For my analysis, I was assigned pages 32-54 of Thomas King’s novel Green Grass Running Water. I will begin by speaking about the historical and literary references present in these passages, as well as my own personal response to this section.

The first character that I encounter is Alberta Frank. She is a seemingly strong and independent woman. She lives in Calgary, a city in Alberta. King could be showing that the places we live help to identify us by having his main female character have the same name as her home province. Jane Flick’s annotations say that “usually Alberta herself is frank” (144), a play on her last name. She is really quite frank, saying “having both Lionel and Charlie relieved her of the anxiety of a single relationship in which events were supposed to rumble along progressively, through well-defined stages. First dates, long talks, simple passion, necking, petting, sex, serious conversations, commitment, the brief stops along the line to marriage and beyond” (King 44-45). The next clear reference is of the character Dr. John Eliot, who Flick believes could be “missionary John Eliot (1604-1690) the “Apostle to the Indians” in Massachusetts; he opposed enslaving Indian captives.” (148). James E. Kiefer explains the great lengths John Eliot went to help the Indigenous people maintain their own culture and language, even preparing “Indians to be missionaries to their own people”. He is speaking to Dr. Hovaugh, who is very clearly meant to represent Jehovah (can be detected when you say his name, Joe Hovaugh, aloud). King creates a scene where “[t]he sun was coming in through the window at Dr. Hovaugh’s back, and John had to squint to make out the shadow of the man behind the desk” (46). It would look like the sun is shining down on Joe Hovaugh, a sign of glory and praise that is often used in stained-glass art in a Catholic or Anglican church.

Joe Hovaugh is also obsessed with the book, showing how there have been predictions that are fulfilled: “They’re all in the book. Occurrences, probabilities, directions, deviations. You can look them up yourself” (King 47). Jesus continuously shows how prophecy has been fulfilled in him while he was on earth in all four gospels. One example is as follows:
“When he came to the village of Nazareth, his boyhood home, he went as usual to the synagogue on the Sabbath and stood up to read the Scriptures. The scroll of Isaiah the prophet was handed to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where this was written:

He rolled up the scroll, handed it back to the attendant, and sat down. All eyes in the synagogue looked at him intently. Then he began to speak to them. ‘The Scripture you’ve just heard has been fulfilled this very day!’ ” (NLT Luke 4:16-21).

The Lone Ranger and Babo both said “What else would you like to know?” (King 49, 50) within three words of each other. By having the last line of one section be the first line in the next section, King is connecting not only the sections and scenes, but also the characters which spoke the line.

There are moments of this section that I couldn’t help but laugh at. For example, Joe Hovaugh says “For Christ’s sake” (King 47). The irony had me in stitches. Also when the Lone Ranger realized that he was “being omniscient again” (King 49), and then proceeded to ask: “What else would you like to know?” (King 49). King doesn’t give us what else the brothers wanted to know, but I can imagine a sly smirk on the Lone Ranger’s face as he asks this, just egging his brothers on.

I think the moment that was the most striking for myself from the given passage was when Sergeant Cereno was talking with Babo and she wants to tell him the story of creation, but she can’t. She can’t remember where to start, and he says “[s]tart at the beginning” (54), as if that’s the most obvious place to start. But throughout the novel, King shows us how convoluted stories can be. He intertwines them, leaving us hanging, but excited to see what will happen with the next set of characters we encounter. He allows us to get frustrated with his writing style, but it is a style that does not allow us to put the book down. Because we only get snippets, we want to continue reading until we reach the end of the story, which seems to never happen.

Works Cited:

Flick, Jane. “Reading Notes for Thomas King’s Green Grass Running Water.” Canadian Literature 161-162. (1999): 140-172. Web. 16 March 2015.

Handel, Alfred. I am the Good Shepherd. 1946. Stained glass. St John the Baptist Anglican Church, Ashfield. Photo: Toby Hudson. Wikimedia. Web. 16 March 2015.

Kiefer, James E. “John Eliot, Missionary To the American Indians.” Justus Anglican. Society of Archbishop Justus. n.d. Web. 16 March 2015

King, Thomas. Green Grass Running Water. Toronto: HarperPerennial, 2007. Print.

The Way: New Living Translation. Ed. Mark Oestreicher. Chicago: Tyndale House Publishing, 2012. Print.

What are the major differences or similarities between the ethos of the creation story you are familiar with and the story King tells in The Truth About Stories ?

