4. Identify and discuss two of King’s “acts of narrative decolonization.” Please read the following quote to assist you with your answer. The lives of King’s characters are entangled in and informed by both the colonial legacy in the Americas and the narratives that enact and enable colonial domination. King begins to extricate his characters’ lives from the domination of the invader’s discourses by weaving their stories into both Native American oral traditions and into revisions of some of the most damaging narratives of domination and conquest: European American origin stories and national myths, canonical literary texts, and popular culture texts such as John Wayne films.These revisions are acts of narrative decolonization. James Cox. “All This Water Imagery Must Mean Something.” Canadian Literature 161-162 (1999). Web April 04/2013.

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In reading “Green Grass, Running Water” by Thomas King, I found two key examples that attempted to exemplify an ‘act of decolonization’. I have divided my answers into two sections which include the interaction of Old Woman and the young man walking on water

1.) The interaction of Old Woman and the Young Man Walking On Water

King’s narration of the interaction between Old Woman and what appears to be a “first nations” version of Jesus Christ (Cox) is an example of how Thomas King attempts to narrate an act of decolonization from the First Nations perspective that challenges settler colonial ideology. For example, when the Old Woman falls out of the sky and into the water, she meets the Young Man Walking On Water who mentions that he is looking for a boat, and when the Old Woman spots a boat and asks if this boat is the one he is looking for, he says “not if you saw it first” (King 349). This narration challenges the concept of storytelling; once a story has been told, it can not be revised nor taken back. Moreover, The Old Woman spotting the boat, singing the song to relax the waves and King’s narration of the Old Woman attempting to take credit for being the ‘savior’ of the young men on the boat attempts to challenge the European narrative by narrating the Old Woman as a ‘savior’ and challenging the ‘rules’ of those who consider themselves ‘superior’ (351). King attempts to challenge the rule of storytelling by implementing a character that interacts with and challenges the ‘man walking on water’; which is interpreted as an act of narrative decolonization through challenging dominating colonial ideologies associated with religious icons (Jesus Christ) through re-creating a ‘savior’ character through the narration of the interactions between the Old Woman and the man walking on water.

2.) First Woman & Ahdamn (Page. 68, 139)

King challenges the colonization of the First Nations when he is narrating the First Woman’s interaction with GOD. For example, First Woman doesn’t seem to be phased by GOD when he states his land ownership to the garden and that she should not be eating his nice red apples as it he considers a violation of his property, which challenges his land claim (68). King’s narration of First Woman as ‘invading’ into GODS land which is exemplified by First Woman discrediting GODS claim to the land ownership and violating the ‘Christian Rules’ supports the acts of narrative decolonization by narrating First Woman as the ‘invader’ into foreign land.

The narration of First Woman and Ahdamn’s reaction to getting arrested and First Woman’s response after she was notified that she was arrested for “Being Indian” (King 72) illustrates a sarcastic voice that challenges the power of authority. Moreover, the emphasis placed on how “it looks like a very nice day for one, too” (King 72) when reacting to the arrest attempts to disable the power of colonial settlers through King’s narration of an unexpected positive reaction to getting arrested which is expressed in a humorous way when the experience of getting arrested is compared by Ahdamn as an ‘adventure’ (72). The positive spin introduced by King when narrating the positive reactions to getting arrested attempts to change the damaging narratives of the colonial conquest and domination (Cox), which supports the acts of narrative decolonization by disrupting western narratives of colonization.

Works Cited

“Bible Gateway Passage: Matthew 14:22-33 – New International Version.” Bible Gateway. Biblica, Inc, n.d. Web. 01 July 2016.

Cox, James H. “All This Water Imagery Must Mean Something”: Thomas King’s Revisions Of Narratives Of Domination And Conquest In “Green Grass, Running Water.” American Indian Quarterly 24.2 (2000): 219-246. Education Source. Web. 30 June 2016.

