Canadian Literature Blog

Lutz, in his asking of us, his readers, to “perceive Indigenous performance through their eyes as well as those of the Europeans,” is presenting us with a rather troublesome exercise. Of course, having a limited scope of Indigenous culture and tradition presents a significant obstacle in the function of viewing this through the eyes of the Indigenous at this time. Of course, this is the case for a large amount of us due to the silencing and suppression of Indigenous written and oral content. We, students in 2021, are far removed and unable to envision that moment of initial meeting, so having an idea of the gravity of and what this moment would be like through the lens of either party is a long shot. However this is quite apparent, and Lutz is clearly aware of this in his asking. 

What we, the readers, can begin to collectively understand, is the unjustified overtaking of Indigenous land and culture by the Europeans. John Winthrop, a founding member of the Massachussetts Bay Colony “justified his claims to the Indigenous Peoples’ land by arguing that they did not mark their ownership of it in ways that Europeans recognized” (Strom, 1978.) There is was clearly a lack of recognition from one party to the other. Another example is the effect of “first contact” on the Beothuk peoples of Newfoundland. The “European colonization forced the Beothuk from their traditional coastal settlements,. And into conflict with other indigenous peoples over resrouces such as caribou” (Caryl-Sue, 2018.) These are things we hear about through articles and written reports, but the act of putting yourself in the shoes of those involved in these instances is rather ambitious. 

With this being said, what Lutz does encourage us to do, is acknowledge the fact that we occupy a very different existence than that of our ancestors; and with this comes a great deal of misinformation and falsity in the adaptation of their history. I found this reading to be very eye-opening!

Works Cited

Lutz, J. S., Binney, J., Dauenhauer, N. M., Dauenhauer, R., & Maclaren, I. S. (2014). Myth and memory: Stories of indigenous-european contact. In Myth and Memory: Stories of Indigenous-European Contact (pp. 30-45). Vancouver: UBC Press.

Strom, Margot Stern. “Facing History and Ourselves: The Study of the Holocaust and Human Behavior.” Media and Methods 14.9 (1978): 17-20.

First encounters in the Americas. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.facinghistory.org/holocaust-and-human-behavior/chapter-2/first-encounters-americas

Having a glimpse into what everyone associates with “home” was a very interesting, yet intimate exercise. Although there were many similarities shared between many of us partaking in this assignment, they differed in their own way. From what I gathered, some of the more communal values, assumptions, and stories people associated with home were as follows.

My dog, Oakley, who will be referenced much too frequently throughout the course of this class.

First and foremost, pets. Of course not everyone has a pet, but I am confident that those who do have a pet will agree with me in saying that there is a special bond between the animal and yourself. I for one, when away from “home” at university, my dog took up a portion of my mind that it would insult the human members of my family should they read this. I am not surprised that I shared this attachment to home.

Next of course was family. When one thinks of home it is common to partner your family with this topic. Whether family being your parents and siblings or the people that were responsible for molding into the person you are today, everyone has a sense of family. 

Also, a surprising number of my fellow classmates brought up them moving from one place to another, having more than one place they call home. This was unexpected if im being honest. When I think of all my friends I made throughout high school, almost 100% of them had been friends with one another since they can remember. One thing I mentioned in my blog post was the relevance of childhood friends, and how they shared experiences with you as part of growing up together. I didn’t realize how many shared my reality of a transition of city and even province. This was both reassuring and eye opening concurrently. 

Lastly, from what I gathered to be commonplace among us all was the association of the physical landscape of what is home. The stimulation of the sense that a return to home brings when spending a period of time elsewhere. For me, as mentioned in my blog post, are the mountains. It was so interesting hearing the varying associations of smells, energy, and bond one has with their impression of home. The aforementioned characteristics of home being “somewhere that is both desirable and that exists in the minds eye as much as in a particular physical location” (Allex Fox, 2016.) 

This has been yet again a very thought-provoking and insightful invitation to think of ordinary concepts such as home through a deeper introspective lens. I very much enjoyed this exercise. 

Works Cited

Fox, M. A., & *, N. (2016, December 23). Why is home so important to us?  https://blog.oup.com/2016/12/home-place-environment/

Why are dogs called ‘man’s best friend’? (2019, December 05).  https://www.rover.com/blog/dogs-called-mans-best-friend/

A view of the North Vancouver mountains

The sense of home is strikingly powerful. It is something that is different to each and every one of us, regardless of where we live. Whether we are immediate next-door neighbours, or live on opposite sides of the world, our sense of “home” will differ from one person to the next.

