Cultures and Language
This is not the time or place to discuss the portrayal of cultures in fiction, save to say that
No two people who belong to a culture experience it in the same way, and
If writers felt constrained to write only about their own experience, culture, history, or background … libraries would be full of dull biographies, and a lot of what makes a culture—the variety and vigor of its art—would be lost, and the culture would die.
That said, when you write about anything outside your own personal experience, you need the assistance of other people, whether you get it from books （necessary, if you’re writing about historical situations and events） or from personal stories and advice.
During the last thirty-three years, I’ve had the good luck to come across a number of kind and helpful people who were more than willing to advise me about the details of their own culture （as experienced by them）， and consequently, I think the various portrayals of those cultures have deepened and improved over the course of the writing of these books. I hope so.
When this happens, though, naturally details will vary, and as you acquire more contacts and more knowledge, you’ll run into some conflicts between accounts. Given that you really can’t go back and revise major events and characters in an earlier book, the best you can do is to adjust the current writing so far as is possible, and use the improved information when writing the next book.
In the final phases of writing Go Tell the Bees That I Am Gone, I had the serendipitous honor of meeting kahentinetha bear, an eighty-two-year-old Mohawk activist, who was more than helpful in supplying me with cultural details, as well as Eva Fadden, the Mohawk-language consultant to the Outlander TV show. Eva and her family are the curators of the Six Nations Iroquois Cultural Center （www.6nicc.com）。 Both these ladies gave me fascinating information—some of which was at odds with historical accounts （all written by non-Mohawk people） that I’d used in previous books. So I used these ladies’ helpful information to the greatest extent possible, and will continue to apply it （and whatever further advice they and other people give me） in future books.
As a brief example, here is kahentinetha’sfn3 description of naming, which doesn’t agree with the naming of Ian Murray’s son in the novels. One could argue that the circumstances were quite different and that the people involved were connected with Joseph Brant and thus not living entirely within the normal cultural environment, and I think that’s valid. But I did want to provide kahentinetha’s information, just as illustration （and in thanks for her very elegant commentary）：
Prayed—we don’t pray like Christians. We gather together in our clan and describe the dream. We do not interpret the dream. We are to wait for the next dream and a sign that will give the meaning to the initial dream. Also the name is given by the people and the baby is presented to all the clans in the longhouse. When the person dies, the last night before he is buried, there is a ceremony to take back the name so he or she leaves without it. Now somebody else can use it. No two persons in the world can have the same name. The oldest person with the name can keep it but the younger person has to go back to the longhouse, wear new clothes and receive a new name.
—KAHENTINETHA BEAR （quoted by permission）
Acknowledgments
As always, this book is a Big Monster that took several years to write. In that time, dozens—if not hundreds—of helpful people have given me assistance and information, and while I’ve tried to note and remember them all, I’m sure I’m omitting any number of kind souls—who are nonetheless Deeply Appreciated!
I’d like to acknowledge especially …
… My much-valued editors, Jennifer Hershey （US） and Selina Walker （UK）， Erin Kane （editorial associate）， and the Penguin Random House “team” that have been invaluable in the editing, publishing, and promotion of my books over so many years—and are still at it: … Kara Welsh, Kim Hovey, Allison Schuster, Quinne Rogers, Melanie DeNardo, Jordan Pace, Bridget Kearney—and— … The long-suffering and noble production people who actually get an unwieldy manuscript between covers: Lisa Feuer, Kelly Chian, and Maggie Hart. And— … Laura Jorstad and Kathy Lord, copy editors, whose tireless skill kept this book on the （mostly） straight-and-narrow path of correct spelling, usage, and other things I wouldn’t have thought of. And— … Most Particularly, Virginia Norey, Book Goddess, the designer of this beautiful book and so many more!