Motorcycles and Sweetgrass is a novel written by Drew Hayden Taylor and published in 2010.
The Trickster Nanabush shows up at an Anishinaabe (Ojibwe) reserve, attempting to date the Chief Maggie Second. The Chief’s son, Virgil Second, realizes that John is not what he seems and asks his reclusive Martial Arts master uncle Wayne for help. After developing his own unique Aboriginal martial art Virgil’s uncle helps him expose Nanabush. At the same time Virgil’s mother has to deal with being the chief when everyone in the community wants her to listen and enact their own plans for a new parcel of land that the reserve has recently reacquired.
This book contains examples of:
- An Aesop: Nanabush is usually incapable of learning a lesson, but he does swear off alcohol after a period of alcoholism.
- All Myths Are True: Nanabush a figure from Anishinaabe legends exists as does Jesus. Lampshaded Virgil worries with his uncle whether or not this means that Santa Claus and other beings might exist.
- Charles Atlas Superpower: Uncle Wayne invented his own brand of Indigenous martial Arts and was able to fight on par with Nanabush. He even would have won if Nanabush had not thrown a raccoon at him.
- Darker and Edgier: The stories that Virgil heard abotu Nanabush where children's stories as he is still a teenager. Wayne reveals that there are more stories about Nanabush intended for an older audience that contain subject matter that children and teenagers would not hear. Remember All Myths Are True.
- Fantastic Fighting Style: Wayne made up his own martial art while living as a hermit on an island ont he reserve. His fighting style is sufficent for him to take on a demigod like Nanabush and hold his ground.
- Friend to All Living Things: Subverted as the raccoons hate Nanabush to the extent that they collectively decided to defecate on his motorcycle and annoy and harass him to the point where he bribed them off by giving them junk food from a store.
- Hilarity Ensues: The raccoons play a series of elaborate pranks on Nanabush who plays a series fo elaborate pranks on the community including robbing a museum to create a fake burial ground so the community is more likely to have their claim to the land recognized all so that he can go on a date with the Chief.
- Lets Youand Him Fight: Nanabush throws a raccoon at Wayne hoping to injure him or distract him. Neither the raccoon or Wayne particualry likes Nanabush all that much.
- Once Done, Never Forgotten: The raccoons still hold a grudge against Nanabush for a crime he committed centuries ago. The chief raccoon is angry at Nanabush for killing his great-great-great-great-grandfather. Nanabush is forced to make amends but the raccoons never let him forget it.
- Shapeshifting Trickster: Nanabush is a trickster-transformer figure. He is able to change his shape at will, he is chaotic, he can be helpful to those he chooses to or harm them. He also has a habit of his plans backfiring on him, and he is incapable of learning his lesson for any length of time.
- Voluntary Shapeshifting: Nanabush is capable of altering his appearance at will usually his eye colour. He has said that he does not like doing so as it is painful.
- Walking On Water: Nanabush asks Jesus to teach him this trick so that he can pop wheelies on a motorcycle on the lake.
