Rez Dogs

Malian, pronounced “Mary Ann” by Wabanaki people, is the central character and protagonist of the narrative. Malian is an eighth grader and a bridge between the Penacook reservation in New England, where she was born to Wabanaki parents, and modernized America. Before 1st grade, Malian moved with her parents to Boston. Her father got a job with a law firm and Malian started at a Catholic school, where she excels.

Malian is kind, intelligent, hardworking, and responsible. She fully embraces her Wabanaki heritage, as do her parents. She does not resent being “stuck” on the reservation during lockdown, and uses the time with her grandparents to connect more deeply with her Wabanaki roots. Malian has remained friends with her kindergarten classmates on the reservation, who good-naturedly call Malian a Macintosh—“a play on the slang word Apple, a name for someone who looks Indian but acts more like a white person—red on the outside and white within” (29). This is an insult to an Indigenous person, but Malian knows they use it fondly. Malian would like to socialize with her friends, but she takes the responsibility of protecting her grandparents from the COVID-19 virus seriously and scolds her Wabanaki friends for breaking the restrictions out of boredom.