Summary

In the poem “The Theology of Reptiles,” the narrator describes finding a snake with his brother. The snake is apparently dead, midway through molting, and the brothers consider it as if it were like two snakes. The brother throws the snake over an electric fence but it shocks the snake back to consciousness, while the brother considers himself to be like the god of a snake.

In the short story “Catechism,” the narrator asks his mother about her Christian and Indian beliefs. The narrator’s father is a Catholic-turned-atheist. The narrator is a Coeur d’Alene Indian, and recounts how a Coeur d’Alene Indian holy man foresaw the coming of Christianity through a vision of three black ravens the day after which three Jesuit priests arrived; the holy man urged his fellows to hear the priests...