Indian Killer

Wilson has a book reading and gets a ride to the store from taxi driver and fellow ex-policeman Eric. Eric talks loudly about the Indian Killer, saying that the case seems like fair retribution and will hopefully mean that white people will stop tormenting Indians. Wilson worries about other writers producing inferior novels about the Indian Killer, novels that would not have the gravitas and understanding of his own, unfinished work.

When they arrive at the store, a group of Indians are protesting outside, carrying signs that say “WILSON IS A FRAUD and ONLY INDIANS SHOULD TELL INDIAN STORIES” (263). Marie is talking to the press, and when Wilson walks past, she brandishes a petition asking him how many Indian signatures it would take for him to stop writing. Wilson is dizzy and confused, thinking that he is “a real Indian and had done all he could to help other real Indians. He was on their side” (264-65). He pushes inside and gives his reading while the protest continues. The white audience asks Wilson about the Indian Killer, suggesting that the murders are a sign of America’s “spiritual bankruptcy” and proposing that “we all need to turn to the Indian religions in order to save our country” (266).