Assignment 3:7 (Hyperlinking GGRW) | Identity: Allusions to Illusions
Hyperlinking Green Grass, Running Water
The Challenge: Discover as many allusions as you can to historical references (people and events), literary references (characters and authors), mythical references (symbols and metaphors).
For this week’s assignment, I’ll be looking at a section of Part Two of Green Grass, Running Water by Thomas King. I’m using the Kindle Edition, so my pages are a little different; I’m focusing on Locations 1718-1851, beginning with “Portland Looking Bear had been a movie star” and ending with “Under the book was a twenty-dollar tip.”
As Dr. Paterson mentioned, it’s rather challenging to organize an analysis like this due to King’s incredible wealth of allusions! I chose to focus in on references that relate to the theme of identity; there are a great many more allusions in this section, and I imagine that each time this book is read a new connection can be discovered!
Identity: Names
This section begins with some background information about Charlie Looking Bear’s father, Portland Looking Bear, after a desk clerk mentions Charlie looks familiar. The first thing I noticed was the name: Portland Looking Bear. When read aloud, it’s indistinguishable from the phrase “Portland looking bare” – perhaps a reference to the character’s career struggles, or perhaps a more sinister reminder of the widespread death of Native peoples in the Portland Basin. Oregon is also mentioned as one of the places Portland and Lillian passed through on their way to Hollywood. It’s also possible that the significance of bears to many First Nations cultures could also be a contributing factor in King’s choice. Continuing on the topic of names, Portland’s wife is named Lillian, which could refer to a number of famous Lillians; my best guess is that it could be in reference to Lillian Case Russell, who wrote (among other things) screenplays for Western films.
The importance of names is highlighted in this section when Lillian discusses Portland changing his name to “Iron Eyes Screeching Eagle.” As Flick notes, this is a “joke about choosing a ‘really Indian’ name for the movies” (153), which doubles as commentary on the tendency for Westerns to feature stylized “Indian” names, both for characters and actors. “Screeching Eagle” is likely a reference to the sound byte that is often used in Westerns, made more amusing when one realizes the stereotypical screech of the eagle is, in fact, the call of a red-tailed hawk. This name is also a reference to Iron Eyes Cody, best known for being “the crying Indian” in a Keep America Beautiful commercial. Iron Eyes Cody is also referenced through the character of C.B. Cologne, “a red-headed Italian who played some of the Indian leads” (King) – Iron Eyes Cody’s parents were Italian (despite his claims to the contrary). C.B. Cologne’s name is also multi-layered; his initials stand for “Crystal Ball”, resulting in a full name that is reminiscent of “Cristóbal Colon”, the Spanish name for Christopher Columbus. His name is also a pun within the context of the novel; both “Crystal Ball” and “Cologne” refer to types of perfume. Additionally, C.B. Cologne can be seen as a reference to famed director Cecil B. DeMille.
Identity: Appearances
The emphasis King puts on characters’ names fits into the overarching theme of identity that can be found throughout the novel. For Portland Looking Bear, the question of identity is wrapped up in his nose; as Lillian put it in the novel, “It was your father’s nose that brought us home.” His nose did not fit the stereotypical image directors wanted; this references a similar occurrence for Cherokee actor Chief Thundercloud, who had to wear a false nose in Geronimo to look more like “an Indian.” Of course, this comparison brings further nuance, as “Chief Thundercloud” is a stage name for Victor Daniels, whose background is somewhat vague, and who originated the part of Tonto in The Lone Ranger movie (a character that is referenced throughout King’s novel). There was also a “Chief Thunder Cloud” (no relation) who performed in Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show, which is also referenced in the novel.
When Portland is told he would need to wear a false nose, it is after an audition for “the Indian lead in the Sand Creek Massacre starring John Wayne, John Chivington, and Richard Widmark” (King). This is rife with allusions: first, the title refers to the horrific Sand Creek Massacre that occurred at the beginning of the Plains Indian Wars in the late 1800s. Each of the stars in the film refer to historical figures: John Wayne, famed Western actor, who becomes an important counterpoint to “Indian” identity in the novel through the characters of Lionel and George; John Chivington, the colonel who led the raid at the Sand Creek Massacre; and Richard Widmark, an accomplished actor whose research into the suffering of the Cheyenne inspired the film Cheyenne Autumn. The final connection found in this film is that of the character Chief Long Lance, who was played by C.B. Cologne after Portland refused to wear the false nose. Chief Long Lance is another historical figure: an actor and imposter of Cherokee and Catabwa heritage.