In a previous blog post, I mentioned that I grew up in a Christian home so the obvious creation story to compare King’s story would be the Judeo-Christian creation story involving God, 7 days and Adam and Eve. Instead, I will look at Hesiod’s poem, Theogony which is a cosmogony story, meaning it’s interested in the creation or origin of the universe, unlike cosmology or theology, which focuses on the true history or study of the universe/God. The poem was written around 700 B.C. The story teller begins by saying that Chaos was present, and from Chaos came Gaia (Earth), Tartarus (Abyss) and Eros (Love). Gaia birthed Uranus (Sky), Ourea (Mountain Ranges) and Pontus (Ocean/Sea), while Chaos birthed Erebus (place between Gaia and Hades) and Nyx (Night). Many other personifications were born, as well as the gods being created or born and then mating with each other to make other creations and gods. In this story there is castration, war, dominance and a hierarchy is created.

Some of the clear similarities between the Theogony and King’s creation story with the woman is the natural element. The both include and abundance of nature; Gaia and the water. Both stories have births. The both also have one wiser telling another information. In King’s story, he has the Rabbit and Fish tell Charm that she was pregnant, which she is. In Hesiod’s story, he has Gaia and Uranus tell their child Cronus that one of his children will overthrow him, which Zeus does. Both stories also give reasons why things are the way they are: why curiosity can be dangerous; why fathers and sons fight; why women are distractions or dangerous.

There are many differences in these stories. Hesiod never touches on the creation on man, but does say that they are there (when telling Prometheus’s story) and does say that woman was created by Hephaistos and Athena – the first woman is Pandora – as a punishment for receiving fire. He also includes more about where nature came from. In King’s story, nature is there and formed by the Twins. The water and the animals are all simply there, and we are not told how they got there. It is implied that humans came after the animals. The Greek story contains more punishments and death, unlike the Native story of exploration and problem-solving. King’s story also demands balance: Twins, one left-handed and one right-handed. Hesiod’s story values power and dominance.

Have you encountered other versions of the Greek creation myth?

Works Cited:

alyssea84uk. “Mythic Warriors – Prometheus and Pandora’s Box.” Youtube. Youtube, 31 May 2013. Web. 12 Mar 2015.

Hesiod. “Theogony”. Classical Mythology: Images and Insights (6th ed.). ed. Stephen L. Harris, and Gloria Platzner. 6th ed. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill, 2012. 88- 105. Print.

Question: 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.

First, it is important to know what Daniel Coleman argues re: project of white civility. He asserts that the idea of whiteness in Canada has been heavily influenced by Britishness. Erika Paterson explains this best, saying “This British whiteness is, Coleman says, a “fictive ethnicity,” that “still occupies the position of normalcy and privilege in Canada” (7). “Fictive ethnicity” describes, “how nations of diverse peoples are represented, both in the past and future, as if they are a “natural community” (7)”.

I will be examining a recent piece of legislature: The Canadian Multiculturalism Act of 1988. Prime Minister Pierre Elliot Trudeau was the leader who promised a policy respecting multiple cultures in Canada. It took over 10 years to become an act, and therefore a part of our Canadian law. The Act itself asserted two major principles:

1. All citizens are equal and have the freedom to their own cultural heritage by preserving it, enhancing it, and sharing it with other.
2. Multiculturalism promotes participation of citizens and their communities in all aspects of Canadian society.

It also solidified that English and French are the official languages of Canada, as per the Official Languages Act, but was clear that this “neither abrogates nor derogates from any rights or privileges acquired or enjoyed with respect to any other language” (preamble); in fact, it is meant to “preserve and enhance the use of languages other than English and French, while strengthening the status and use of the official languages of Canada” (preamble). It also maintains equality in the work force: “ensure that Canadians of all origins have an equal opportunity to obtain employment and advancement in those institutions” (3.2.a).

