Here you are – here we are – at the start of a new journey through Canadian literature. My name is Bonny Bung and I’m in my fourth year finishing up a double major in Political Science and English Literature.
I look like I’m napping. I probably am.
I’m not particularly good at introducing myself and have decided that a sporadic spray of a few tidbits about me is the path to take. Apart from my borderline unhealthy obsession with television shows, I jog on occasion, volunteer at two non-profit organizations, and tutor wee ones piano. Speaking of children, when I was 6-years-old I thought a brilliant way to catch birds was to build a nest in the middle of my lawn and wait for the birds to make it their new home (I thought nests in trees were just a coincidence). Total birds caught? Zero. Total time wasted waiting for gullible birds? None. I had built the nest, then promptly took off with my brother to pan for gold in a nearby puddle.
In this Canadian Literature course with Dr. Erika Paterson, we will “focus on the intersections and departures between European and Indigenous traditions of literature and orature.” This is a course that will delve into a range of literature and stories with the aim of uncovering historical cultural connections between Europeans, Indigenous people, and Canada. Being a distance education class, students are expected to not only engage with the professor and each other via multimedia, but also consider technology’s role in “the future of [Canadian] literature” as the dominating medium of expression.
Last summer, I had the privilege of working at Union Gospel Mission; there I met several gentlemen, such as Alex, who shared with me their experiences in residential schools. It was then that I realized how woefully ignorant I was regarding Indigenous issues. My most recent encounter with Native fiction is Daniel Heath Justice’s Kynship: The Way of Thorn and Thunder, which was a required text from my English seminar course last term, and Grace Dillon’s introduction to her anthology of Indigenous science fiction. I am thankful for the opportunity to critically explore other works in this field and hope to develop a greater understanding of the impact that colonization and nation-building had on the true natives of Canada.
Works Cited
“About UGM.” Union Gospel Mission. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 May 2014. <http://www.ugm.ca/about-ugm/>.
“Bookstore.” Daniel Heath Justice. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 May 2014. <http://imagineotherwise.ca/bookstore.php>.
“Media Centre Residential School Survivor Who Found Recovery And Reconciliation Leads Nishga Canoe On Tuesday Unexpected Paddler.” Union Gospel Mission. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 May 2014. <http://www.ugm.ca/media-centre/residential-school-survivor-who-found-recovery-and-reconciliation-leads-nishga%E2%80%99a-canoe-on-tuesday-unexpected-paddler-inv>.
Paterson, Erika. “Course Overview | ENGL 470A Canadian Studies Canadian Literary Genre 98A May 2014.” ENGL 470A Canadian Studies Canadian Literary Genre 98A May 2014. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 May 2014. <https://blogs.ubc.ca/engl47098amay2014/course-overview/>.
“Walking the Clouds: An Anthology of Indigenous Science Fiction.” The University of Arizona Press. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 May 2014. <http://www.uapress.arizona.edu/Books/bid2331.htm>.
Hey there Boony,
So, I smiled through you’re whole introduction… Loved reading about your childhood… In so many ways it says alot about who you are.
Looking forward to reading more as they are very inviting !
I’m an FNSP major, so it’s great to hear that professors from other disciplines are incorporating First Nations topics into their classrooms. Great to hear you’re excited to learn more too 🙂
Nice meeting you, and looking forward to more discussion.
Courtney
Hi Courtney,
Thanks for reading my first entry – I’m glad you enjoyed it!
I look forward to discussing more with you as well.
Cheers,
Bonny
Hi Bonny, so nice to meet you and welcome to our course of studies. Thanks for the links and the stories – I must get my hands on ‘Walking the Clouds An Anthology of Indigenous Science Fiction’ – http://www.uapress.arizona.edu/Books/bid2331.htm – it looks like a fascinating read. I have often thought of designing a course like this one, but in which the students choose our readings in the first week, a number of introductory blogs have included links to new works that I want to read. I am very much looking forward to working with your this summer, thanks and enjoy.
Hi Dr. Paterson,
A course where students suggest the readings for the course seems like a great idea not only for the students, but also for yourself in that you may explore the new texts along with the class. As for Dillon’s anthology, though I did not have the opportunity to read the stories within, I found her justifications regarding the validity of indigenous science fiction as a genre particularly interesting. (Here is a brief piece on the anthology and a few words from Dillon herself.) In her introduction to the anthology, she asks the reader to broaden their mind when considering the term “science”: “Indigenous resource management, traditional ecological knowledge, and sustainable practices constitute a science despite their lack of resemblance to western notions of science. Indigenous science, with storytelling as its preferred medium, is one of interconnectedness with nature, botanical knowledge, knowledge of the land, and also knowledge itself and its generational value” (Dillon 7-8). This statement identifies the “us versus them” mentality that Chamberlin highlights in this week’s reading – I will elaborate further in my new blog post.
I’m excited to see where this course takes us all.
Cheers,
Bonny
Hi Bonny, thanks for the link to the review of Dillon’s anthology, an interesting read. I too am excited about our summer working together.
Hey Bonny,
First, I loved your introduction–I also have an unhealthy obsession with television.
