Write a blog that hyper-links your research on the characters in GGRW according to the pages assigned to you. Be sure to make use of Jane Flick’s reference guide on you reading list.

I have chosen to do my research within the pages 33-43, and, with the assistance of Jane Flick’s reference guide, I will attempt to analyze several specific characters mentioned in this section.

John Wayne

“First of many references to actor famous for roles in westerns. Wayne did play one or two roles sympathetic to Indians, such as that in John Ford’s thin version of the Custer myth Fort Apache (1948); but as film historian Newman observes, Wayne came “to epitomise the Injun-hating screen cowboy,” especially after his performance in The Searchers (1956), a captivity narrative ( Wild West Movies 58). Late in his career Native Americans picketed his films. Wayne first made his name in John Ford’s Stagecoach (1939); he made many films with Maureen O’Hara, including Rio Grande (1950). Lionel’s childhood desire to be John Wayne and to have his jacket signals his denial of “Indianness.” King uses Wayne’s movie costume of leather jacket, hat and gloves to parallel George Morningstar’s “Custer” jacket, hat and gloves.” (Flick, 8)

John Wayne’s character was, essentially, used to portray a “white man” stereotype to the “Indians.” King ultimately used his character as a direct contrast to Lionel, by describing the two as polar opposites in their own rights: Where John Wayne was brave, courageous and strong, Lionel was more timid – he feared change, and because of this he struggled to escape the dreary, everyday life that he found himself living. Later on, however, he would find the courage to take action and change his life for the better; he viewed Wayne as his “hero,” and sought to follow in his footsteps. John Wayne is also one of the largest pop-culture references that King included in his story, which was, in the end, extremely effective in building rapport with his readers and allowing them to better understand what he wanted to tell them by relating directly to something that most readers would easily understand.

First Woman

“North American Indian mythology. The story of First Woman falling from the sky with the subsequent creation of Turtle Island is a common one in Seneca and other tales. The Cherokee variation involves Star Woman and is also a variant of the earth diver creation stories. Lots of fooling around with the Genesis creation story here. Note that the Lone Ranger finally gets the story off to a proper start with the mention of First Woman in Cherokee, Higayv.ligéii (15).” (Flick, 8)

First Woman represents Eve, and King chooses to paint her as somewhat of a feminist – presenting her in a more contemporary light. She dresses in clothing fitting for modern society, and eats food that we, as the readers, are all familiar with: fried chicken and apples. She is also described as having made the Garden, which shows that she had the responsibility of completing important tasks that might have been saved for only men to do in the past.

Ahdamn

“Play on Adam and the Garden of Eden story in Genesis. Note that First Woman, not God, makes the garden. See also King’s, “One Good Story, That One” for another narrative about Ahdamn and the Garden of Evening, who is First Woman. There King has the same kind of fun with Adam’s naming of creatures.” (Flick, 8)

Here, King also adds his own contemporary take on the Garden of Eden story. The important thing to note here is that King satirically describes Adamn and First Woman as being the ones to decide to leave the garden themselves, rather than being kicked out by God. By bringing this to light, King has effectively changed arguably the most well known creation story fit his own storyline, allowing readers to make less of a jump from reality to non-reality, and building off a story that readers would likely already be familiar with.

Blossom

“The setting, a town in Alberta. Blossom is also featured in King’s One Good Story, That One; see “How Corporal Colin Sterling Saved Blossom, Alberta, and Most of the Rest of the World.” The name suggests natural beauty and regeneration, as well as the smallness of the town. The name has affinities with W.O. Mitchell’s town, Crocus, Saskatchewan, in Who Has Seen the Wind? (1947). RR observes there may be a simple life-affirming message in the direction, “Blossom! Alberta.” (Flick, 8)

The name “Blossom” in itself immediately brings to mind images of beautiful flowers and nature, and a sense of relaxation and renewal. I believe that, by choosing the setting of the town of Blossom, King was emphasizing the significance of Eli Stands Alone first choosing to leave: despite Blossom being a comfortable place to be in (or perhaps, because it was so comfortable), Eli chose to leave and join the “White Man” society.