Identity: Americans and Canadians
King spends a great deal of time in this section of the novel comparing Americans and Canadians, mostly through Latisha’s discussions with George and the visitors to the Dead Dog Café. Latisha determines the latest group of visitors are Canadian based on their behavior: use of name tags, orderly lines, and unison motion. This plays off of the common Canadian stereotype as being polite. But King gives it greater meaning when he includes the debate between Latisha and George regarding the overall behavior of Americans and Canadians. George believes that Americans are independent and adventurous, Canadians dependent and conservative. This sparks an allusion-riddled debate about prominent historical figures. George cites Lewis and Clark as consummate American adventurers, referring to the lead members of the Lewis and Clark Expedition in the early 1800s, and obliquely referencing Sacagawea (who makes an appearance in the novel as Sally Jo Weyha; Leo unravels this allusion in an earlier blog post). Latisha cites Samuel de Champlain and Jacques Cartier in rebuttal (two French explorers who “discovered” parts of Canada), but George dismisses them as “Europeans.” It’s worth noting that Latisha’s words lack quotation marks; this could be simply a literary convention as we are witnessing a scene from Latisha’s memory, but it’s possible it could be seen as reinforcing the idea that not everyone’s words or opinions are treated equally, that somehow Latisha’s arguments aren’t worthy of quotation marks.
Latisha and George’s debate continues with the topic of “great military men.” George lauds George Washington, Andrew Jackson, George Armstrong Custer, and Dwight D. Eisenhower: most of whom are associated with “anti-Indian activity” (Flick 155). His inclusion of George Armstrong Custer is particularly interesting, as the character George is himself an allusion to Custer. Latisha replies with prominent Canadian military figures: Louis Joseph de Montcalm, James Wolfe, Louis Riel and the rebellions at Red River and Batoche, and Billy Bishop. With the exception of Billy Bishop, George dismisses these figures as they were all defeated. There is again a focus on figures with important associations with First Nations people; in this case, most of them are fighting with (not against) Native peoples: Louis Riel was Métis, and Montcalm was part of a joint French/Indian endeavor to fight the English. Wolfe was on the opposite side; when Latisha points out that Wolfe was British, not American, George replies with “Almost the same thing” (King), linking Wolfe with the anti-Indian activities of George’s American heroes.
Returning to the Canadian visitors to the Dead Dog Café, we can easily discover a plethora of allusions. The four main visitors introduce themselves: Sue Moodie, Polly Johnson, Archie Belaney, and John Richardson. These are all Canadian historical figures associated with writing about Native peoples. Sue Moodie refers to Susanna Moodie, who has been an important figure in this course and whose book Roughing It in the Bush contains illuminating depictions of Canada as an “empty land.” Roughing it In the Bush is also referenced in the visitors’ conversation. Polly Johnson is an interpretation of Pauline Johnson, a Canadian writer with a Mohawk father who was known to perform in buckskins. The book she leaves at the café, The Shagganappi, was a real book written by Johnson. John Richardson is a well-known Canadian author; his novel Wacousta tells the story of an Englishman who “transforms himself into the savage Wacousta” (Flick 154). Finally, there’s Archie Belaney: an Englishman who took on the identity “Grey Owl” and became a famous writer and conservationist.
Identity: Illusions
Throughout this section, King alludes to historical figures who are now known to have falsified their Native heritage, including Iron Eyes Cody (born Espera Oscar de Corti), Chief Long Lance (born Sylvester Long), and Grey Owl (born Archibald Belaney). These men all purported to be someone they were not; they were imposters, living an illusion. King’s inclusion of these imposters could be seen as a foil to the characters in Blossom, Alberta, and especially to Lionel and Eli Stands Alone. Lionel and Eli are both chastised by Norma for wanting “to be a white man” (King), in a sort of reversal of the imposters listed above. By including these references, King reinforces the theme of identity and encourages the reader to think about the complex questions the notion of identity involves. The wealth and complexity of allusions in Green Grass, Running Water offers endless opportunity for discovering connections, and successfully encourages the reader to delve into the world of the novel to uncover truths about the world outside.
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Works Cited:
“Billy Bishop.” Veterans Affairs Canada. 21 Jan 2020. https://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/remembrance/people-and-stories/billy-bishop. Accessed 26 Mar 2021.