There are a few lines that seem to indicate that there was once a time when Canada was not as accepting. I found the most telling to be the following: “collect statistical data in order to enable the development of policies, programs and practices that are sensitive and responsive to the multicultural reality of Canada” (3.2.d). The use of “multicultural reality” allows us to imagine a time when people were blind to the reality that there are people in our beautiful country that celebrate other holidays, enjoy different foods, have different mannerisms etc. Or perhaps even a time when people recognized that there are people who do things in a different manner, but didn’t appreciate that. Even in Vancouver, I feel this tension. There are people that love celebrations like Holi, and others that don’t see the value in the celebration. Some people of different ethnicities and cultures participate in other’s celebrations. I myself have been to Lunar New Year, but I was born here in Port Coquitlam and am French-Canadian, Ukrainian and Scottish. I go and participate, allowing myself to be a part of the fictive ethnicity Coleman talks about. I do not conform simply to the stereotypical Canadian culture (I like neither hockey nor maple syrup), but I also do not identify with my Scottish, French-Canadian and Ukrainian heritage, as I am adopted. I have to create my culture from what I have been exposed to, creating a fictive culture.

Works Cited:

Canadian Multiculturalism Act. Consolidated Acts, c.4. Canada. Department of Justice. 1988. Department of Justice. Web. 9 Mar 2015.

Paterson, Erika. “Lesson 3.1.”  ENGL 470A Canadian Studies: Canadian Literary Genres – 99C Jan 2015. UBC Blogs. Web. 9 Feb 2015.

Sidhu, Amol.”Holi @ UBC.” Online Video Clip. Youtube. Youtube, 31 Mar 2013. Web. 9 Mar 2015.

Question: In this lesson I say that our capacity for understanding or making meaningfulness from the first stories is seriously limited for numerous reasons and I briefly offer two reasons why this is so: 1) the social process of the telling is disconnected from the story and this creates obvious problems for ascribing meaningfulness, and 2) the extended time of criminal prohibitions against Indigenous peoples telling stories combined with the act of taking all the children between 5 – 15 away from their families and communities. In Wickwire’s introduction to Living Stories, find a third reason why, according to Robinson, our abilities to make meaning from first stories and encounters is so seriously limited. To be complete, your answer should begin with a brief discussion on the two reasons I present and then proceed to introduce and explain your third reason from Wickwire’s introduction.

In Erika Paterson‘s blog, she clearly outlines two reasons that our capacity for understanding the first stories is limited:
1. “in the acts of collecting, translating and publishing these stories, the social process of the telling is disconnected from the story and this creates obvious problems for ascribing meaningfulness”.
2. “there exists a serious time gap of almost 75 years, between 1880 and 1951, when the telling and retelling of stories at the potlatch, and other similar First Nations institutions across the country, were outlawed by the Indian Act and accordingly, the possibilities for storytelling were greatly diminished”.

In the first reason, we see that the verbal telling is no longer emphasizes and is in fact being removed all together. By having the stories written down, the only thing that is needed for the stories to continue is a reader. Previously, they were told at a potlatch feast, which seems to be a sort of community gathering. Paterson effectively describes it as “a special place and time set aside where laws, cultural and spiritual beliefs, and treasured knowledge are displayed, performed, challenged, decided and disseminated”. Now that only a reader is needed, the community and teaching aspect of these stories is stripped away.

The second reason has a more political emphasis. For 75 years, which is an entire life for most, and consists of 7 separate generations, it was against the law to speak of stories at a potlatch. As mentioned above, the potlatch was a time for the community to get together to learn, tell stories, and build community. Without the ability to tell stories in this time, many family favourite has the opportunity to be lost. Furthermore, Native children were taken from their home and placed in residential schools where they were taught the traditional Catholic stories, not their culture’s stories that they would have learned otherwise.

In Wendy Wickwire’s introduction to Harry Robinson’s book Living by Stories: A Journey of Landscape and Memory, she introduces several other reasons why our capacity for understanding the first stories is limited. The one I will focus on is her argument that other’s ideas and values can impede our own. She tells how she decided how to compile Robinson’s stories into two separate volumes, wondering “how much of Boas’s editorial decisions had influenced [her] own selection process” (22). I would say that by compiling narratives into a coherent theme would be a way that limits our stories. Earlier in the intro, Wickwire explains that she enjoyed staying with Robinson for longer trips so that she could wander with him and through those wanderings and explorations his memory would be triggered to tell another story. These are organic stories. They are not being forced together; they are not asking to be linked or to be seen as similar. The stories told by a whiff of nostalgia are the stories that cause our arms to sweep around us as we tell them. They make us lean in; they keep us engaged. They make our souls salivate and have us craving more.