Gray, Robin R.R. Reconciliation_wordle_2.png. 25 Mar. 2014. Simon Fraser University. SFU.ca. Intellectual Property Issues in Cultural Heritage, 25 Mar. 2015. Web. 30 June 2016.

King, Thomas. Green Grass Running Water. Toronto: Harper Collins, 1993. Print.

Marshall, Tabitha. “Oka Crisis.” The Canadian Encyclopedia. CDNENCYCLOPEDIA, 07 Nov. 2013. Web. 01 July 2016.

2] In this lesson I say that it should be clear that the discourse on nationalism is also about ethnicity and ideologies of “race.” If you trace the historical overview of nationalism in Canada in the CanLit guide, you will find many examples of state legislation and policies that excluded and discriminated against certain peoples based on ideas about racial inferiority and capacities to assimilate. – and in turn, state legislation and policies that worked to try to rectify early policies of exclusion and racial discrimination. As the guide points out, the nation is an imagined community, whereas the state is a “governed group of people.” For this blog assignment, I would like you to research and summarize one of the state or governing activities, such as The Royal Proclamation 1763, the Indian Act 1876, Immigration Act 1910, or the Multiculturalism Act 1989 – you choose the legislation or policy or commission you find most interesting. Write a blog about your findings and in your conclusion comment on whether or not your findings support Coleman’s argument about the project of white civility.

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In answering this question, I will begin to summarize my research findings on the Immigration Act of 1910 and relate these findings to Coleman’s concept of the project of white civility which will illustrate the correlation of Coleman’s argument on the project of white civility and the Immigration Act.

Immigration Act 1910

In my research, I found that the Immigration Act of 1910 was introduced by Clifford Sifton and Sir Wilfrid Laurier (517) who comprised a discriminatory list that aimed to restrict the number of immigrants and justified discriminatory judgments of desirable immigrants/undesirable immigrants (Gagnon et al). In 1907, the increase in the numbers of poor British immigrants coming to Canada who had received social/financial assistance was the leading factor in implementing the Immigration Act in 1910 (Gagnon et al). The list of ‘undesirable immigrants’ consisted of prostitutes, pimps, homeless, mentally ill and criminals (Gagnon et al), while the only desirable immigrants was the agricultural immigrant (518). The government maintained control in the regulation of wanted and unwanted immigrants by not allowing judges and the courts to interfere in the decisions made by the minister (Gagnon et al). For example, the government exercised more control in the process of allowing immigrants overseas than via rail (517), like the requirement of Asian immigrants possessing $250 prior to entry into Canada (Gagnon et al) and the Chinese head tax ranging from $50-$100 (519). Oriental’s were especially discriminated against because their oriental labour was seen as invaluable given that they did not want to settle on the prairies, nor live in Canada permanently (519).

The Project of White Civility

According to Coleman, the project of white civility is derived from the criticism of early literature from colonials and early nation-builders in which the literature elaborates ‘Whiteness’ on the basis of the British model of civility (5). Moreover, Coleman argues that this discriminatory literature in the British model of civility reinforces the privileged status of ‘Whiteness’ in Canada and the concept of the British Whiteness is a form of “fictive ethnicity” that still reinforces the racial divide in the position of power and status in Canada (6-7).

