As I was looking for a page range to choose for this assignment I struck by just how much allusion is in Green Grass Running Water. I am so amazed by how much reference to outside stories, characters, sources and concepts King manages to compact in this text; I feel his writing style is analogous to hyperlinking.  After much consideration, I finally decided to investigate pages 229 to 238. And here is what I found…

Naming – “This according to Robinson Crusoe” (King 231).

As I discussed in one of my earlier assignments, King uses the naming of his characters to support in his novels endeavor to unite First Nations story traditions and Western literature. Jane Flicks, “Reading Notes for Thomas King’s Green Grass, Running Water”, highlights the abundance of characters throughout the novel whose names directly and indirectly connect them to characters, concepts and stories of western literature; for example, Robinson Crusoe, Lone Ranger, and Ishmael. Through the naming of his characters King provides allows the western listener/reader an opportunity to experience, connect and better understand Indigenous characters and storytelling. The characters’ names are a way for King to allude to ideas and concepts that help develop a deeper understanding of the character and their position in the novel. This technique is very similar to hyperlinking; in that it allows the reader an opportunity to delve deeper into the characters and uncover the multitude connection and meanings behind the name.

Personification – “the day rolled over and took a breath” (King 233).

Personification of nonhumans and objects can be found throughout Green Grass Running Water. Near the beginning of my selected pages, I was not surprised by King’s personification of the River, the Rocks, and the Trees while telling the story of Thought Woman and the River. But, as I read through these 10 pages I noticed that he goes on to personify so many other nonhumans and objects; including, the sun, the sky, the day, light, a border building, a flag pole. I perceived that King’s use of personification is very deliberate, as Mareike Neuhaus explains, King consciously uses personification as a way to “reinforce Indigenous worldviews by reflecting the Indigenous notion that humans and non-humans are equal to one another”(171). Using personification is a way for King to allude to deep values and morals without expressly discussing them. Thought this constant personification he promotes an atmosphere of respect, responsibility and equality not just between human and the earth, or human and living things, but between human and ALL things.

Thought Women and the River – “Hee-hee, says that River. Hee-hee” (King 232).

While researching the allusions embodied by Thought Woman, I came across many different explanations of her significance; such as, Thought Woman as a representation of Mary, or Thought Woman “a figure from Navajo mythology” and creator of the world (Flick). But, I was stuck by a very different impression of the story of Thought Woman and the River when I reread it on its own, excluded from the rest of the pages. I saw Thought Woman as a representation of our (all peoples) inner dialogue; our ability for critical thinking, imagination, judgement and acceptance.  And I saw that tricky River as the western culture; the societal norms, standards, rule and stereotypes, that demand we fit in, “swim to the middle” (King 231) and follow the current.

Babo – “ ‘What do you think?’ said Babo. ‘Omen or miracle?’ ” (King 238).

Perhaps the most obvious, and discussed, allusion accompanying Babo is the reference to Melville’s Benito Cereno. King’s Babo mirrors Melville’s Babo who is the leader of a slave rebellion that convinces the Captain of the ship into thinking everything is fine. This direct reflection can be seen in these pages as Babo travels along with Dr.Hovaugh in his search for the four Indians, when she is the one who assisted the four Indians with their escape.

However, in these pages the character of Babo is also used to offer a deeper reference. On page 237 the border guard refers to Babo as Dr.Hovaugh’s property saying, “‘All personal property has to be registered.’” This situation alludes to the obvious racial hierarchy of western society, and in this moment Babo’s character is used to provide a commentary on the systemic racism active in Canada and the US.

Use of Coyote – “ ‘Is it time to be helpful?’ says Coyote” (King 229).

Finally, one cannot read Green Grass, Running Water without evaluating King’s use of Coyote. Throughout the novel Coyote is used as the embodiment of the connection between reality and the spiritual. This use of Coyote helps is one of the ways in which King’s writing style and characters are used to mimic the novels intention to blur the distinction between the ‘mythical’ and ‘realistic.’ But, in these pages it seems as though King uses Coyote to substitute for the reader as a participant in the text; he provides a reactive commentary, is used to ask questions, and is provoked to think deeper in response to the story of Thought woman, and much like the reader, Coyote is eager to contribute to the story but it is not his turn share (King 230).

Throughout this assignment I was amazed at how much can be found in just 10 pages of King’s novel. In just 10 pages King was able to encourage the reader to actively participate in the stories by not only providing allusions to outside ideas, text and characters, but by offering a deeper commentary on western culture and Indigenous worldviews.

Works Cited

Clack, Lucian. “The Power of Conformity.” GenderTerror. N.p., 2016. Web.

