For this blog post, I will be focusing on pages 107 to 120 in Green Grass, Running Water by Thomas King. While this novel is incredibly rich with circular references and magical language that drips off the tongue off all characters, I found these pages to be the most representative of what interests me the most about the novel.

 

Latisha’s Old Agency Puppy Stew

The first section I have chosen features Latisha and the Dead Dog Café, which is also the name of Thomas King’s comedy show on CBC radio. Interestingly, many of King’s work is set in the fictional town of “Blossom,” Alberta. As Jane Flick’s says, the town’s name “suggests natural beauty and regeneration.” (147).

The section begins with a familiar reference to water, but flows quickly onto Latisha’s menu of dog dishes: houndburgers, doggie dogs, and of course, old agency puppy stew (109). On a micro level, King is making a reference to the traditional Blackfoot dog dishes. However, on a macro level, this was the point in the novel where I was really struck by the juxtaposition of old and new traditions. Just like her fellow characters, Latisha is trying to find her footing and figure out her place in a changing world. Furthermore, she is try to use the gap between white and native culture to her advantage. Despite it all, however, as the chapter ends, she looks up and thinks, “trouble…that’s what’s coming. Trouble” (109)

Eli’s Trouble For Nothing 

Just as Latisha’s troubles are approaching, so are Eli Stand Alone’s. During this section, Eli’s opponent, Clifford Sifton, is a reference to an “aggressive promoter of settlement in the West” (150). I found it particularly notable that Sifton, in real life, was near deaf. King alludes to this in his section when he writes, “Eli shouted, though he knew Sifton couldn’t hear him above the rush of water” (110). As the scene continues, Sifton figuratively can’t hear what Eli is saying. As the water acts a string that ties each character together, I find it very interesting that King uses the water as the reason Sifton can’t hear Eli. The water, then, becomes a barricade between cultures. I think this idea is complicated with Eli’s characterization. As he is contextualized as a someone who “became white” (113), Eli’s return to his mother’s home carries a lot of significance. In other words, he is defending not only a structure, but also a culture. In fact, he is defending a culture he is said to have left.

 

Additionally, Eli’s name is a reference to Elijah Harper (150), who helped protect Native rights during the 1990 Meech Lake Accord. During the accord, the native peoples were not consulted on matters of the constitution. Similarly, I believe this is echoed in the fact that Eli or his family was not involved in the decision to build a dam where his mother’s home sits.

 

Bill Bursum’s Ratty Jackets

 Perhaps the most subtle reference of all the names I have discussed is Bill Bursum. With some research, I found this bill.

The Bursum Bill was formed in 1921 by New Mexico senator Holm O. Bursum. Bursum was asked to help settle land disputes between the Pueblos peoples and white people who were “squatting.” Undoubtedly the bill gave white people an unfair advantage, and allowed them to take the land away from Pueblos.

King’s use of the Bursum Bill in this novel is very clever. Bill is outwardly disrespectful to the Native characters in the novel. For example, when he refuses to call Ms. Smith anything other than Minnie. Additionally, during this section, Charlie describes the “ratty gold blazer that Bill Bursum made his salespeople wear” (115). Throughout the novel, Bursum consistently alters the identity of those around him. I believe this is a blatant node at the bill that did strip people of their home, and the place in which they identified.

 

Works Cited

“Elijah Harper.” The Canadian Encyclopedia, 2016. Accessed 15 Nov 2016. http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/elijah-harper/

“Episode 1. The Dead Dog Comedy Hour.” Youtube. Uploaded by TheDeadDogCafe, 31 Dec 2011.

Flick, Jane. “Reading Notes for Thomas King’s Green Grass Running Water.” Canadian Literature (1999). Web.

“Food and Cooking.” Blackfoot Crossing. Accessed 15 Nov 2016. http://www.blackfootcrossing.ca/food.html

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

“The Bursum Bill.” Indians, Insansity, and American History,” 6 Mar 2011. Accessed 15 Nov 2016. http://cantonasylumforinsaneindians.com/history_blog/the-bursum-bill/