The Link Between The Project of White Civility And The Immigration Act 

In regards to my research, I found that the racialized project of white civility argued by Coleman is strongly correlated to Canada’s Immigration Act in 1910. The Immigration Act was a way to create an imagined ‘white’ nation on the basis of discriminatory legislations that prohibited and limited immigration into Canada in 1910. The project of white civility is related to the Immigration Act because the literature is racist in citing the need to limit immigration on the basis of people’s ethnic background which illustrates a way to maintain ‘white power’ by limiting ethnic minorities and justifies the status of British Whiteness in Canada by reinforcing the ‘fictive ethnicity’ through the binary illustration of Asians as undesirables and white agricultural immigrants as desirables (6-7).  Moreover, the Immigration Act attempted to mediate and justify the white privilege of the British Whiteness in Canada due to the policy makers (Sifton and Laurier) were in power of a nation that is under the British rule, thus supporting Coleman’s concerns in regards to the English Canadianness represented in the Immigration Act that attempted to construct a national identity that normalized white power in the process of nation-building through the selective process of excluding immigrants of colour as a part of the national Canadian identity, specifically Asian’s (45). The attempted formation of the ‘imagined community’ is also evident in the correlation of the White civility and the Immigration Act because the policy attempts to stay loyal to the racist state authority that justifies Canadian Whiteness by attempting to ethnically cleanse and create a white national identity as expressed in the historical Canadian literature that is influenced by racial ideologies (CanLit Guides).

Works Cited

A_032. 2002. CBC.ca. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, 2002. Web. 25 June 2016.

Beder, Sharon. “Deserving vs Undeserving Poor.” Herinst.org. Sharon Beder, 2016. Web. 26 June 2016.

Cooper, Luke. “The International Relations Of The ‘Imagined Community’: Explaining The Late Nineteenth-Century Genesis Of The Chinese Nation.” Review Of International Studies 41.3 (2015): 477-501. Historical Abstracts with Full Text. Web. 26 June 2016.

Gagnon, Erica, Jan Raska, Lindsay Van Dyk, Steve Schwinghamer, and Western University. “Immigration Act, 1910.” Pier 21. Canadian Museum of Immigration at Pier 21, 2016. Web. 21 June 2016.

“Introduction to Nationalism.” CanLit Guides. Canadian Literature, n.d. Web. 25 June 2016.

Timlin, Mabel F. “Canada’s Immigration Policy, 1896-1910.” Canadian Journal Of Economics & Political Science 26.4 (1960): 517-532. America: History & Life. Web. 21 June 2016.

Yeager, Matthew G. “Rehabilitating the Criminality of Immigrants under Section 19 of the Canadian Immigration Act.” The International Migration Review 36.1 (2002): 178-92. Web.

1] In his article, “Godzilla vs. Post-Colonial,” King discusses Robinson’s collection of stories. King explains that while the stories are written in English, “the patterns, metaphors, structures as well as the themes and characters come primarily from oral literature.” More than this, Robinson, he says “develops what we might want to call an oral syntax that defeats reader’s efforts to read the stories silently to themselves, a syntax that encourages readers to read aloud” and in so doing, “recreating at once the storyteller and the performance” (186). Read “Coyote Makes a Deal with King of England”, in Living by Stories. Read it silently, read it out loud, read it to a friend, and have a friend read it to you. See if you can discover how this oral syntax works to shape meaning for the story by shaping your reading and listening of the story. Write a blog about this reading/listening experience that provides references to the story.

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After reading this story, I divided my answer to this question into 3 sections as it pertains to the impact that the ‘oral syntax‘ has on my comprehension of the meaning of the story. The three sections are as follows; the experiences of reading out loud, silent reading experiences and listening experiences.

The ‘reading out loud’ experience. 

In relation to the concept of the oral syntax as discussed by King (186), my effort put forth in reading this story silently was minimal due to my increased understanding of the key concepts when I was reading this story out loud, which recreated a different interpretation through my expression of the story out loud which allowed me to engage in the role of the story teller. For example, when I read out loud the point that in order for First Nations to interpret the Indian laws, they must first learn how to read (79), the ‘performing’ aspect of actually talking about the importance of reading skills in order for the First Nation’s people to comprehend their own laws/rights shed light on the reality of the struggles that First Nations had to go through in abiding by laws that are implemented to regulate their position on their own land.

