A Indigenous Alaskan author is hoping to break into the world of popular fiction. Matt Gilbert already has a two significant nonfiction novels in his collection and he’s not afraid of making the transition to film or novels that take place in a galaxy away in a genre which could become known by the name Gwich’in Sci-Fi.
Matt Gilbert has written the serious content. The 2005 graduate of the University of Alaska in English Literature has just released The Gwich’in Climate Report (University of Colorado Press 2023) A collection of his conversations of Athabaskan community members hunter, trappers, and hunters on the regional adaptation of climate change. A previous book entitled Sitting at Their Feet, a account of his growing up in a period of cultural change that was published in 2021 by Epicenter Press.
Gilbert was mentioned on the 2008 documentary about Arctic warming by National Public Radio.
Being attentive to elders is something that we should all be spending more time doing However, in the case of Gilbert — who grew living in Arctic Village — there was something more.
“I was a huge massive, big enormous sci-fi nerd,”” Gilbert said. Gilbert. “Totally an Star Wars fan all the way. A Star Trek fan all the way. Lord of the Rings fan, Willow fan, and as a child I would grew old and be a fan of these movies. However, I have always wondered”What about us?”
Star Trek is still celebrated for bringing ethnic and racial variety to the space. For Gilbert the show wasn’t always about the race that the characters portrayed, it was rather their views of the world. His upbringing was rooted in a tradition of storytelling, which did not make its way into modern science fiction of any sort.
“As as a child I was so sad I was really sad,” he said. “A small child watching TV and a reader in the early years. Where are our stories? Where are the current Native stories that are based on science fiction or fantasy, or even with anything? And I was waiting. When I was fifteen years old my high school was over, and there was nothing – no Native American person wrote anything like this and I became bored of waiting. I thought, “Okay If there’s no way that Native writers are able to create the stories I would like to read, I’ll make the stories, and that’s exactly what I did.”
He did however not do it in the same way as Matthew Gilbert. The debut trilogy under the title Wolf Golan. “Wolf” is his first dog and “Golan” an ode to his grandmother’s name. The series is titled Chandera and Gilbert started writing it while in high school. It’s set 300 years into the future. Its main character can be described as Maxwell Wilkes, a Gwich’in Athabaskan.
To make the novels work, Gilbert had to project not just the future of the civilization in general, but also as well the future for his particular culture. Gilbert was delighted to discover that his friends believed that people would be Gwich’s in three centuries from now.
“When I was writing the book I talked about Native American people, even to younger people, like 20-year-olds,” he explained. “And I asked them “In 300 years’ time, where you’d you like to see us? They’d reply”Oh, we’d have been highly westernized, our traditional culture would have disappeared. Sure, we’d had a connection however, it would be far away which is why I included that. They’re trying to remain Gwich’in but it’s been quite a while since they’ve been connected to the real culture of 300 or 400 years ago.”
Gilbert claims he’s been criticised for his creation of a character that is too much in the western notions of heroism, however, he says the differences aren’t that obvious: In the very first novel in the Chandera series, for instance, Max Wilkes rides into battle in peace, in contrast the likes of Luke Skywalker and Hans Solo and the other “Western men… screaming at each other.” In a different reference to autobiography and culture, Gilbert says his hero does not sleep until late.
Since Gilbert first began creating characters for the Chandera trilogy while an aspiring high school student He’s delighted with the fact that Native American science fiction is experiencing a revival, thanks to the work of authors such as Rebecca Roanhorse, and scholars such as Grace Dillon, a professor at Portland State University whom he considers an instructor. Additionally, there are new characters that push the boundaries of the Native American worldview into space. One of Gilbert’s favorites are Camina Drummer, a central character in the cult sci-fi film The Expanse.
Gilbert wrote the book himself, and self-published it. Chandera trilogy, but he’s hoping that a publisher can bring the series to a higher level, and into the realm that is known as trade-fiction. In the meantime, to pay for the expenses Gilbert and a friend manage a management firm and occasionally work in the construction industry.
He vividly recalls completing the English Literature degree, and studying at the university to see fellow students who were working towards becoming engineers and other professionals. After 18 years, he’s happy with the direction he chose to take in writing.
“If I had the chance to go back and try the same thing over and over I don’t think I’d change anything,” Gilbert said. “I enjoy being an author. I enjoy telling stories You know. However, I really want to pursue different interests from now on.”
Gilbert is looking to broaden his range of creativity and maybe even venture into the world of music. Whatever the future holds there’s a good chance it won’t be the “normal” work. “I tried to find an ordinary job and appear ordinary,” he said, “it (writing) would not let me be.”
