In the article “A Map that Roared and an Original Atlas: Canada, Cartography, and the Narrative Nation”, Matthew Sparks claims that the original atlas he writes about is used to provide a “cartographic “musical score”. (468). The reason why he calls it a musical score is that it shows every note of the land. Thus each note can reveal the subtleties of its history, and is also all jotted down in a way that those who study the map can better understand the origins of it. Moreover the musical score metaphor is one that also allows Canadians to rethink who Canada’s original settlers were, while also changing their original notions of wherever it’s colonial frontiers may have originally began as well.
Moreover, in this atlas more than one area is marked as the beginning of the nation of Canada, which discredits the idea that the country has only one national origin. This very idea is what brings Judge McEachern to say “We’ll call this the map that roared.” Judge McEachern references the roar because this comparison connotes some sort of power and influence. In addition a roar, like this map is able to bring the attention of anyone who can hear it, or in this particular case, see it. Thus, the map in this context is roaring, as it is able to bring greater attention to the land claims made by the Gitxsan and Wet’suwet’en does. In addition, another reason roaring map is important as it is able to highlight signal the issues the Gitxsan and Wet’suwet’en people had withthe Canadian government, and bring attention to the issues surrounding colonization of their land.
Other than the word itself, the roar that Judge McEachern’s speaks about may also be a reference to the “The Mouse that Roared”, a 1959 movie based on Cold War geopolitics. According to IMDB the movie is about a poor country who declares war against the United States, while also having no intention to actually win it at all. In fact the loss of this war is all part of the poor country’s elaborate plan to receive a large donation of money from the United States, as a way for them to rebuild their economy. Thus the word roar in relation to this particular film, may reveal the true meaning of Judge McEachern’s statement as well as the way he views the plight of the Gitxsan and Wet’suwet’en people. So in this context the map itself is Gitxsan and Wet’suwet’enthe people’s own declaration of war, that in Judge McEachern’s perspective will surely lose. However Judge McEachern likely believes that this loss by the Gitxsan and Wet’suwet’enthe people are also all part of their plan to bring some attention to the issues they face.
Words Cited:
“The Mouse That Roared.” IMDb. IMDb.com, n.d. Web. 23 Oct. 2016.
Sparke, Matthew. “A Map That Roared and an Original Atlas: Canada, Cartography, and the Narration of Nation.” Theories of Mapping Practice and Cartographic Representation The Map Reader (2011): 430-39. Web. 23 Oct. 2016.