After reading out loud about the author’s narration of not having been to school (85), this point justified the unfamiliar English rhetoric that was used to describe the stories of Coyote’s journey to the king and Toh-Mah’s journey in delivering the books of Indian law’s throughout the country (80); for example, when Coyote is conveying the message to the cook that he wants to see the king, but uses the phrase “King, he’s here” (Robinson 69) which is written down as a statement but is implicitly interpreted by the reader that he is asking a question. This example positioned me in the perspective of the author by allowing me to vocally express the story from the authors perspective which verbally limited my English language expression because I was reciting his story word for word and allowed to me ‘experience’ a limitation in my oral expression that is a result of a lack of education in further developing the English language (85). Moreover, this yielded to a stronger understanding of the author’s Indigenous voice and position in the story in comparison to European settlers through oral narration.

The silent reading experience 

As I was reading the story silently, I had questioned the author’s portrayal of Coyote in this story as an Indian because of the reference to the profound influence that god has on Coyote, for example when Robinson mentions how god sent Coyote an angel to go talk to the king of England to negotiate power relationships (67). I had questioned Coyote’s identity as a member of the First Nations after reading the article by Lutz because the author argued that Indigenous people did not worship a god (32), yet here is Coyote who has the power of invisibility as given by ‘god’ in his journey to communicate with the king of England (72), which made me wonder question if Coyote is Native, and if so, why he is communicating with a god after reading that Native people do not believe in a god.

The listening experience

My friend Ryan had read the story to me and while he was reading, I felt as if I was engaging in a discussion with him regarding the story in which I felt compelled to maintain a form of conversation in efforts to engage and fully comprehend the main points of the story through the concept of the oral syntax, which motivated my friend to directly communicate with me by re-telling the story as if he was experiencing it, which made my interpretation of the story hit closer to home due to his performance of telling the story (186). For example, I feel as if my friend was actually asking me the question of “Do you know what that angel was? Do you know?” (Robinson 66) which made me feel obligated to give a response because of his pause and eye contact with me; this example supports the oral syntax concept because the oral performance of my friend reading me the story engaged me to communicate with him which made it feel as if he was actually asking me on a personal level if I know what type of angel was sent to Coyote and why (186). The listening experience of hearing the angel sent from god to communicate with Coyote (66) created a visual in my head which allowed me to focus on the visual experience of interpreting the reading and allowed for a better understanding through oral communication, opposed to reading it in my head silently.

Works Cited

Hanson, Erin. “Oral Traditions.” IndigenousFoundations.Arts.UBC.Ca. First Nations and Indigenous Studies, 2009. Web. 21 June 2016.

King, Thomas. “Godzilla vs. Post-Colonial.” Unhomely States: Theorizing English-Canadian Postcolonialism. Mississauga, ON: Broadview, 2004. 183- 190. 

Lutz, John. “First Contact as a Spiritual Performance: Encounters on the North American West Coast.” Myth and Memory: Rethinking Stories of Indigenous-European Contact. Ed. Lutz. Vancouver: UBC Press, 2007. 30-45. Print.

Robinson, Harry. “Coyote Makes A Deal With The King Of England.” Living By Stories. Ed. Wendy Wickwire. Vancouver: Talon, 2005. 64-85. Print.

“Storytelling.” First Nations Pedagogy. First Nations Pedagogy Online, 2009. Web. 21 June 2016.

Story Telling. N.d. Native Americans Online. Spiritalk Gathering. Web. 21 June 2016.

 

 

3. We began this unit by discussing assumptions and differences that we carry into our class. In “First Contact as Spiritual Performance,” Lutz makes an assumption about his readers (Lutz, “First Contact” 32). He asks us to begin with the assumption that comprehending the performances of the Indigenous participants is “one of the most obvious difficulties.” He explains that this is so because “one must of necessity enter a world that is distant in time and alien in culture, attempting to perceive indigenous performance through their eyes as well as those of the Europeans.” Here, Lutz is assuming either that his readers belong to the European tradition, or he is assuming that it is more difficult for a European to understand Indigenous performances – than the other way around. What do you make of this reading? Am I being fair when I point to this assumption? If so, is Lutz being fair when he makes this assumption?

