks on the tradition of two-spirit people during Peter’s ceremony, but he does not vocally elaborate what two-spirit means. The assumption is that those who hear his words know what he means. Two-spirit is a pan-Indian term that differs in its identification of Indigenous gender fluidity and queer sexuality from Western or European identifications of LGBTQ. Despite its differing origin, it is sometimes used to describe a LGBTQ Native of North America. There have been distinct traditions of non-heteronormative gender expression and sexuality in various Native American societies, and the contemporary use of the word indicates the self-determination, lineage of gender nonconforming Native peoples, and the spiritual gifts associated with them.

Characters

Main Characters

• Peter Strongbow / Two Wolves is the main character. He lives in Florida and moves in with his boyfriend, Cache Highwater, in Atlanta.
• Cache Highwater is Peter’s boyfriend. He lives in Piedmont Park, Atlanta, and travels with Peter. He lives with HIV/ AIDS.

Peter’s Relations

• Lana Strongbow is Peter’s sister. She lives in Florida.
• Wilma Golightly is Peter and Lana’s mother. She is married to BigFeather, and later marries John Carver, the Mico / chief of the Warmouth Springs Indian Village.
• Marcus Strongbow / BigFeather is Peter and Lana’s father, from Okmulgee, Oklahoma. He moves away when Peter and Lana are young.
• “Pucha” /  Jack Golightly Jr. / LittleBear is Peter’s grandfather and respected elder / Beloved Man of the tribe.
• “Granny Weave” / Genevieve Golightly is Peter’s grandmother. She is married to AJ Golightly and is Chickasaw and French-Ojibwe.
• Jimbo / “Puck” / Burning Tree Warrior is Peter’s cousin and son of Polly and Wren.
• Aunt Polly is Peter’s aunt, Wilma’s sister, and a nurse.
• Uncle Wren is Polly’s husband.
• Caroline Lake is Peter’s cousin from Oklahoma. She moves to Florida (Granny Weave’s home) when she becomes pregnant.
• Ricky “Coon” is Caroline’s deceased brother and Peter’s cousin from Oklahoma.
• Aunt Grace is Caroline’s mother from Oklahoma.
• Uncle Remo is Caroline’s father from Oklahoma.
• Pond is Caroline’s cousin on Remo’s side. He was adopted by relatives of Remo who are part Seminole.

Additional Characters

• Wyjon Carver is the Micanopy, chief of the eight Creek tribes in Florida.
• John Carver is the Mico, chief of Warmouth Springs Muskogee Creek Village and son of Wyjon Carver.
• Mynonie is woman who appears to Peter in a vision.
• Susan is Cache and Peter’s friend from Atlanta.

Summary

The novel  begins when Peter and Cache take a trip to the beach at South St. Augustine, Florida. Pucha has died, an event which chronologically takes place towards the end of the book, and Cache has a portacath in his chest and medication for the onset of Cytomegalovirus (CMV), as a result of HIV / AIDS.

On their drive to the beach, Peter has Cache pullover because he spots a bird carcass. It turns out to be an owl and Peter decides to bring the remains home to Granny Weave, where he will harvest the feathers and bury the rest. After Cache and Peter return from the beach, Peter tells Granny Weave about the owl. Granny Weave stops her work in the garden and asks Peter to dig a deeper hole for the owl and to offer more than just tobacco. They exchange a look and get to work to prepare for its burial. Peter worries about the symbolism of the owl as an omen of death and Cache’s illness.

The next chapter begins in a different setting and time. Pucha is still living and well, and Peter and Cache are not together. Peter is living in Hoyet, Florida near his family, while Cache lives in Atlanta. Peter prepares to receive his name in a traditional naming ceremony. Peter and his sister, Lana, travel to Warmouth Indian Village for the naming ceremony and to meet with family and tribal members. Peter takes a walk to the nearby burial mounds with The Mico, who gifts Peter his traditional medicine pouch necklace and informs him of the importance of Two-Spirit people and their spiritual role within the tribe. While leaving the burial mounds, Peter hears the voice of a spirit who identifies herself as Mynonie. Peter receives his name from The Mico, Hokkolv Yahv (pronounced Ha-koh-luh Ya-huh) which means “Two Wolves.”