15 Nov. 2016.

Cliffs Notes. “Benito Cereno -Story Summary.” CliffsNotes. N.p., n.d. Web.

16 Nov. 2016.

Flick, Jane. “Reading Notes for Thomas King’s Green Grass Running Water.”

 Canadian Literature 161-162. (1999). Web. 9 Nov. 2016.

Galabuzi, Grace. “The Contemporary Struggle against Racism in Canada.”

Canadian Dimensions. N.p., 2004. Web. 15 Nov. 2016.

Garlikov, Rick. “Uses and Importance of Hyperlinks.” Writing Linearly

and With Hyperlinks. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Nov. 2016.

King, Thomas. Green Grass Running Water. Toronto: Harper Collins,

1993. Print.

Neuhaus, Mareike. “That’s Ravens Talk”: Holophrastic Readings of

Contemporary Indigenous Literature. Regina: Canada Plains Research Center,

2011. Print.

Nicole, Courtney. “Green Grass, Running Water.” Green Grass, Running Water.

Blogspot, 2009. Web. 16 Nov. 2016.

“Native Languages of the Americas: Navajo Legends, Myths, and Stories.” Native-

Languages.org. Native Languages of the Americas Website, n.d. Web.

16 Nov. 2016.

Petkova, Veneta Georgieva. How Thomas King Uses Coyote in His Novel Green

Grass, Running Water. N.p.: Háskóli Íslands Hugvísindasvið – Canadian Literature,

2011. PDF.

Wagner, Hannah. “ASSIGNMENT 3.5 – IT’S ALL IN THE NAME.” A Look at

Canada. UBC Blogs, 2016. Web.

Find three examples of names that need to be spoken aloud in order to catch the allusion. Discuss the examples as well as the reading technique that requires you to read aloud in order to make connections. Why does King want us to read aloud?

In his novel Green Grass Running Water, King blends together the significance of form, content and characters. King’s writing style mimics the novels intention to blur the distinction between the ‘mythical’ and ‘realistic,’ and demonstrate the often-unexplored compatibility of tradition and modernity.  King provides a stage that allows the western listener/reader an opportunity to experience, and better understand Indigenous storytelling.

One of the ways that King unites First Nations story traditions and Western literary practice is through the naming of his characters. Throughout the novel there are characters whose names directly connect them to the hero’s and characters of western stories, for example Robinson Crusoe, Hawkeye, or Lone Ranger.  However, King also uses names, and their oral pronunciation, to allude to figures, interpretations, and beliefs within western literature; three characters with such names are Sally Jo Weyha, Polly Hantos, and of course Dr. Joseph Hovaugh.

Sally Jo Weyha and Polly Hantos are allusions to Sacajawea and Pocahontas. With these allusions King is referencing the patronizing categorization and demeaning sexualization of these women in western literature and media. Sacajawea, who was an important guide and interpreter for Meriwether Lewis and William Clark, is often depreciated in fiction and western film to a love interest for Lewis or Clark, for example in the film The Far Horizon. Pocahontas, the young daughter of Chief Powhatan and a successful mediator between the Powhatan communities and western settlers, is most famously misrepresented in Disney’s 1995 rendition Pocahontas, where she is portrayed as the ‘free-spirited’ love interest of John Smith.  In both situations the significance of these strong Native women, who played vital roles in interpretation and mediation between colonizers and Indigenous peoples, is depreciated to being the love interest for a white man. The parallel  to this sexualization and deprecation of these women is directly seen in Kings characters, who are actresses who have been pigeonholed by Hollywood into playing the western stereotypical ‘Indian’.

Dr. Joseph Hovaugh (aka Joe Hovaugh), is a clear allusion “Jehovah” or God. King is using this character to embody a range of associations and relationships between the western God and Indigenous peoples. The name brings with it the association with missionaries and their need to ‘save’ Native peoples through forced acceptance of their ideals, principles and religion. These missionaries assumed an authoritative role and granted themselves the right to impose their “revelations” onto Native communities, while they strongly opposed any opposition to their belief or opinions. This concept of imposed revelations and forcing conflicting ideals and principles on Native peoples parallels Dr.Hovaugh’s character and position in the novel; he is  an authority figure who hates having his opinion or authority challenged.

All three of these characters’ names allude to ideas and concepts that help develop a deeper understanding of the character and their position in the novel. Something I enjoy about King’s use of these names is that when they are written on a page the allusion is not overtly obvious, but when they are read aloud the intended allusion is very clear. This technique creates a deeper relationship between the author and the reader as the reader uncovers the multiple facets of connection and understanding. This technique allows the reader to engage in the text beyond the simple silent reading; it encourages the reader to, not only listen to the stories, but to engage in a type of performance with the words. While reading, and looking to find these areas of connection I found myself reading all the names aloud; often repeating them, merging sounds and mushing pronunciation in an almost performative manner, looking for ways to uncover the allusions. 