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What do you make of this reading?

I am intrigued to read about the diversity of the many Indigenous cultures on the west coast of British Columbia. Throughout the reading, I was reminded of my profound influence of the Western-European culture living in a settler Canadian society today. For example, the story pertaining the oral histories of the Ts’msyen people in relation to the importance of supernatural encounters and taking a ‘rational’ approach in dousing themselves with urine when the vessel appeared over the supernatural spot and Raven (Lutz 36), made me address the concept of what was considered to be ‘rational’ in a historical lens and how rationality could be applied contemporarily if someone was to do that today.

I was interested in the approach that Lutz took by addressing the controlled efforts by both Europeans and the Indigenous people in efforts to attain a level of peace, even in times of miscommunication through providing examples like “What gestures to make that would not provoke? What costumes to wear to aspire the appropriate awe or respect? What face to show forward the right mixture of strength and openness?” (Lutz 30). Lutz provides a perspective that is contrary to what is taught in today’s education system as it pertains to the historical relations between European settlers and the Indigenous people, the emphasis placed on the importance of showing respect for the Europeans and the Indigenous people is different due to the reference of positive communication opposed to focusing on the negative outcomes for the Indigenous people as a result of European influence (30).

It is difficult for a European to understand Indigenous performances

In regards to Lutz’s statement about how European’s misinterpret the Indigenous, I argue that Lutz is implying that it is more difficult for a European to understand Indigenous performances. The supporting argument that in order for one to understand the level of misunderstanding between the Indigenous people and the Europeans, one must be able to place themselves in the context of the situation through the binary perspectives supports level of difficulty for Europeans to understand Indigenous people due to a lack of prior experiences in communication between the Europeans and the Indigenous people.

The binary beliefs illustrated in the notion ‘god’ for Indigenous people and Europeans is indicative of Lutz’s argument in how one of the most salient difficulties for Europeans could be communicating with the Indigenous people reinforces. For example, I found it interesting that the Indigenous people do not believe in a god, and how earlier in the article, Lutz discusses how Indigenous people perceived the Europeans as supernatural beings, in which the Europeans misinterpreted that the Indigenous people had perceived them as ‘gods’ (32). This point supports the level of misunderstanding in the communication between the Europeans and the Indigenous people; through the Europeans making the automatic link between the concept of ‘supernatural’ and ‘god’, implying that the Indigenous people believe in a god-like figure that is a super natural, and that the construal of the Europeans as ‘super natural’ must mean that the Indigenous people see the Europeans as ‘gods’ (32).

Is Lutz’s assumption fair? Yes.

The point made by Lutz that comprehending the performances by the Indigenous people is difficult for Europeans is a fair assumption to make; suggesting that the reader should enter an unknown time and challenge us to interpret un-familiar cultural practices is an appropriate justification supporting the difficulty for Europeans to understand Indigenous performances as a means for communication (Lutz 32).

Works Cited

Higgins, Jenny. “Aboriginal Relations with Europeans 1600-1900.” Heritage.nf.ca. Newfoundland and Labrador Heritage Web Site, 2008. Web. 15 June 2016.

Lutz, John. “First Contact as a Spiritual Performance: Encounters on the North American West Coast.” Myth and Memory: Rethinking Stories of Indigenous-European Contact. Ed. Lutz. Vancouver: UBC Press, 2007. 30-45. Print.

Smith, Derek G. “Aboriginal People: Religion.” The Canadian Encyclopedia. Historica Canada, 12 Apr. 2011. Web. 15 June 2016.

“The Explorers and the First Nations, Their Lands and Their Lives.” VirtualMuseum.ca. Maritime Museum of British Columbia, n.d. Web. 15 June 2016.

Assignment 2:3 Read at least 3 students blog short stories about ‘home’ and make a list of the common shared assumptions, values and stories that you find. Post this list on your blog.