Works Cited:

• anashinteractive. “The Importance of Potlatch.” Online video clip. Youtube. Youtube, 27 Feb 2008. Web. 9 Feb 2015.
• Paterson, Erika. “Lesson 2:2.” ENGL 470A Canadian Studies: Canadian Literary Genres – 99C Jan 2015. UBC Blogs. Web. 9 Feb 2015.
• “Residential Schools.” Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. n.p., n.d. Web. 9 Feb 2015.
• Robinson, Harry. Living by Stories: A Journey of Landscape and Memory. Ed Wendy Wickwire. Vancouver: Talonbooks, 2005. Print.

I looked at three other student’s blogs of my Engl 470 class today and am compiling a list of what we consider needs to be in the definition of “home”:

• parents
• a hardship overcome
• community
• responsibility
• comfort
• shared passions

Laura Landsberg. “…” a guest on Turtle Island. UBC Blogs. Web. 2 Feb 2015.

Rajin Sidhu. “2.1 The Story About My Home(s).” Rain Sidhu. UBC Blogs. Web. 2 Feb 2015.

Devon Smith. “Lesson 2.1 – Home. ” Engl 470 BLOG. UBC Blogs. Web. 2 Feb 2015.

When I was born, I was a source of joy. My mom had me as a teen outside of wedlock, so we lived with my grandparents and her brothers. I was constantly surrounded by people who loved me and supported both myself and my mom. The women in the church doted on me; the pastor laughed as how much hair I had on my head as he was mostly bald; my uncle’s were fiercely protective of me. We lived in that home until I was 3, and moved 4 times before I was 6.

When I was 6 years old, my mom married my step-dad (who I call my dad). I was in the wedding as a “Junior Bridesmaid”. During the ceremony, my dad got down on one knee and said vows to me as his daughter. He vowed to always be my dad and other mushy stuff like helping me study and beating up boys who hurt me. He then gave me a heart-shaped locket that said “Love Daddy” on the back. As a 6-year-old, I was not able to appreciate this at all, but I now recognize this as a wonderfully sweet gesture, and the utmost truth. This was the beginning of my home.

When I was about 11 years old, my youngest brother burnt his arm really badly when he pulled down a cup of hot water on himself. We had specific bandages and tape in the house so we could keep his wounds clean. The tape was very translucent and wouldn’t pull the skin when removing, which was really important when trying to bandage a one-year-old. My dad and I taped my middle brother’s face up, so his nose was squished to the right side and the left side of his face was pressed together, making him look like he’d smashed his face into the wall and it was now stuck like that. We then told him to run and hug mom. When my mom saw his face she started screaming and crying because she didn’t see the tape. My dad and I fell on the floor, laughing so hard. She wasn’t happy at first, but ended up laughing. We all just laughed, and still to this day when we see the pictures or bring it up we can’t help but cry with laughter.

When I was 19 years old, I left home and moved to France to be a fille au pair (a nanny). When I returned after a year and a half, my parents had divorced and I had a new house, for the 15th time in my life. I returned to what many would call a “broken” home, with my brothers going back and forth between parents. We still laugh, but rarely as hard or for as long.

When I was 24 years old, I ran my first half marathon. I (barely and inefficiently) trained for months. As I was running, there were many times that I felt defeated and that I didn’t want to continue. I pressed on. In my last 1km, I saw a familiar face smiling at me, that of my trainer and amazing friend Meghan. I knew I was almost at the end and that I would be able to make it. When I passed the finish line, I felt such relief. I looked around and my dad’s face caught my eye. I burst into tears, and am even crying remembering this moment as I type. He was there for me, encouraging me and advising me as I trained; he was there supporting me as I finished a major goal of mine. I ran to him and fell into his arms and just cried, so happy to see him and have him be a part of this day.

When I was 25 years old, I moved to Australia for 4 months. Home was non-existant for those 4 months. I lived in a van, in an apartment, in a hostel, on a mattress in my friend’s living room. I did not have a dresser. I did not have my own sheets. I did not have my clay pot that I cook with. I did not have a David’s Tea mugs or the tea. I did not have comfort. But I did have friends. I did have joy. I did have adventure. I did have support, both from those there and those here. I did have laughter.

In the end, laughter is all that I need.

Works Cited

Caitlin Funk. “I seriously love art.” Instagram, Dec 2014. Photograph. 30 Jan 2015.

Caitlin Funk. “Maybe we look more alike.” Instagram, Dec 2014. Photograph. 30 Jan 2015.

Caitlin Funk. “These two.” Instagram, Dec 2014. Photograph. 30 Jan 2015.