Bursum, Buffalo Bill

“King combines the names of two men famous for their hostility to Indians. Holm O. Bursum (1867-1953) was a senator from New Mexico who advocated the exploration and development of New Mexico’s mineral resources. With his eye on the map of New Mexico, he proposed the infamous Bursum Bill of 1921, which aimed to divest Pueblos of a large portion of their lands and to give land title and water rights to non-Indians. See bibliography, Washburn, HNAL The Buffalo Bill part of the name refers to William R Cody (1846-1917), an exploiter of Indians for entertainment in Buffalo Bill Cody’s Wild West Show.” (Flick, 9)

Throughout the novel, King describes Bursum to be someone who disrespected and disregarded the opinions of the First Nations people. This is demonstrated through acts such as Bursum refusing to address Minnie as “Ms. Smith,” and the contempt with which he talked about Native American culture.This way of thinking would later lead to the Bursum Bill being formed – that allowed Spanish and White farmers to exploit the land that first belonged to the First Nations.  

Through all of these names of characters and places, I believe that King has done an exceptional job of relating to his readers in Green Grass, Running Water. He is able to relate to pop culture through his referencing John Wayne, whom readers would be able to identify with quite easily. King also rewrites his own take of the classic creation story of Adam and Eve through First Woman and Ahdamn, by painting both of them in a more contemporary light – much like how the two of them would likely behave if they were in our midst today. In the city of Blossom, I believe that many of us as readers have experienced, or are experiencing, our own version of Blossom. Whether we choose to leave it for something more challenging and uncomfortable, or choose to stay because of the comfort, this is a choice that I, personally, have found myself faced with. Finally, in the character of Bill Bursum, King has found a way to merge the two and portray the acts of disrespect in the past that have happened against the Native people, in this single character. As readers, we are then able to understand more clearly the significance of the Buffalo Bill and this Act as the intent and portrayal of it is personified in Bill himself. Therefore, through writing of these characters above, I believe that King has ultimately succeeded in relating to us as readers through various contemporary mediums in an attempt to help us better understand the significance of the events that have happened in Canadian history.

Works Cited

“BURSUM, Holm Olaf – Biographical Information.” BURSUM, Holm Olaf – Biographical Information. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Jul. 2016.

Flick, Jane. “Reading Notes for Thomas King’s Green Grass, Running Water.”Canadian Literature 161-62 (1999).

King, Thomas. Green Grass Running Water. Harper Perennial. Toronto. 2007. Print

Describe how King uses the cyclical paradigm of the Medicine Wheel (and a little help from Coyote) to teach us to understand, or at least to try to understand the power behind the stories we tell ourselves.

The Medicine Wheel, to many Native American tribes, has been used by generation after generation to reflect and represent not only health and healing, but also the entire cycle of life. The manner in which King wrote his novel, Green Grass, Running Water, is, in itself, written in a cyclical structure: he starts his novel with the phrase “In the beginning, there was nothing. Just water,” and he continues to end the first part of his story with the exact same phrase. In addition to this, the simple start of King’s phrase, “in the beginning,” alludes to the core structure of a traditional creation story. This is significant in that creation stories are, ultimately, symbolizes the roots of a community’s beginnings, culture, and unique traditions. By doing so, King is helping us, as the readers, to get a glimpse on the power that stories can hold in influencing the very ways in which we live our lives. One interesting thing to note, however, is the fact that, along with the nothingness and water, was Coyote – who seems to have existed from the beginning of time, implying that Coyote himself had no creator: he simply existed.

What I noticed regarding the structure of the Medicine Wheel was that each of its four points seem to be of equal importance: if one is taken away, the Wheel would no longer work. Each of the four sections of the wheel represent different things: the four traditional directions (North, South, East, West), each stage of life (birth, youth, elder, death), seasons of the year (spring, summer, autumn, winter), and even the colors of the human race. The entire structure to the wheel is cyclical, from the mythical Women falling from the sky, First Woman/Birth, Changing Woman/Youth, Thought Woman/Parent, and Old Women/Elder, to the representation of the four states of the Earth. Eventually, due to the cyclical nature of the Wheel, we will eventually find ourselves once again at the beginning of each state of being, as the cycle of life continues. As is central to what a First Nations worldview is about, everything that happens on Earth is connected with each other – and changing one thing has the ability to change everything else.