The next chapters shifts backwards in time to cover the histories of Granny Weave and Peter,  Pucha and Peter, and provide a background for their relationships. Young Peter and Granny Weave make dream catchers. Pucha tells about how he lost his leg and Wilma and BigFeather (Marcus Strongbow) meet at a powwow and marry.

The novel returns to the present during a family gathering for Christmas at the Warmouth Springs Muskogee Creek Village. Caroline visits from Oklahoma and her harsh attitude at first causes dissent, but the Golightly family comes to respect her. Pucha makes Peter promise that he will take care of Cache the way Granny Weave takes care of him.

The next chapter returns to the current timeline, where Pucha suffers a stroke shortly after Christmas. He is sent to the hospital, where his orderly causes an accident, which leaves Pucha with a broken neck and bruised eyes that are swollen shut. After the incident in the hospital, Pucha’s family brings him home at his behest. Wilma shares a last moment with Pucha as he transfers knowledge of their ancestral history. During Pucha’s funeral, ancestral spirits appear to pay their respects and honor him.

Meanwhile in Atlanta, Cache’s health worsens with the onset of CMV and his doctor suggests a more aggressive, albeit risky, procedure. Cache accepts the treatment and has a portacath inserted in his chest. Peter, having not heard from Cache in days, drives to Atlanta on suspicions on cheating. He discovers that Cache has been hospitalized and the couple make up. Peter convinces Cache to move back to Hoyet, and Peter’s family, including the now pregnant Caroline, assists in taking care of him. Cache's Ganciclovir portacath treatment fails, Cache is hospitalized, and the CMV reaches his eyes, causing an onset of blindness. Peter stays with his boyfriend at the hospital and tries to keep his promise to Pucha to take care of Cache. Cache’s health worsens and Peter and Cache share a ceremony of one hundred kisses. Cache passes away in the night.

Together, Peter and Granny Weave mourn their loved ones by bathing daily in Etolitke Creek. Caroline gives birth to her son and requests that he be named after Cache. Peter assents and grants Caroline's baby a name in a formal ceremony at the Warmouth Springs Muscogee Creek Village, where Pond, Caroline's cousin, also receives a name. The tribe comes together to wish Peter and Pond well before the two depart on a walk to present-day Oklahoma in the footsteps of the Trail of Tears.

Reception

Owls Don’t Have to Mean Death was published in 2017 and, as of 2019, has not been widely reviewed. Available reviews include one from A&U Magazine and another from The Rumpus. In the online review for A&U Magazine, America’s AIDS online magazine, author Hank Trout focuses on Livingston’s ability to write the nuances of an intimate love between partners while delicately handling Peter’s love for his ancestry and familial relationships. It focuses on naming and the significance it has to different characters in the novel. For example, as the A&U review points out, Granny Weave is a seamstress and, while teaching Peter to make a dreamcatcher, she encourages him to weave his prayers and intentions. Trout also brings attention to the verisimilitude of Cache’s final moments with Peter in the hospital.

In an article published to the online literary magazine,The Rumpus, Helga Schimkat interviews Livingston regarding his novel and comments on his ability to integrate poetic craft elements into his fiction, especially in his descriptions and dialogue. During the interview, Schimkat hones in on the fact that Livingston integrated his own life experiences into the novel. One specific instance Livingston shares appears after Schimkat asks about the poster Peter encounters at the Indian Health Service Clinic that read: “The earth has acquired an immune dysfunction. We are all living with AIDS.”  Livingston reveals that he saw a poster just like that at the Minnesota American Indian AIDS Task Force in Minneapolis. The poster reframed AIDS as a virus affecting everyone, not just AIDS positive individuals.