Second, I would love to hear more about your experience with survivors of residential schools, or perhaps, find a way to hear those stories myself. I stumbled upon an article by Charles Trimble, the founder of the American Indian Press Association called “Keeping Victimhood in Perspective” . The article addresses the varying experiences of residential schools, and how some survivors (if it is appropriate to call them that at this point) who had positive experiences in school feel as though their stories are being lost in the other stories of brutality and rape. Apparently, more accounts of positive residential school experiences are emerging.
Personally, I’m wondering how much of the imbalance in testimony has to do with society’s almost twisted need for stories of horror and brutality. Isn’t that why we are drawn to news stories of horror? Do we somehow subconsciously ignore the “positive” experiences in favor of the horror stories we’ve all heard? There seems to be two main points within the internal struggle; what I mean is that it appears that 1. one side is lying, in exaggeration or lies and 2. that by doing so, they are also silencing the other side. My last questions are, is there some way to create balance between these two sides of the same coin? And how do we reconcile our (or society’s) perverse desire for tragedy and horror?
I hope my thoughts made sense 🙂
Hi Fidelia,
I’m glad I’m not the only one addicted to TV. I’m starting a new show called “In the Flesh” – it’s a British show about reanimated zombies reintegrating with society. Delightful stuff.
Thank you for sharing that article. Though none of the stories that were shared with me were positive, I am glad that there are those out there who did not endure the harsh experiences so widely portrayed in the media. I will refrain from repeating the stories here just because I don’t remember the experiences in their entirety, but similar stories have been shared on Youtube. It is unfortunate that good experiences, such as that of Mrs. Eidsvig, are buried underneath the mountain of negativity.
You’ve posed great questions – I hope to answer them adequately here. While I can see how there may be many more positive stories out there than we are giving them credit for, I do not think the testimonial imbalance stems from society’s “need for stories of horror and brutality”. While I do agree that the fascination with horror exists in our society, in the case of residential schools that is not the reason for the overwhelming amount of negative testimonies. Residential schools were created explicitly for assimilation purposes, forcing indigenous people to abandon what was viewed as inferior cultural values in favour of “Euro-Canadian and Christian ways of living.” With such an appalling objective, the result is inevitably the many tragic stories that the Truth and Reconciliation Commission now face today. Here, I recall the words “they beat my culture out of me” from one gentleman who shared his story with me.
I don’t think we ignore the positive (or at least my subconscious hasn’t been informing me of this ignorance…silly subconscious), but it can be difficult to sift through the negative to reach the positive. Then there are times when we are faced with both positive and negative, and in those times we may choose to set aside the good and focus on the bad. Though our society is drawn to the tragic, I would like to think that (cue optimist) this attraction is due to our desire to better ourselves, not a desire for more tragedy and horror, particularly in the case of these “schools”.
I’m not quite certain I understand what your coin metaphor is referring (my brain is also addled from lack of sleep), but as for the lies and exaggeration, I don’t know if there is a sure way to suss out the false bits from the truth. After all, once all the facts are collected, what’s left are memories, recounted as stories, which are essentially subjective perspectives.
Cheers,
Bonny
how’d the gold panning turn out? thanks for adding a little humour into the course. I helped build that Gospel Mission when it was totally renovated about four years ago. I didn’t get to see it finished, though. is it nice? I live in Kelowna, and the Gospel Mission does a lot of great work downtown. I too would love to hear about some of the Residential School stories to mentioned. I feel I should take part in feeling more ashamed for what went on there, and so recently! thanks for sharing.
cory
Hi Cory,
No gold! But after seeing how flustered my brother became, I did roll up a bit of tin foil and throw it into his pan while he wasn’t looking – he thought he found silver.
Wow! You helped to build such a beautiful place? It’s wonderful; it really is a haven in the DTES. If you ever visit Vancouver again, you should definitely take a tour of the facility – I used to give people tours of the building when I worked there. I’ve given a lengthier response to Fidelia’s comment regarding the residential schools.
Thanks for your comment – it’s always nice to meet someone connected to UGM!
Cheers,
Bonny
Hi Bonny!
I laughed a lot at your childhood stories, I think bird-catching was my favourite.
I think we were in English 490 together with Dr. Lai, those texts look very familiar =p I remember being amazed at how well SF genres and tropes fitted with indigenous narratives.
Do you think the previous grounding we had in indigenous SF will help our understanding of the material in this course? I must admit I know very little about indigenous history, and I liked the fact that linking some of the narratives to SF gave me something familiar in which to frame it.
Hi Nina,
I’m glad you enjoyed my stories! And yay for being in the same class again! I thought your name sounded familiar, but I wasn’t sure. Are you also in Professor Bose’s 19th Century Literature course? I could be completely wrong, but I swear I heard your name one day during roll call one class.
I think Dillon’s introduction that we read for the course will be helpful in the sense that it gives us a possible bridge for closing the “us versus them” gap that Chamberlin identifies. I’m not quite sure yet how Justice’s novel will fit in just yet (or if it will at all), but our SF grounding certainly provides us with a different angle of perspective for this course. That can’t hurt! 🙂
As for knowing very little about indigenous history, you are most definitely not alone in that – part of my anxiety about this course is my ignorance surrounding this topic. Here’s to learning new things!
Cheers,
Bonny