Works Cited

“Common Portrayals of Aboriginal People.” MediaSmarts. N.p., n.d. Web.

6 Nov. 2016.

Flick, Jane. “Reading Notes for Thomas King’s Green Grass Running

Water.” Canadian Literature 161-162. (1999). Web. 9 Nov. 2016.

Grant, John Webster. “Missions and Missionaries.” The Canadian Encyclopedia.

N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Nov. 2016.

History.com Staff. “Sacagawea.” History.com. A&E Television Networks, 2010.

Web. 6 Nov. 2016.

Kaye, Frances W. Hiding the Audience: Viewing Arts & Arts Institutions on the

Prairies. Edmonton, Alta., Canada: U of Alberta, 2003.

King, Thomas. Green Grass Running Water. Toronto: Harper Collins, 1993. Print.

United States. National Park Service. “Pocahontas: Her Life and Legend.” National

Parks Service. U.S. Department of the Interior, n.d. Web. 6 Nov. 2016.

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.

While reading through the  CanLit guide on nationalism I was very interested in the assimilationist perspective the Canadian government took in the 19^th century. I feel that much of Canada’s societal, institutional and systemic oppression of marginalized groups comes from its early history of settlers with racialized ideals of the necessity of assimilation and the grandeur of ‘white civility’. An example of how this white ideation functioned in the construction of Canadian society is through exclusionary or assimilation driven laws, such as the Indian Act of 1876; which is the act that I have chosen to research and discuss for this assignment.

The Indian Act was a consolidation of a variety of acts and statues governing the relationship between settlers and Indigenous peoples, their land and their rights. This Act essentially allowed the Canadian government to take control of Native people and their communities. Section 2 states:

“The Minister of the Interior shall be Superintendent-General of Indian Affairs, and shall be governed in the supervision of the said affairs, and in the control and management of the reserves, lands, moneys and property of Indians in Canada by the provisions of this Act” (The Indian Act).

The Indian Act not only gave the “Superintendent-General” the power to strip Native peoples of their land, moneys and property, it also allowed him to rob them of their culture, their traditions, their children and even their ethnic identity. An example is in section 3 – where the act defines who is and is not an “Indian” – subsection C denies Native women their “Indian” status if they marry anyone “other than an Indian or a non-treaty Indian” (The Indian Act). This Act set out to assimilate Indigenous people by controlling, marginalizing, and robbing them of their sovereignty. The Act, despite the diversity, treaty rights and interests of Indigenous peoples, granted the Canadian government devastating authority and control over First Nations communities. I think Eric Hanson, from the First Nations and Indigenous Studies Department of UBC, accurately summarizes this Act, as a “homogenizing and paternalistic” act that “effectively treated Aboriginal people as children” by “making them legally wards of the state” (Hanson).

This Act reinforces Coleman argument, that “beginning with the colonials and early nation-builders there has been a ‘literary endeavor’ to ‘formulate and elaborate a specific form of [Canadian] whiteness based on the British model of civility’ (5)” (Colman qtd. in Patterson),  through demonstrating the early Canadian government’s concern and drive to assimilate and/or eradicate Native peoples, culture and traditions. The provisions of the Act demonstrate the entrenched preference that the Canadian government had for white British culture and society.

I think one of worse things I learned about this act is that it still exists, which also corroborates Coleman’s argument that the ideation of whiteness “‘still occupies the position of normalcy and privilege in Canada’ (7)” (Colman qtd. in Patterson). In my research I found that rather than correct the segregating and discriminatory consequences of this Act, the Canadian government has simply been adding provisions and amendments, and have left the onus on Indigenous peoples to attempt to correct the wrongdoings of this Act by challenging them through the Canadian judicial system (Hurley 8).

I think it is high time that all Canadians band together to assist Indigenous peoples in their fight against oppressive legislation that denies them their fundamental right to “active[ly] [participate] in defining and establishing” their own governance (Hanson).

Works Cited

Canada. Indigenous and Northern Affairs. The Indian Act 1876. N.p.: House of Commons of Canada, 1876. Web.

CanLit. “Nationalism, Late 1800s–1950s: Canadian Immigration and War.” CanLit Guides. N.p., 9 Aug. 2013. Web.

Hanson, Erin. “The Indian Act.” Indigenous Foundations. First Nations and Indigenous Studies Department UBC, n.d. Web.

Hurley, Mary. The Indian Act. N.p.: Library of Parliament, 23 Nov. 2009. PDF.

Patterson, Erica. “Instructors Blog.”  English 470 Course Website. 2016. Web