The purpose of Winter in the Blood is to show the reliance of an individual on his community. The Narrator is not given a name, and initially not even a personality. Welch does this to allow the character to stand for the reader, and for the community as a whole. Native American reservations are no longer the sanctuaries they were made to be, no longer places for individuals to find meaning in the community. The Narrator cannot find himself on his own, but only with the help of an Elder. These Elders play an important role in Native American culture, keepers of knowledge and history. Without history, the individual cannot be complete; without the wisdom of the Elders, the community is not complete. As James Welch portrays in his novel, modern reservations are no longer successful communities because of the loss of Elders.

Older community members provide a link to the past, giving the reservation a temporal community. Yellow Calf is the key to unlocking the past for the Narrator. As the Narrator pieces together his lost memories, he finds part of his family; First Raise, his father, and Mose, his older brother. But he does not know any family beyond this immediate one. Young Yellow Calf assists his grandmother, a union resulting the Narrator’s mother. The Elder shares part of the story, but “the answer had come to me as if by instict… watching his silent laughter, as though it was his blood in my veins that had told me.” (Welch, p.160) The strength of knowing one’s history, the source of one’s blood, also gives him the hope of future growth. “Next time I’d do it right… maybe offer to marry [Agnes] on the spot.” (Welch, p.175) The future implied by a past is given by the temporal community.

Elders in a community also offer a sactuary for knowledge. They store their own experiences, those of people coming to ask their counsel, and the wisdom of nature. Fish listens to the wind, Yellow Calf to the deer. But “even the deer can’t change anything. They only see the signs.” (Welch, p.69) It is the duty of younger community members to act on the wisdom of the Elders. In Winter in the Blood and in today’s reservations their wisdom is not sought out, leaving the dead to become ghosts. “We shared this secret in the presence of ghosts, in wind that called forth the muttering tepees… The cottonwoods behind us… sheltered these ghosts as they had sheltered the camp that winter. But there were others, so many others.” (Welch, p.159) The Narrator realizes that Yellow Calf harbors lost knowledge, keeping it safe so that it may someday be known again. He also sees the stories that have not been told. Though the grandmother dies, he knows her from Yellow Calf’s story. Elders keep such stories safe, acting as sanctuaries for memories and people that would otherwise be forgotten.

The Elders themselves are now being lost or put out of place. “Education in the early years of Boarding Schools was geared toward teaching a trade to boys and domestic service for girls…the training often did not fit any employment opportunities within the Indians’ communities, which were mostly agricultural labor.” (“American Indian Elders”) Most of the Elders in today’s reservations went to boarding schools, tearing them away from the reservation lifestyle and history. They “no longer felt they belonged to the community they left,” (“American Indian Elders”) making them ineffectual Elders. They are unable to support the community if they do not belong to it or know its patterns and history. The Elders are not being supported, either. “Over 63% of American Indian senior citizens live at or below the poverty level.” (“Elder Abuse”) Yellow Calf lives in a situation where he is able to support himself, but there is no community support. “And now Teresa says you are dead. I guess you died and didn’t know it.” (Welch, p.64) Elders may not actually be dead, but the community is not embracing and supporting them, losing the precious wisdom that they provide.

James Welch realized the potential of Elders to bring the Native American reservation communities strength. The Narrator is lost without knowing his community, but he himself represents the unhealthy community. “The country had created a distance as deep as it was empty, and the people accepted and treated each other with distance.” (Welch, p.2) Elders such as Yellow Calf are sanctuaries for knowledge, providing a link to the past and an understanding of the present. With this understanding, the Narrator is able to establish his family, his history, and a possible future with Agnes. Elders, however, are few and far between. They are as precious as the wisdom they hold. The new Elders will be the active tribal council members, but “to effectively deal with the… problems tearing apart the social fabric on these reservations, they are going to need a lot of community support,” (“Native American Press”) a difficulty when the community and its members are as lost as the Narrator. Without Elders, Native American reservations will lose their history, their temporal community. Without Elders, they may all one day become ghosts.

Works Cited

• Welch, James. Winter in the Blood. Penguin Books, 1974.

• “Reservation turmoil is symptomatic of deeper problems.” Native American Press. 25 Sept. 2003 http://www.press-on.net/editorials/8-30turmoil.htm.

• “Elder Abuse.” Tribal Court Clearinghouse. 25 Sept. 2003 http://www.tribal-institute.org/lists/elder.htm.

• “American Indian Elders.” 25 Sept. 2003 http://www.gasi.org/diversity/cohort/amer_indian_cohort.htm.