7) Following Carlson’s discussions on literacy as “part of a broader genre of transformation” (61), try to explain what he means when he says that transformation is an “act of literacy.”
When Keith Carlson says transformation is an “act of literacy” (62), he is speaking of making a mark. He argues that this can be done in numerous ways besides the written word, and Indigenous people pre-contact were no less familiar with the concept of literacy than they are today. The act of writing literature is, at its core, making a mark on a page that stands for something greater than the sum of its parts. When writing, the author is articulating something; they are portraying a history, concept, or story. Conversely, this is how Indigenous communities have always facilitated themselves; it did not take the arrival of Europeans to trigger this form of information sharing.
When you see a painting by Vincent Van Gogh, you know it is by Vincent Van Gogh. Through his style, you can “read” the work. There are no letters on the canvas, nor do you have to read the art tag to understand it is him speaking to you. These elements of style are literal marks made by paint in a specific arrangement, such as the mark made by a traditional warrior song to commemorate missing and murdered Indigenous girls, women, and two spirit folx to stand for contemporary injustices. These literacy acts “are about documenting the change from one state to another” (61), and are each an act of transformation without using the written word.
Written literacy is only one way to transform. According to Carlson, “literacy was regarded within the context of earlier understanding of what it meant to inscribe, make permanent, preserve, transform, and reveal” (63). There are so many different ways to express a cultural narrative, and Carlson believes that the written word is only one amongst many. To say Indigenous cultures were not “literate” is inaccurate. On the contrary they were phenomenally literate, from acts such as weaving, mask carving, and beading (as referenced by Chamberlin) to their plethora of Transformation stories. As Carlson explains, transformation stories are “about creating permanency or stability” (61) just like written literacy acts to record laws, stories, and customs. Indigenous culture has always been rich in literacy, and the concept of “making a mark” has been imbedded in their communities for time immemorial. Carlson highlights that the Stó:lō verb to write is “xélá:ls.” This is significant because it is not only a word not derived from English or French (languages of the colonializers), but it comes from the root word for “marking” (61-62). This implies that “xélá:ls” includes all concepts of transformation from the actions performed by the Great Spirit to the post-colonial written word. (62).
Works Cited
Chamberlin, J. Edward. If This Is Your Land, Where Are Your Stories? Random House of Canada Limited, 2004.
“Vincent Van Gogh Style and Technique.” Artble, https://www.artble.com/artists/vincent_van_gogh/more_information/style_and_technique. Accessed 19 February 2020.
“Women’s Warrior Song – 8000 Drums Sacred Ceremony.” YouTube, uploaded by BurningFistMedia, 22 March 2009, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlAZjca2YMo.
Hi Jacob,
Thanks for your engaging blog post and for sharing the beautiful warrior song. In elementary school music class, I remember one of our units being to learn how to make and play a frame drum (the most common drum used in Indigenous music) – it was also a unit we looked forward to. I feel grateful that my school and teacher recognized that Indigenous music is an important part of literacy and our learning, equally as important as learning the xylophone or guitar.
When I think of literacy for Indigenous people, I usally think of oral stories, as well as art forms such as weaving, painting, carving, etc. I’m curious what the Stó:lō verb to write means – is it the same “writing” as colonial settlers would think of as writing? Or is it something different? And, do you think that Indigenous stories might be more likely to be accepted if they were written down, in the way that settlers would “expect”, or do you think this would just create different reasons why colonial settlers “can’t understand” the stories?
Thanks!
Katarina
Katarina,
Thank you for the comment! The is so cool that you made drums. All I remember from elementary school classes that contained Indigenous history was full of racist, colonial-sided accounts that in retrospect were not fully accurate. I image making a drum would bring you close to a culture you’re learning about because you get to feel similarly what people of that culture feel. That would be such a visceral way to learn about another culture. Thank you for sharing!
I believe “xélá:ls” has come to include written literacy since contact, but the full meaning of the word goes beyond colonial understanding of the concept. And to answer your other question, I think written forms of the stories would be accepted, but not respected. Similarly to “the map that roared,” even if Indigenous people play the colonial game, it does not mean they will be treated fairly. Even if they are given what they asked for in a language they understand, it does not mean they’re going to take the time to learn.
Thanks Jacob – it brought back great memories to think about that learning. The school I went to had an Indigenous program as well as French Immersion and English, so I imagine that’s why we experienced a different kind of learning.
I agree with you that even when Indigenous people subscribe to colonial ways of doing things, they are not treated fairly. Hopefully over time this can continue to shift and become less of a reality.
Katarina, I agree with you that when we think of first stories, what comes to mind is just oral stories. In the previous lesson, I explored the importance the storytelling process and how disrupting that process jeopardized the longevity the first stories. Harry Robison in Living by Stories: a Journey of Landscape and Memory tells “Although he had spent lots of time listening to his grandmother and her contemporaries tell stories, he did not begin to tell stories until he was immobilized by the injury” which was later in his life. The reason for that was younger children were taken away and the ceremonies of telling the stories were disrupted. My response to your question, Kathrine: yes, there is Eurocentric way of keeping story and which is supposedly “the right way” even in today’s academia. However, I think it is challenging to impose on people that have been practicing story telling for generations. To Jacob’s argument, even today we shouldn’t think writing is necessarily the only right way to preserve stories. In one of the blogs, we also had an intersecting discussion of YouTube vs. Podcast as a channel to preserve oral nature these stories in this day. What do you all think?
Wongelawit,
Thank you for your comment! I completely agree that we should not rely on writing as the sole way, or even consider it the best way, to preserve a story. As much as writing is helpful to categorize and conserve stories, clearly thousands of years worth of stories has been safeguarded in Indigenous communities without written literacy. I think the technological direction society is going is going to be dangerous for preserving stories. As a society we are more and more reliant on digital means to hold onto information leading humans to be less accountable for maintaining data. So much of our storytelling is done digitally and stored in an abstract format that I believe we are losing the ability to preserve stories orally, let alone through tangible, written documentation.