Buma, Michael. “John Richardson’s Unlikely Narrative of Nationhood: History, the Gothic, and Sport as Prophecy in Wacousta.” University of Western Ontario. https://journals.lib.unb.ca/index.php/scl/article/view/18633/20323. Accessed 26 Mar 2021.
Chiaventone, Frederick J. “The Truth About George Armstrong Custer.” Cowboys & Indians. May 2016. https://www.cowboysindians.com/2016/04/the-truth-about-george-armstrong-custer/. Accessed 26 Mar 2021.
“Chief Thundercloud Biography.” IMDb. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0862086/bio. Accessed 26 Mar 2021.
Daddy, Kymberlys. “Chief Thunder Cloud.’ Find a Grave. https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/15688574/thunder-cloud. Accessed 26 Mar 2021.
Dubé, Dani-Elle. “Canada 150: 6 Canadian stereotypes that happen to be true.” Global News. 28 June 2017. https://globalnews.ca/news/3550982/canada-150-6-canadian-stereotypes-that-happen-to-be-true/. Accessed 26 Mar 2021.
King, Thomas. Green Grass, Running Water. Harper Perennial, 1993. Kindle Edition.
“First Peoples in the Portland Basin.” The Oregon History Project. https://www.oregonhistoryproject.org/narratives/commerce-climate-and-community-a-history-of-portland-and-its-people/introduction-3/first-peoples-in-the-portland-basin/#.YF6TxrRKi36. Accessed 26 Mar 2021.
Flick, Jane. “Reading Notes for Thomas King’s Green Grass, Running Water.” Canadian Literature 161/162 (1999), https://blogs.ubc.ca/engl372-99c-2020wc/files/2013/11/GGRW-reading-notes1.pdf. Accessed 26 Mar 2021.
Harmetz, Aljean. “Richard Widmark, Actor, Dies at 93.” The New York Times. 26 Mar 2008. https://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/26/arts/26cnd-widmark.html. Accessed 26 Mar 2021.
Historica Canada Teacher Community. “Pauline Johnson.” Historica Canada. http://education.historicacanada.ca/en/tools/228. Accessed 26 Mar 2021.
Horwitz, Tony. “The Horrific Sand Creek Massacre Will Be Forgotten No More.” Smithsonian Magazine. December 2014. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/horrific-sand-creek-massacre-will-be-forgotten-no-more-180953403/. Accessed 26 Mar 2021.
“Iron Eyes Cody – The Crying Indian.” Valley Relics Museum. https://valleyrelicsmuseum.org/general-museum-news/iron-eyes-cody-the-crying-indian/. Accessed 26 Mar 2021.
Kozlovic, Anton Karl. “Cecil B. DeMille’s Greatest Authenticity Lapse?” Kinema via University of Waterloo. 2003. https://openjournals.uwaterloo.ca/index.php/kinema/article/view/1045/1180. Accessed 26 Mar 2021.
“Native American Bear Mythology.” Native-Languages.org. http://www.native-languages.org/legends-bear.htm. Accessed 26 Mar 2021.
Onyanga-Omara, Jane. “Grey Owl: Canada’s great conservationist and imposter.” BBC News. 19 September 2013. https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-sussex-24127514. Accessed 26 Mar 2021.
Robinson, Jessica. “Bald Eagle: A Mighty Symbol, With a Not-So-Mighty Voice.” NPR. 2 July 2012. https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=156187375. Accessed 26 Mar 2021.
Smith, Donald B. “Long Lance, Buffalo Child.” NC Pedia. 1991. https://www.ncpedia.org/biography/long-lance-buffalo-child. Accessed 26 Mar 2021.
Wagner, Kristen Anderson. “Lillian Case Russell.” In Jane Gaines, Radha Vatsal, and Monica Dall’Asta, eds. Women Film Pioneers Project. New York, NY: Columbia University Libraries, 2013. https://doi.org/10.7916/d8-v3m0-pa17. Accessed 26 Mar 2021.
Yamanaka-Leclerc, Leo. “3:5 – Voicing Names.” UBC Blogs, English 372 – Canadian Literature. 19 Mar 2021. https://blogs.ubc.ca/english372leoyamanakaleclerc/2021/03/19/35-voicing-names/. Accessed 26 Mar 2021.
