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Wayne Benojee
Dakota is Virgil’s cousin, who is around the same age as him and in the same grade at school. She is clever and curious, and she becomes involved in the story’s plot due to her habit of observing the Reserve’s goings-on through her binoculars. She becomes infatuated with John after watching him dance from a distance, which emphasizes John’s charm and the way he draws people to him. Dakota also represents the loss of Indigenous culture as new generations stop prioritizing passing down that culture. Her parents named Dakota and her siblings after various Indigenous nations and tribes, but they did so because the names “sounded cool,” and have otherwise no interest in teaching their children about Anishnawbe history and culture. This results in, for instance, Dakota not understanding the implications when Virgil tells Dakota that John is Nanabush. At the end of the novel, though, she begins learning Anishnawbe stories and Wayne’s martial arts technique, demonstrating that forging a new connection with one’s heritage is possible.
Dakota Quotes in Motorcycles & Sweetgrass
The Motorcycles & Sweetgrass quotes below are all either spoken by Dakota or refer to Dakota. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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Chapter 20 Quotes
“Some people think everything we are is rooted in the past. It is, partially. But like evolution tells us, if things don't develop, change, evolve, adapt, they die. I believe that. So I and what I do are part of that evolution. My heart and spirit are with our grandfathers and grandmothers, but my hands and feet are in the now. I do what I do to honour our ancestors, knowing that if they lived today they would probably be doing the same thing I am. I may never use what I've developed, but it’s better to have it and not need it, than to need it and not have it.”
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Chapter 23 Quotes
Virgil remembered Dakota’s parents had strongly embraced the Canadian lifestyle. They probably hadn’t seen fit to fill her head with stories of Anishnawbe history or culture. Their daughter should have her feet firmly planted in the here and now, they thought. […] Dakota knew more French than Anishnawbe, and more English history than Anishnawbe history. Her only connection to the past had been Lillian. But now wasn't exactly the time to fill her in on the details. It would have to wait.
“You remember those stories about the trickster, the ones that Grandma told us? Him,” Virgil said.
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Get the entire Motorcycles & Sweetgrass LitChart as a printable PDF.
"My students can't get enough of your charts and their results have gone through the roof." -Graham S.
Dakota Character Timeline in Motorcycles & Sweetgrass
The timeline below shows where the character Dakota appears in Motorcycles & Sweetgrass. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 4
...she asks the man to grant her two favors. Meanwhile, outside Lillian’s house, Virgil’s cousin Dakota suggests he peek through the window. Virgil does, and he sees the man kissing his...
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Chapter 10
...racoon escapes and he only catches the tip of her tail. He sees Virgil’s cousin Dakota walking along the road and asks her to bring him somewhere for lunch. Dakota is...
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Chapter 12
...finds John dancing to the music in a style that Virgil feels he should recognize. Dakota also watches John, each cousin unknown to the other and to John. Virgil decides that...
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Chapter 16
...naked with him, and she kisses him. They begin to have sex. Across the bay, Dakota watches them with binoculars.
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Chapter 17
...reflects how unlike her this romance is. A raccoon watches her through the window. Meanwhile, Dakota falls asleep on the dock, where she had once again been watching John through her...
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Chapter 18
...her ire on Wayne. They argue, and eventually he backs down and leaves. At school, Dakota tells Virgil that she met John on the docks, and she gushes about the conversation...
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Chapter 19
...Otter Lake. He no longer wants to include Maggie in his plan, but he thinks Dakota will make a good accomplice. He finds the address of a Cree businesswoman and flirts...
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Chapter 22
...impersonal view of Indigenous people, drives to Otter Lake for the press conference. At school, Dakota gushes to Virgil about John, and Virgil uses the library computer to research stories of...
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Chapter 23
...returns to school, and after class his teacher informs him that no one has seen Dakota since lunch. Virgil skips class and enlists Wayne in helping him find Dakota, who he...
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...when both men climb into the trees and continue to fight across the forest canopy. Dakota finds Virgil at the edge of the forest. She has seen everything, but she doesn’t...
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...efforts on healing himself in time for Maggie’s press conference as he watches Virgil and Dakota help Wayne out of the woods. Sammy returns home, having witnessed from a distance the...
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Chapter 25
Dakota and Virgil bring Wayne to the medical clinic, and Virgil fills Dakota in about the...
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Chapter 26
Two weeks later, Virgil, Maggie, Wayne, and Dakota have dinner together, and none of them mention John. Dakota has started to research Nanabush,...
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Virgil enjoys sharing a secret with Wayne and Dakota, and John’s advice that “there are no such things as dead ends” has given Virgil...
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Epilogue
...a man driving an Indian brand motorcycle across the waters of the lake. Only Wayne, Dakota, and Virgil ever believe him. The narrator concludes the story by relating that it is...
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