The important thing to note is that the Medicine Wheel ultimately teaches us that all the seasons and lessons that it teaches are what keeps the world in balance: it represents the eternity of the existence of life. Every living being will ultimately experience each part of the circle and will understand the lessons that each stage teaches them.

On the The first color, White, is depicted in the the character of the Ishmael, who represents the white men. It also represents the cardinal direction South, and peace and happiness, which, in essence, implied that “happiness lived in the South.” The next color, Black, is represented by Robinson Crusoe, and symbolizes the end of life’s cycle. Blue, represented by Hawkeye, symbolizes defeat and failure – and King further expresses this by Coyote stealing the blue colored Nissan and ending up stuck in the dam – a dead end. Finally, Red, who is depicted by the Lone Ranger, symbolizes success, and the reawakening of new life. It is also the color of fire, which was an essential life source for many nations since the beginning of time.

By telling the story of Green Grass, Running Water in such a cyclical manner, reflecting the cycle of the Medicine Wheel, King has emphasized and demonstrated the power that stories can have over one’s understanding of them. As I read the story over again a second time, and then a third time, I notice things that I did not first notice – proving that stories have the power to be retold and repeatedly interpreted in many different ways, but that they will also ultimately have an end – similar to the how the cycle of life will one day have an end but will eventually be able to begin anew again.

Works Cited

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 CanLitguide, 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.

Coleman noted, in his writing in White Civility: The Literary Project of English Canada, that from the very beginning, there has existed a “literary endeavor” to “formulate and elaborate a specific form of whiteness based on the British model of civility.” This notion of thinking, however, was slowly countered upon the introduction of multiple acts that were passed during that period of time promoting immigration, wider cultural acceptance, and multiculturalism. One of these was the Canadian Multiculturalism Act, passed in 1988, recognized multiculturalism under section 27 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Canada was essentially one of the first countries to adopt such a policy, which not only catapulted Canada into a greater, more accepting culture overall but also allowed significantly more freedom and tolerance especially regarding the Aboriginal people. The policy ensured that Aboriginal rights would be respected, and called for equality to be given to every person who lived in Canada.

One of the most notable things regarding the Canadian Multiculturalism Act was that it allowed citizens to openly practice their religion without the fear of being persecuted. This is now one of the key factors and facets of Canada’s identity toward the rest of the world: the willingness and openness to accept all individuals regardless of their religion or race. As a result of this Act, much of Canadian law today is reflective of this multiculturalism that was first spoken of in 1988. The Act itself includes two fundamental principles:

1. All citizens are equal and have the freedom to preserve, enhance and share their cultural heritage.
2. Multiculturalism promotes the full and equitable participation of individuals and communities of all origins in all aspects of Canadian society.

The Canadian Multiculturalism Act in essence respected that everyone in Canada should be considered as equals regardless of race or the culture that they may have grown up in. This contrasts largely with Coleman’s initial statement of how the fictive white and civil Canadian ethnicity forms the building blocks of Canadian identity is a skewed perception of people occupying the Canadian land. Ultimately, the Canadian Multiculturalism Act is not solely about promoting a culture of white civility. It is trying to emphasize that Canadian culture is not simply about a single color or race, but rather a culture of inclusion and Multiculturalism – something that is unique only to Canada and the various diversities in the people living in the country, even today.

Works Cited

“Language Selection – Justice Laws Website / Sélection De La Langue – Site Web De La Législation (Justice).” Justice Laws Website. N.p., n.d. Web. 9 July 2016.

Parole Board of Canada (November 4, 2008). “The Canadian Multiculturalism Act”. Government of Canada. 9 July 2016.