Being born in Vancouver and living in North Vancouver until I was two years old, I am confident I subconsciously developed this love for the Coastal Mountains at this very young age. When I think of home, the most significant symbol of this is the mountains. Due to my parents work, I moved to the heart of downtown Toronto, even though I grew up in this bustling city of Toronto, I am so drawn to the climate, the landscape and all that Vancouver has to offer. I love Toronto, but there is something about the mountains and forest, I am certain that I will never be able to live in a place without them.

My dog, Oakley at the Cleveland Dam, a two minute drive from my house. One of his favourite spots.

With this being said, when I think of home with regards to people, I think of Toronto. This is for a number of reasons. First of all, all of my family lives in Toronto. It is where my parents were raised. and in Muskoka we have a cottage that we visit frequently. A place where our whole extended family gets together and spends time with one another. On top of this, since I spent pre-school to 6^th Grade in Toronto, it is where I developed my first friendships, a group of people that I am still close with to this day. It is easy to drift away from your childhood friends, as life presents many challenges, and changes, but these are people that you grew up with, learned with, and share life-long memories with, very important people!

As mentioned before, when I think of home in regards to a physical place, I think of the mountains. Even when I go back to Toronto to visit family, friends and my old “home,” I find myself yearning for the mountains within a week. They are something that I’ve fallen in love with over the past decade of living in North Vancouver, and I really attribute this allure for mountains to stem from my first two years on the planet living here, even though I don’t remember it.

Finally, not to get all sappy on you, but I of course credit my dog when I think of home. Having been with my family for the past 14 years, the little bastard has been at home with me for as long as I can remember. He and I have lived together in both Toronto and Vancouver, he made the journey across the country with us. He is a very integral part of my family, a prominent fifth member of the team. Every time I open the door of my “home” I hear his collar jingle as he runs to come greet me as if I had been gone for months on end, when it had really only been about an hour.

In conclusion, my sense of home is an ambidextrous one. My answer would differ depending on the variable being people, or place. I feel very fortunate to be able to consider both of the aforementioned places “home,” and in no way take either for granted, I am truly grateful. Home is “both a place and an idea, complex and multifaceted.” I very much enjoyed this exercise as “home” is not something that I feel I am introspective and appreciative of as often as I should be, so this was very beneficial!

If there was one word to describe Sam, that word was “curious.” He was a young boy with a mean case of inquisitiveness. His Father, one of the wealthiest lawyers in Manhattan, had just bought the family a massive property with acres of land just outside of the city centre. “This,” Sam thought to himself, “is heaven.” 

As mentioned before, Sam was a boy with an insatiable appetite for discovery. He was as curious as can be, and was bursting at the seams to get out into his new backyard to explore. He shot out of the backdoor like a bat out of hell, running for the trees lining the back of the property. “My god, that boy cannot sit still for more than two minutes without running off” said his Father. 

“From here all the way to here” said Sam, talking to himself while waving a finger in the air, drawing out his imaginary tree-top fortress. Everything was going according to plan. He had established which trees would house his fictional stronghold (the tallest ones of course) and now, all that was left to do was go figure out which of his imaginary friends would he show his new domain first.

Sam was a child that didn’t exactly attract the other kids his age. In fact, he had a reverse effect on them, the other children were repelled away, lacking the level of curiosity and imagination Sam possessed. He wasn’t one with many friends, so he had to make do with what he had. Running around the yard, looking for things that he could decorate his newfound fictional fortress with, Sam was one happy kid. Continuing on his romp around his new backyard, he discovered a small hole in the fence at the far corner. Peering through the hole he noticed his neighbour, a young boy around his age, sitting with his back against the fence. Sam called out to him, and when the boy on the other side of the fence turned around, Sam noticed he was crying, hard. 

Taken aback by this, never had he seen such a clear portrayal of sadness on another humans face. When he asked what was wrong, the response he got was one that changed him, troubled him deeply. The story was so evil, so upsetting, that Sam never went on another adventure in the backyard again after that day. The story left such a mark on Sam, that the boy that was once filled with so much curiosity and fantasy, was now one that spent his days inside, the lights that was once inside had been dimmed. He wished everyday that he had not come across the boy on the other side of the fence. But, of course, it was too late. For once a story is told it cannot be called back. Once told, it is loose in the world. So you have to be careful with the stories you tell. And you have to watch out for the stories you are told. 

~~~~~

Reading something aloud that I have written is a pretty foreign concept to me. Although the story was short and done rather quickly, it was still a very interest process from beginning to end. I ended up telling my story to my parents, who had two different reactions to hearing it. My dad, kind of half listening, gave me a thoughtful nod and said that it was interesting, really only taking the story at surface level. When I told my mom, she listened intently from start to finish, and we had a long conversation about it afterwards. I guess the story itself is about the youthful innocence being robbed from this young boy at a time when he was least expecting it, quite a sullen situation. But, all in all I found this to be a very thought-provoking exercise, and a totally new experience for me and for that im grateful!