For this assignment I chose to answer question four, which inquired into the ways in which King’s work in Green Grass, Running Water is a form of decolonization. I believe that the two ways in which King engages in narrative decolonization in Green Grass, Running Water are through the use of Indigenous patterns and structural story elements. The second way is through the blending and reiterating of previous characters from both Indigenous and settler narrative traditions in a manner which comments on these portrayals and creates a new understanding of the cannon of colonial literature.
The use of Indigenous patterns and story structure should be considered a form of decolonization because in the way it disables the prioritization of western colonial hierarchies and story structure forms. When reading Green Grass, Running Water I was struck by the ways it resembled another book that could be seen as a form of literary de-colonization, Black Leopard, Red Wolf, which could best be described as a fantasy novel rooted in African history and culture. Black Leopard, Red Wolf challenges the way novels about Black diaspora are conceptualized. In an interview the author, Marlon James states: “I certainly enjoyed writing a lot of the tropes of medieval fantasy, but I also enjoyed upending them. So yeah, there’s fairies, there’s witches, there’s immense evil, there’s heroes, there’s shape-shifters. But a lot of the African mythologies deliberately upend those tropes, because they’re not European stories.” In this way, both books use narrative structures and convention that exist outside the Eurocentric setter colonial hierarchy. In Green Grass, Running Water this is shown through the use of the medicine wheel as the paradigm which the book structures itself in. In settler-colonial fiction, a similar structure might be the the life of Jesus. The importance of these structures is that they subconsciously shape our larger mythologies. Even if someone never interacted with the bible, they would likely understand elements and symbolism from it as it is prevalent in many of our stories. One example narrative pattern where a character dies and then returns, which is a reiteration of the death of Jesus. By removing these patterns and replacing them with Indigenous structures and patterns, King is able to eschew the colonial understandings of the world, and create a structure devoid of the narratives of the settler-colonizers.
Through the re-iteration of characters with ties to Indignity from both settler-colonial and Indigenous traditions King in an Indigenous narrative challenges the settler-colonial literary culture which controlled the portrayal of Indigenous characters to support western colonial hierarchies. In the reoccurring representations of Indigenous peoples in settler-colonial narrative forms, Indigenous People are placed in specific narrative archetypes which serve to further marginalize them. For instance, they are often used to bolster white narratives, rather then existing in their own narrative structure. This is something which is touched on in the documentary Reel Injun which examines the ways in which Indigenous peoples have been represented by Hollywood. It also covers some of the portrayals of Indigenous people that King also addresses such as Hawkeye.
Both the documentary and Green Grass, Running Water deconstruct settler depictions of Indigenous people by forcing readers to examine the blatant falseness inherent to these portrayals. By using characters (at least in name) from previous works, King is able to build off of previous narrative contexts while also emphasizing the previous artifice inherent in settler-colonial portrayals of Indigenous peoples.
The addition of a figure such as Coyote, who is a figure of purely Indigenous conceptualization forces the canon of North American literature to address what has been absent (or forcibly removed) from its storytelling traditions, which are the stories and characters created by the first people to live on this land. It also adds these characters into the meta-narratives of Indigenous lives.
Ultimately both of these methods of decolonization serve to subvert and re-orient the reader to understand the previous role that settler narratives have played in their understanding of story, and through story, life.
Works Cited
“A Conversation With Marlon James and Victor LaValle.” Vulture, Feb. 2019, https://www.vulture.com/2019/02/marlon-james-and-victor-lavalle-have-a-conversation.html.
Diamond, Neil, director. Reel Injun. Domino Film Ltd., 2010, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=htyEJSEZYNU.
King, Thomas. The Truth About Stories: A Native Narrative. Peterbough:Anansi Press. 2003. Print.
Hey Sophie! Really liked reading your blog post I found it really informative! I looked at the question before I was going to write my blog and I was a bit confused about how King’s novel is a form of decolonization. The examples you gave in your blog to answer this question were very clear and logical therefore I feel like I now understand the question much better! Another example that I have actually written a lot of my blog posts on is how the author decolonizes the novel by using oral syntax and by making the novel a hybrid of oral story telling and written stories.
One thing that your blog post mentions that really surprised me the most is about the settler-colonial fiction structure and how it subconsciously shapes us in a way. And this made me ask myself is most of the literature that I am reading on a day to day basis still based on this settler colonial fiction structure, and I feel like maybe I cannot tell because I might be subconsciously so familiar with this structure.I am really curious about this and I want to ask you if you feel that most stories and most pieces of literature that are popular in America nowadays are still being dominated by this colonial structure?
Hi Sidney,
I really enjoyed reading your blog post, particularly because you examined a form of decolonization that I had not considered. Your question is an interesting one, and I would say that the answer depends on the content which you consume. The current structure seems to be that much of what is popular and well known is part of the colonial structure. While works that eschew this structure exist, they often are not elevated the same way that works inherent to the colonial structure are. This structure prioritizes elements of western culture and understanding over that of other sources of cultural knowledge. I think that many simply assume that this is the only way that stories can be told, and may experience discomfort when engaging with a story that does otherwise. This results in a cycle where colonial works remain popular. While this may slowly change overtime, I believe we are still at a point in which the colonial structure dominates.
I’m really interested in the part where you talked about how King removes certain narrative patterns often found in western stories, such as ‘the resurrection’ as you mentioned, and works in Indigenous story structures. I found this to be interesting in King’s stories, as well as the smaller things that confused me, the formation of more than one main character, the less than linear progress of the stories, etc. The question I’d like to pose to you is, does King fully succeed in presenting a story devoid of settler narratives? It seems as if the story itself, though presenting it’s own story, works off of settler narratives to present the contrast between the two cultures.
The reclaiming of characters that are traditionally used and represented by colonialist to further their own narrative of First Native people is also something I talked about in my post. I was wondering if you would like to expand on that point, such as the way he uses the characters, who are they and why does King’s depiction of them present such interesting paradoxes and changes to their original narratives?
Hi Nargiza,
I would not say that King’s work is entirely devoid of settler narratives, he references subjects and tropes like the Christian construct of creation. But rather then allow these narratives to dominate the narrative, they are rejected within the narrative. This could be exemplified by Coyote being the first god, and the Christian god being a lesser god who was empowered by coyote. The settler narratives are thus present, but are ultimately rejected. I think the characters, particularly the ones that are related to western concepts of media which had created settler natives of Indigenous peoples. What makes these characters powerful counters to their original narratives is that they reject their original portrayals and highlight the narratives which the originals are trying to re-enforce.
Hi Sophie,
I found this blog post really refreshing! As a double major in English and History, I have studied colonialism and decolonization many times over. Still, I have never considered the idea that decolonization can happen through a novel. There are a plethora of forms of writing that are politically charged and focus on violence or pain. This book is not like that, so I did not see this book as an act of decolonization. I should probably re-read it with this new perspective in mind.
Hi Steph,
I am glad you enjoyed my post. I am a double major in English and Political Science so I have as well. One of the ways in which I combine my studies is by trying to understand how political action can be taken through literary, (or oral) works. This can when a novel challenges particular frameworks which are used for political means. By enabling a reader to question the ideology they have been raised with or other biased understanding of the world, a novel can be a form of political action.