The Bingo Palace (1994)

The Bingo Palace is a novel written by Louise Erdrich published in 1994, with three chapters appearing in the Georgia Review, The New Yorker, and Granta. It is the fourth novel in Erdrich's Love Medicine series, and it follows Lipsha Morrissey as he is summoned home by his grandmother Lulu Lamartine. He returns home to the reservation for the first time in years and finds himself in rapture of a woman named Shawnee Ray. The novel discusses themes of family and identity from an Anishinaabe perspective.

Background

Erdrich wrote The Bingo Palace to coincide with the emergence of Indian gaming. As Erdrich wrote the Love Medicine series, several prominent legal cases such as Seminole Tribe v. Butterworth signaled a rise in American Indian gaming law. When reservation gaming became popular, Congress passed the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act in 1988. The act focused on three types of gaming—traditional Native games, games on electronic devices (including bingo), and card games. In the novel, Lyman plans to include these forms of gambling in his casino, "The Bingo Palace," in order to build wealth for the tribe.

Setting

This novel takes place on a fictional reservation named Little No Horse as Lipsha Morrissey leaves his home in Fargo, North Dakota to return to the reservation after many years. The exact location of the reservation is unknown, but it is assumed to be located in North Dakota near the Great Lakes region.

Characters

Lipsha Morrissey: He is the main character of the novel. He is returning to the reservation after many years of absence and becomes romantically involved with Shawnee Ray.

Lulu Lamartine: She is Lipsha's grandmother and the mother of Gerry Nanapush.

Gerry Nanapush: He is the father of Lipsha Morrissey.

Shawnee Ray Toose: She is the love interest of Lyman Lamartine and Lipsha Morrissey. She has a son with Lyman named Redford and lives with Zelda Kashpaw.

Lyman Lamartine: He is Lipsha's uncle and half brother. He and Lipsha are both in love with Shawnee Ray. He is Redford's father.

Redford: He is the son of Shawnee Ray and Lyman.

Zelda Kashpaw: She is the motherly figure to Shawnee Ray and Redford. She has a vested interest in Shawnee's love life.

Fleur Pillager: She is Lulu Lamartine's mother.

June: She is the deceased mother of Lipsha.

Plot summary

A call from his grandmother Lulu brings Lipsha Morrisey home to the reservation after living with his father Gerry in Fargo. Once home, Lipsha soon falls in love with Shawnee Ray Toose, a dancer and designer who lives with Lipsha's aunt Zelda. Shawnee Ray is dating Lyman, Lipsha's entrepreneurial uncle, and the two have a child named Redford. This doesn't stop Lipsha from asking Shawnee Ray out on a date.

Lipsha and Shawnee Ray plan a date in Canada but are soon stopped by border police because of a pipe that belonged to Lipsha's grandfather Nector. Lyman goes to rescue the two and asks Lipsha for the pipe because of the historical value. When Lipsha refuses to give the pipe up, Lyman offers Lipsha a job at The Bingo Palace, a casino that he owns. Lipsha takes the job and is soon visited by his late mother June in a dream. She gives him bingo chips to use at the casino and drives off into the night.

Lipsha begins to play these chips and wins each time after playing bingo. He wins a van and a lot of money. Lipsha's relationship with Shawnee Ray is also going well. They have a romantic evening together, which leaves Lipsha more in love than he was before.

Lyman finally gets Lipsha to give him Nector's pipe only for him to gamble it away. Lyman's gambling addiction is something he keeps to himself. He begins planning to open a new resort on Matchimanito Lake, a piece of sacred tribal land. Lyman convinces Lipsha it would be a good idea to join him in this business opportunity.

Shawnee Ray begins to distance herself from Lipsha. He becomes depressed over this and finds himself on a vision quest. This quest leads him to a vision with a skunk telling him the plan for the resort on Matchimanito Lake will never have purpose as the land "is not real estate." Lipsha is confused as to where his life is going at this point.

After living with Zelda for months, Shawnee Ray is ready to live on her own with her son. Zelda tries to control everything Shawnee Ray and Redford do, and Shawnee Ray has had enough. She leaves for college with Redford suddenly and doesn't tell Lipsha.

Lipsha has another vision where he sees his father Gerry hiding after breaking out of prison. He goes to find him in Fargo, and they steal a car and drive into a blizzard. The two realize they accidentally kidnapped a baby that was in the backseat of the car. They're stuck in a blizzard when they see June drive in front of them. Gerry goes to be with June, leaving Lipsha taking care of a child in the middle of a snow storm.

Major Themes

Gambling

According to Kristan Sarvé-Gorham, Erdrich comments on the rise of Native American gaming during the 1980s through Lyman and Lipsha. With the progression of legal actions, such as the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988, Lyman was able to have a successful casino. Lyman becomes addicted to gambling by playing the slot machines and soon sells Nector's pipe just to get money. Lipsha gambles in order to change his own luck but feels empty after each winning. As Sarvé-Gorham explains, Erdrich illustrates the dangers of gambling by focusing on the things Lyman and Lipsha did not gain from their pursuits surrounding the Bingo Palace.