Caitlin Funk. “Well that happened.” Instagram, Aug 2014. Photograph. 30 Jan 2015.

Growing up in a Christian home meant that I always knew how the world came to be. There was never a question of what was plausible, or whether I was sure (until my faith became my own). As a child, I was able to hear the stories and believe how the world came to be in 6 days. As I’ve grown up and sought out knowledge, I have learned so many different stories of the creation of our Earth, from Darwin’s theory, to Greek and Roman myths. As a child, I also learned about how evil came into the world as part of the same story of how the world was created – the tree of knowledge, the serpent, silly Eve (according to John Milton). In Thomas King’s narrative The Truth About Stories, he retells the story of how evil comes into the world. This story I will now retell to you.

While on a walk to clear the mind, Bailey saw a group of people huddled together on a field. They were surrounding a pair of dice, a gun and several sheets of paper, trying to come up with the wildest thing they could do with all of them. Bailey stood back, watching them, observing them, trying to predict their next move and idea. The people in the group tried many options: they tossed the die to see how many shots they had to put a bullet through the piece of paper; they put the gun on the ground and tried to spin it around the same number the dice gave with the piece of paper underneath it to keep track of the rotations; they made a paper airplane which could hold the dice, then shot it down with the gun. After a few more wild ideas, Bailey approached the group, saying, “I know the wildest thing you can do”. The people were confused as to where Bailey came from, or even how Bailey knew of their game, but they were intrigued. Bailey then told them of horrible things they could do with the dice, paper and gun – things that would give you nightmares and haunt you when you turned the lights off. The people in the group knew that this was the wildest thing they could do, but replied with trepidation: “Thank you for your help, and your idea is the most wild, but we do not want to do that. We cannot put those words into action, it is not good”. But it was too late. The story was now in their minds and their hearts, and they would forever know that it cannot be called back.

What I learned from this story is that words and stories are more powerful than actions. While all the witches were able to perform the scariest things, the words are what lingered. This reminds me of Chamberlin’s idea of the world of words. It seems that with these two stories in mind, the world of words will outlast the physical world. The scary things the witches, or the wild things the group, performed did not invite evil into the world, but the scary story full of “fear and slaughter, disease and blood” (King 9), and the wild idea that promised to haunt the mind of the listener, invited evil into the world. For me, this also emphasizes the fact that our world is based on the emotional and intellectual connection between people and between people and nature with less on the physical connection. Do you agree?

Works Cited:
King, Thomas. The Truth About Stories: A Native Narrative. Toronto: House of Anansi Press, Inc. Print.
Riggs, William G. “The Temptation of Minton’s Eve: ‘Words, Impregn’d / With Reason’.” The Journal of English and Germanic Philology 94.3 (1995): 365-392. Print.

My title is a parody of this amazing song. Words are good for absolutely everything, in my book. Communication is the key to healthy relationships, and communication cannot be fully present without words. Of course, nonverbal communication plays a major role as well, but without words we would not have the ability to explain our actions or our looks. Nonverbal communication exists on a basic level, but words are needed to elevate the communication; to make the communication more precise or accurate. Chamberlin writes extensively on the power of words as riddles and charms. I was particularly challenged by his ideas on riddles. He claims that “riddles–often by way of nursery rhymes and trickster tales– give us our first lesson on how to meet [the challenge of both believing and not believing]” (160). Reflecting on the nursery rhymes and tales I was told as a child, I do not know if I agree with this. I did not learn of the characteristics of the trickster until I read The Master and Margarita as well as The Kiss of the Fur Queen in my second year at UBC. But I do believe that written words are tricks of sorts. They conjure an image, idea or feeling because of how they’re used or intended. We are able to enter into a new world that we are able to create simply because we can conjure our own image.

This “world of words” Chamberlin introduces us to had me puzzling for a few days trying to wrap my brain around it. While the world we live in is full of words, he is speaking of a world that is based on words. How a word can be two things at once. How when we see the word cat we see not only the letters on the page, but also the animal. For myself, when I see the word cat, I think of one of my cats. This to me is why we feel closer to the world – we take words that are impersonal and make them personal. We see our beloved cat when the word “cat” is before us. We see our home when they word “home” is before us.

