“Dreams of Doom” – Plot
In “Dreams of Doom,” Pamela receives an anonymous package. What two main items are inside?
A broken dream catcher and a thumb drive.
Pamela Wanishin works in this job for the West Wind.
She is a journalist (reporter).
In “Take Us to Your Chief,” what classic sci-fi object lands on the beach at Old Man’s Point?
A spaceship (UFO).
Tarzan, Cheemo, and Teddy are all members of this Indigenous group.
Ojibway.
Both stories mix everyday Indigenous life with this genre that features spaceships, aliens, and strange technology.
Science fiction.
The secret government project that Pamela discovers in the files is called what?
Project Nightlight.
“Dreams of Doom” is set in this Ojibway community.
Otter Lake.
When the alien first arrives, what famous line does it say about leadership?
“Take us to your leader.”
Like “Dreams of Doom,” this story takes place in the same community. What is it called?
Otter Lake.
In both stories, Indigenous people must deal with powerful outsiders who want to shape or control them. Name one kind of outsider.
The Canadian government / secret agency, or the alien visitors.
After the government first contacts her, Pamela flees town. Where does she go to hide and keep reading the files?
To an off-grid island cabin.
The West Wind is described as what kind of newspaper?
A small Aboriginal newspaper.
The alien says it comes “in peace” and wants to do what kind of activity with the planet, not fight it?
Open diplomatic negotiations / make peaceful contact.
The three friends spend their lazy summer days on old couches at this lakeside hangout.
Old Man’s Point.
In “Dreams of Doom,” Project Nightlight quietly shapes people’s emotions. In “Take Us to Your Chief,” the alien demands to see “the leader.” Both stories are really asking questions about who has this over Indigenous communities.
Power (or control/authority).
What exact action does Pamela take that triggers the power outage in her house and the first direct contact from the government official?
She tries to search “Project Nightlight” on the internet/Google.
When Pamela hides on the lake, whose island cabin does she use, and why is he not there?
Joshua Red’s cabin; he was in a car accident and is still recovering (so he isn’t at the cabin).
When the alien asks to see Earth’s leader, where do the three men actually take it first, and why is that choice a kind of joke about power?
They take it to the band office to see the chief of the Otter Lake First Nation; it’s funny because he’s only leader of a small reserve, not the whole planet.
What is the alien species called, and what unusual smell always surrounds it?
The Kaaw Wiyaa; it smells like a constant fart because it’s methane-based.
Give one clear example from each story of how non Indigenous forces try to manage Indigenous communities.
In “Dreams of Doom,” the government uses altered dream catchers as antennas to broadcast calming signals into Native homes. In “Take Us to Your Chief,” the alien and officials insist on a simple leader model that ignores how power and community actually work on Indigenous land.
Near the end of the story, Pamela puts a two-part plan into action. Name both parts: what physical action does she take to distract the search, and what digital safeguard does she set up to spread the files?
She burns the island cabin/trees to distract drones and boats, and she uploads the files and her story to the newspaper server so they auto-email/leak if the connection is cut or she’s captured.
According to the government man, how many Native women are unknowingly making the altered dream catchers, and what phrase does he use to describe what is being done to people through this program?
143 Native women; he says people are being “socially massaged.”
How does the story end for Tarzan, Cheemo, and Teddy? What official role do they end up with, and what big sacrifice does that mean for their lives in Otter Lake?
They become ambassadors from Earth to the Kaaw Wiyaa Galactic Confederation and leave the planet, meaning they have to give up their normal lives at home (friends, family, beer, Tarzan’s cats, etc.).
What is the name of the chief they bring the alien to, and what small detail about the band office shows how unprepared it is for a galactic visit?
Chief Angus Benojee; for example, the janitor worries about the slime trail on his newly cleaned carpets and the doorway isn’t really designed for a huge, many-limbed alien.
Both stories raise the question “Who really speaks for Indigenous people” in different ways. Briefly explain how that question appears in each story.
In “Dreams of Doom,” the state secretly decides what is best and manipulates Indigenous people through Project Nightlight, while Pamela tries to speak for her community by exposing the truth. In “Take Us to Your Chief,” the alien assumes one clear leader speaks for the planet, but the confusion between chiefs, governments, and bureaucrats shows that no single authority truly represents Indigenous people or their interests.