Hi Magdalena,
Thanks for this great post; you certainly found a lot of fascinating, crisscrossing allusions and interconnections!
“Portland looking bare”–I’d never thought of that. Maybe also faintly suggestive of his risqué work at The Four Corners? (Perhaps a stretch!)
I think you’re touching on something really crucial in your discussion of the assumptions and performances of (national, racial, personal) identities in King’s novel. This is what the four “old Indians” (have to) do as well during the course of their stories–take up a name that’s sanctioned by “the book.” Otherwise they cannot be recognized except as “another Indian.” But the funny thing (I guess) is that they all end up with the “wrong” name, that of the Euro-/American hero rather than the native sidekick. And it looks like there’s some potential for free movement and empowerment in this slippage in the distribution of identities: the Lone Ranger/First Woman can escape the soldiers by putting on the mask. Your way of tying in these cinematic and literary allusions has made this part of the novel’s meaning richer for me–thank you!
This makes me wonder about the boundary between acknowledgment and perhaps imitation on the one side and imposition and appropriation on the other. How do we negotiate the formation of such identities when they involve a degree of mimicry?
This seems like a dreadfully abstract way of putting the question. But I suppose it’s about what King’s novel might tell us about the way we see ourselves as individuals and citizens of a (post-)colonial nation like Canada . . .
Just a few thoughts raised by your post!
All the best,
Connor
Hi Connor,
Thanks! I like you idea of Portland “looking bare” connecting to the Four Corners; when it comes to King, I think there’s very little that’s too much of a stretch! Or at least, even if it wasn’t an intended allusion, I like to think King would appreciate that his readers are seeking out connections (intended or not!).
It is a difficult line to walk, isn’t it? How far can an “homage” go before it becomes a copy of the original? How much is too much? And who gets to make these decisions, anyway? But when it comes down to it, I believe that the most important thing to do is to be honest with your intentions and discuss the implications; to work to understand how your own personal story will interact with those of the people around you, and to be willing to listen and learn. 🙂
Hi Magda,
Thank you on your (very well organized) thoughts on your passage. I especially liked the theme of Identity, and how you arranged your ideas into these categories.
The section of the book that I based my post on also contained the character of Portland, and despite my efforts I couldn’t come up with a reason for why a Western-loving Native American Actor would be named ‘Portland’. My best guess at the time had to do with the City of Portland’s location along the west coast along with Westerns being so-named, but given the distinct difference in climates between these two regions, I didn’t feel like I had a strong enough connection, barring irony, to include it. I clearly was not thinking along the same lines as you, and I am convinced that you are on the right track, both with the Bear/Bare reference, and the Portland Basin reference.
I had also noticed that Latisha’s arguments weren’t given the quotation marks that George’s were. There are other places in the book where this happens, most notably during I says’s stories. In those passages, it feels that King is using the storytelling structure, forcing the reader to discern for themselves which lines are the dialogue, and which are the descriptions. From what you were saying about the differing ideologies of these two at the Dead Dog Café, it makes me imagine that this different way of presenting their dialogue may come down to the differing positions that they take. George, representing the side that is most interested in military and adventurers and strong leaders is given the dialogue represented in a colonized manner; whereas Latish, representing the side most interested in indigenous defence of their own land is given the storytellers manner of speaking.
Hi Magda,
Thanks for another great post. I really appreciated your discussion of falsified Indigenous identities. This is something that we have seen lots of in the news in recent years – most recently we saw the cancellation of the TV show Trickster (based on Eden Robinson’s novel), due to questions about the Indigenous identity of the show’s creator and director Michelle Latimer. It makes sense that King would include this issue in his novel, as it is so tied up in Indigenous identity politics. Joseph Boyden is another interesting figure whose Indigenous identity has been very much in question. I think a critical piece of this discussion of falsifying Indigenous identity is wrapped in the damage done by colonization and Indigenous oppression and assimilation. I am sure that some people who are claiming Indigenous identities and being called out as frauds, are in fact lying – as was the case for the characters you mentioned in King’s novel. However, I wonder about those who have unclear histories due to Indigenous erasure, disconnection from traditional communities, and separation of families. I don’t know if this is the case for Boyden. I think general consensus is that he is not Indigenous. But I am curious about how the devastating effects of colonialism might contribute to some people claiming Indigenous identity without knowing all the details or being able to prove their claims.