Chamberlin finished his introduction with a complicated idea of home, which rattled me more than anything else in the book. He said, “Can one land ever really be home to more than one people?” (4). I believe that his “world of words” plays into this. While we are physically on land, we imagine the world around us using images. Then we use words to communicate those images and act out those intentions we have in our imagined world. The idea of home in the world of words is a fluid one, and could change drastically for each person’s imagined world. But in the end, we feel closer to each other when we share common ideas around words; when the word “home” conjures the same idea or meaning in a story for two people, they are able to easily relate to one another and thus become closer. Stories, filled with words, are what bring us together between time, distance, obstacles. Through this “world of words”, we can see each other a bit clearer and begin to understand each other a bit better.

Works Cited

Chamberlin, J. Edward.  If This is Your Land, Where Are Your Stories? Toronto: Vintage Canada, 2003. Print.

Grahe, Jon E. and Frank J. Bernieri. ” The Importance of Nonverbal Cues in Judging Rapport.” Journal of Nonverbal Behavior 23.4 (1999): 253-269. Web. 18 Jan 2015.

Thibault Viaene. “Edwin Starr – War (What is it good for?).” Youtube. Youtube, 22 Jan 2007. Web. 18 Jan 2015.

Hey, Hi, and Bonjour! Glad you stumbled upon, or very purposely arrived at, my blog. I, along with several other students, will be responding to numerous questions posed by both my prof, Erika Paterson, and my fellow students of English 470A. This class is suitably called “Oh Canada… Our Home and Native Land?” For me, the emphasis is on the our. Whose land is this? I’m currently in Koerner’s Pub, so technically this is the occupied, unceded, traditional, and ancestral territories of the Coast Salish peoples, specifically the sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), sel̓íl̓witulh (Tsleil-Waututh), and xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam) nations. But, I may be getting a head of myself…

I’m Caitlin, a 5th year English Lit and French Lit student who is super excited to someday become a high school teacher. I (very) recently returned from a 4-month travel around Australia.

There are 9 nationalities represented in this photo! I’m on the bottom, second from the left.

Nothing makes you more proud of being Canadian than not being in your home country. Maybe proud isn’t the right word… I think aware is what I mean. I was very aware that I identify as Canadian, even though many people were confused by that. One of my favourite (sarcasm) conversations goes like this:

“So, you don’t sound Australian…”
“Good eye. Or ear, shall I say”
“Yea thanks. Err, what are you, then?”
I don’t have words here, so instead just imagine the face of having to answer this question countless times, because apparently this is an appropriate question.

I know that they’re either asking about my ethnicity or my nationality, but I just want to be that person that responds quite literally: “A woman. A person. A human. An avid reader. A world traveller. A lover of tea, fine wine and food. A Christian. A sister…. is that what you’re looking for?”

I’ve always been Canadian, and I will (hopefully) always be Canadian. I had a “typical” Canadian childhood, filled with Rick Mercer talking to Americans and Mr. Dressup. I grew up much (un)like the Degrassi kids, and slowly began loving beer at the appropriate. My family eats too much bacon at Christmas and my dad owns 8 flannel shirts. 8/11 shirts are flannel. My mom’s boyfriend smokes his own salmon that he has caught himself. If these things don’t make you Canadian, I don’t know what does.

But my version of “Canadian” is not universal. Waneek Horn-Miller is also Canadian and her life has been different than the childhood you read about above. Not only is she an Olympian athlete, a mother of two cute children, a survivor of the Oka crisis, but she is Kahnawake Mohawk. She is currently participating in a law suit so she can live with her non-Native husband in the community she has grown up in and raised her children in. Her story, which I heard a snippet of at the 2014 Student Leadership Conference held here at UBC, is drastically different than mine, but equally valid as being classified as “Canadian”. I hope that through this course, I am able to “learn to recognize and challenge colonizing narratives and representations”, as the Course Overview suggests.

Thanks for reading, and I’m excited to have you along for this journey of exploration through Canadian literature.

Works Cited
BonoRocks100. “Rick Mercer – Talking to Americans!!” Online video clip. Youtube. Youtube, 13 Apr 2012. Web. 6 Jan 2015.
“Course Overview.” UBCBlogs. Erika Paterson, n.d. Web. 6 Jan 2015.
“Former Olympian Waneek Horn-Miller among Mohawks suing Kahnawake council.” CBCNews. Kate McKenna, 2 Nov 2014. Web. 6 Jan 2015.
lakesidepark2112. “Mr. Dressup CBC Television animated opening.” Online video clip. Youtube. Youtube, 19 Sept 2008. Web. 6 Jan 2015.