Rez dog (or reservation dog) is usually a term for outdoor, stray, and feral dogs living on Indian reservations in the United States and Canada. The term has taken on many connotations, and has to some extent become an emblem of and metaphor for reservations, reservation life, and Native Americans in general. For example, a "rez dog" may refer to a Native American resident of a reservation.
The distinction between a reservation dog and American dogs in general is often seen as emblematic as the difference between First Nation and majority culture way of life. Untended dogs roaming First Nation reservations and other rural First Nation communities cause problems that the communities must deal with. They are generally thought of as mixed-breed and unsupervised.
In commerce and literature
A clothing company, "rez dog clothing", has adopted the persona of reservation dogs.
The narrator of two chapters of Antelope Wife, by novelist Louise Erdrich, is described as being part Ojibwe reservation dog, part Lakota dog, and part coyote.
See also
- Carolina Dog
- Pariah dog
- Mixed-breed dog
References