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It was a pleasure to read many of the blogs in relation to the diverse perceptions in identifying with a sense of home. Moreover, there were three blogs that I could identify with the most after reading the diverse stories that helped justify a developed sense of home through the experiences and stories told. The following stories by Mariam Manghat, Navi Gosal and John Wang helped me comprise a list of common shared assumption, values and stories which I can relate to in developing my sense of home.

Mariam Manghat

Mariam’s inspirational story regarding the issue of racism in the post 9/11 era and experiencing a sense of difficulty in identifying with a feeling of a sense of home due to racism is something that I can relate to from an early age as well through my experiences in elementary school. I hated going to school after feeling outcast as a result of my skin colour and cultural identification, two things that I couldn’t change. My bond with my cousins got stronger as we had shared experiences in racism throughout elementary school in the post 9/11 era, kids would yell out racial slurs and chase us out of school grounds and when we would notify the school administration, there would be a minimal effort invested to resolve these racial issues. I found that in the post 9/11 era, I became more educated on the issues of historical racism in Canada throughout my experience in high school and university which lead to a sense of belonging, identification and appreciation with my homeland through the development of empirical knowledge.

As it pertains to my sense of home in New Westminster, an elder relative of mine was murdered in broad day light one year ago, as she was walking down a busy street in New Westminster and was physically attacked by a young male for no reason, other than being an elderly woman of colour and having an ethnic background. The street that she was murdered on will never be remembered the same for me, my sense of home in New Westminster has been changed forever as a result of a constant everyday reminder of the horrific event that had taken place every time I drive on that road. The issue of racism in the post 9/11 era is something that I can relate too, and Mariam’s story of racism was something that I could relate to in my development in my sense of home.

Navi Gosal

I can relate about the point made by Navi Gosal about the lack of opportunities presented at an early age for travelling, as my parents are also immigrants from India and their experiences of moving away from their own home and leaving their family/friends behind in India has created a different perspective on travelling that my own romanticized notion of travelling as a result of western ideologies. Moreover, the value in developing her sense of home through the story of missing her mother while away on vacation, reciting the story of her mother’s business clients who eventually turned into family friends who would hang around her house for long-periods of time having tea, is also reminiscent of my mother in the sense of creating an open and friendly vibe throughout the household.

John Wang

In John’s blog, he narrates a story of his first fighting experience in connection to the development in the sense of home. I was intrigued to hear that John and the boy who had started a fight with him, ended up becoming good friends after both of them were sent to the counsellor as their punishment for the fight. I can relate to his story because often when I was younger, I would engage in many fights as a result of bullying from people in my elementary school for ‘no reason’. Today, walking around my hometown of New Westminster, I often run into some of the people who used to start trouble with me and my cousins and we often share a good laugh about how we were trouble makers as kids and how things have changed. I still see some of the people who used to start trouble back in the day when I go to play hockey at the local community center we exchange stories about what we are in our current lives and some of the guys are surprised to hear that I am a 4^th year university student at at one of the top schools in the country, as they admit that they did not have high expectations for me and my cousins due to their memories of us being violent as kids.

Works Cited

Bhasin, Ritu. “Sikhs Have Been Living in Fear of Hate Crimes since 9/11.” The Globe And Mail. N.p., 08 Aug. 2012. Web. 8 June 2016.

Elliot, Josh, and Josh Dehaas. “CTV Exclusive: Sikh Man Viciously Attacked in Quebec City.” CTV News. N.p., 1 Apr. 2016. Web. 8 June 2016.

“Julien Levasseur Charged with 2nd-degree Murder in New Westminster Attack.” CBC News. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, 05 June 2015. Web. 8 June 2016.

Kamagata1. 23 May 2014. Ottawa. Sikh 24. By R. Paul Dhillon. 23 July 2014. Web. 8 June 2016.

Narang, Devanshu. “Experiences of an Immigrant to Canada.” The Times Of India. Bennett, Coleman & Co, 29 Feb. 2012. Web. 8 June 2016.