Oh Canada

(Pages 11-21 of Thomas King’s Green Grass, Running Water (the 2007 edition).) This section of the novel introduces many characters and themes of the novel, as it transitions from the four old “Indians” beginning to tell their tales, to an introduction to the hospital and Dr. Joe Hovaugh, and finally to the academic setting of Alberta Frank’s classroom. It introduces some central themes of the novel: the importance of stories for creating a sense of belonging and self-identification, the centralization of Indigenous stories in the place of patriarchal Christian narratives,…read more

Question 1: Identify and discuss two of King’s “acts of narrative decolonization.” Thomas King’s Green Grass, Running Water calls attention to colonial legacies and narratives in a critical manner that rewrites or recontextualizes “some of the most damaging narratives of domination and conquest,” including popular culture texts such as John Wayne films and his legacy in popular culture (Cox). The novel reacts against the popular culture nostalgia of the Western, and especially how figures of popular culture have shaped sentiments about history. Joel Deshaye notes, in particular, that King suggests…read more

Since the creation of the state of Canada in 1867, the federal government has used legislation and policies to formally exclude, marginalize, and discriminate against peoples perceived as “other” and racially and/or culturally inferior. The Indian Act of 1876 is a prime example of the Canadian federal government forcing Indigenous peoples into a position of vulnerability to settlers through the use of statutes and policies. The act continues to control most aspects of Indigenous life by setting the parameters for “Indian status, land, resources wills, education, band administration, and so on” (Montpetit)….read more

Assignment 2.4: Reading Harry Robinson https://blogs.ubc.ca/georgiamasaki/2020/02/07/assignment-2-4-reading-harry-robinson/ In this blog post, I share my first responses to reading Harry Robinson’s story of Coyote’s banished twin brother, as shared in Wendy Wickwire’s introduction to Harry Robinson: Living by Stories.  Assignment 1.5: The Story of How Evil Came to the World https://blogs.ubc.ca/georgiamasaki/2020/01/21/assignment-1-5-the-story-of-how-evil-came-into-the-world/ My story carries the key message that stories can be dangerous things and that once a story is told it becomes loose in the world. “So, be careful of the words you dare to whisper. And be wary of the whispers…read more

Question 1: In his article, “Godzilla vs. Post-Colonial,” Thomas King describes an interfusional genre of Native literature that blends oral and written literature. The only complete example of this genre are Harry Robinson’s stories. King explains how interfusional literature is written down, but utilizes “patterns, metaphors, structures as well as the themes and characters” that originate in oral literature and Indigenous methods of story-telling (186). Robinson manages to work within the “confines of written language” yet, ingeniously, creates an “oral voice” (King 186). Through these written tricks, or “oral syntax,”…read more

If Europeans were not from the land of the dead, or the sky, alternative explanations which were consistent with indigenous cosmologies quickly developed” (“First Contact” 43). Robinson gives us one of those alternative explanations in his stories about how Coyote’s twin brother stole the “written document” and when he denied stealing the paper, he was “banished to a distant land across a large body of water” (9). We are going to return to this story, but for now – what is your first response to this story? In context with our course theme…read more

It was such a joy to read everyone’s stories of home this week. It’s always heartwarming to see bits of your own sense of home in the hearts of others, and equally touching when you gain a better understanding of someone’s conception of home that differs from your own. Reading the blog posts of Nargiza, Jacob, Grace, Coco, Nicole, and Jade, I was impressed by our different approaches to the assignment and how we all communicated our particular sense of home in very different ways. Yet, despite differences in story-telling…read more

Home is hearing the sound of waves lapping against a pebbled shore as you lie under the protection of an elder pine, who is allowing you to rest beneath his branches and soak up dappled spots of sunlight. It is the sounds of indistinct chatter between children and friends that are being carried to you on a gentle breeze. It is the scent of moist soil and growing grass, and the sweetness of hyacinths that wafts from flowerbeds a few steps away. Although your eyes are closed, you know that the…read more

The Story of How Evil Came into the World I have a great story to tell you. Or, well, it’s your decision, really, whether you think it’s a great story. But you can only decide that once you’ve heard it. Or you could just walk away now and assume that any story I could tell probably wouldn’t be that great anyhow. Are you willing to take the risk and hear me out? Well, this is a story of how evil came to the world. If you can believe it, there…read more

J. Edward Chamberlin’s If This Is Your Land, Where Are Your Stories?: Finding Common Ground closes with a poignant chapter titled “Ceremonies.” In the final chapter, the book as a whole is tied together, and three of Chamberlin’s essential points stand out to me. He emphasizes the importance of building understanding between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people in Canada through the power of stories, calls attention to the paradoxical nature of stories and the contradictions they weave, and asserts his belief that we should (and we can!) return “underlying title” to aboriginal title….read more