Anoka is a small Minnesotan city near Minneapolis and St. Paul. Its population reaches just above 17,000 people. The name Anoka originated from the Dakota word a-no-ka-tan-han, which means “on both sides of the river.”
The maternal side of my family has history in Minnesota, specifically in Hibbing. Though it’s a distant state from where I grew up in Southern California, I’ve always felt a connection to the state. My grandma and mom often use Minnesotan slang, probably without knowing it.
Personally, I’ve never visited Anoka. I’ve been to the Twin Cities and smaller towns of Minnesota, but never Anoka. To be honest, I hadn’t heard of Anoka before June 2020. How did it catch my eye? Well, my primary intention for a debut horror story collection was to write all the stories from one geographic location. No, this isn’t a new and exciting concept. The work of Stephen King and Matthew M. Bartlett immediately comes to mind. But I’ve always liked the concept of weird, unexplainable phenomena wreaking havoc all in one place.
My research started in search for a perfect location as my collection’s centerpiece. I googled around for days. I looked up haunted houses, hotels, graveyards, etc. Something rooted in real-life folklore intrigued me. History is my passion and whenever I can connect it to fiction, I get excited. I needed a lesser-known place with hauntings and the perfect dark Halloween vibe. A Google search led me to the “Halloween Capital of the World.” My eyes widened. Did I happen upon a real-life Halloweentown? Scrolling through paragraphs of texts and image galleries, I became hooked.
In the early twentieth century, Anoka experienced some real troublemakers on the night of Halloween, specifically 1919. Cows roaming the streets, tipped over outhouses, and messed up windows caused the adults grief. The following year, civic leaders came together in September 1920 to figure out a way to keep young kids out of mischievous hijinks during the spooky holiday. They organized a Halloween committee which planned a parade down Main Street. The rest is history. This year marks their 100th year celebrating their annual Halloween parade, however, the global COVID-19 pandemic has cancelled festivities.
My dad is full-blooded Cheyenne & Arapaho (the U.S. government recognizes the two tribes as one). Half that blood is in my heart, making me stretched between two identities as my mom is of European descent, namely Italian and Finnish. Split down my spine, I’m one half Native American and one half White American. There are slurs for me, but I ignore them. Luckily today the slurs are rarely, if ever, a problem. The original meaning of Anoka’s name (on both sides of the river) spoke to me as a mixed-race Indian.
Identity is a key theme both in Indian life and in this collection. When I say identity, I’m referring to how one identifies themselves culturally, through language, and as a nation. It’s something constantly on my mind throughout adulthood.
The two major Indian tribes in geographic proximity to Anoka, Minnesota are the Ojibwe and the Dakota. In this book, the characters are mostly Dakota, though the Ojibwe and Lakota nations are present. This choice was deliberate if only for consistency.
My research wasn’t only concerning Anoka itself, but also the Dakota tribe. You may think all Indians know everything about each other, but we don’t. Heck, I’m sure there are many who lack knowledge of their own tribe. History lost in the minds and words of passed away relatives. Every tribe has its own language, history, legends. There is some overlap between tribes, but many tribes are unique.
Despite the uniqueness of many tribes, all tribes share a history of slaughter, subjugation, and eradication. In these stories, my Dakota characters speak with a Dakota tongue, but their experiences and attitudes are almost universal for Indians. Yes, we may all look different and have different dialects, but my aim was to speak to all tribes. The Dakota were merely a conduit, and I mean that with nothing but absolute respect.
I learned just as much about Anoka as I did the Dakota. My historical depictions and claims are as accurate as possible. As a historian, I know the winners wrote much of history and their narratives pervade the historical record much more than that of losers. Some information I came across varied, especially translations of words and phrases. My best effort went toward accurate translations without destroying connotations.
My mom, grandma, and brother visited Anoka during the editing of this collection and brought me home many souvenirs from their Halloween store, Anoka Halloween. I could not be more thankful for their undying support.
This is my debut. Anoka: A Collection of Indigenous Horror is a project for all Natives. My only wish is for all Natives to flourish and find peace. Our shared history post-1492 is beyond troublesome, but we can continue to heal through stories and love.