Analysis Of Jiibay Or Aandizooke

“jiibay or aandizooke” is a poem in the book of native-oriented writings Islands of Decolonial Love by Leanne Betasamosake Simpson. The poem is told through the perspective of a deceased Nishnaabeg native witnessing the desecration of their grave.
The title “jiibay or aandizooke” poses a rhetorical question of, when translated to English, whether the remains discovered in the story is a “skeleton or messenger”, which implies that the discovery is meant to have a figurative meaning behind it. The message that Simpson intends to send with the discovery of the skeleton is almost like a warning to colonizers that they’ve gone too far and acts as a sign showing that the land belongs to native peoples. The meaning behind the poem offers a critique

on colonialism and how it can breed ignorance and issues surrounding ownership.

One of the main points that Simpson successfully conveys through this poem is the ignorance of the colonizers with respect to native peoples’ belongings and land. The presence of a house already laying upon sacred grounds before the poem begins is symbolic for the willful ignorance shown historically by colonizers.

It is a symbol created through the actions of law-makers, regulators, architects, and landowners who had previously and knowingly allowed the construction of the house upon sacred grounds and the desecration of burial site. Furthermore, the mound of narrator is described as “clearly marked” and well taken care of, thus proving that the colonizers from before were indeed willingly ignorant to the pre-existing graves on the land. The repetition of the line “renovating back hoeing new patio, new deck, new view” provides criticism on how colonizers are always seeking for more and can also be interpreted as historical commentary on how initial colonizers, blinded by greed for more land,

ignored native ownership and pilfered their land. Another type of ignorance is characterized through the current residents of the house: blissful ignorance born from a lack of knowledge. Their cluelessness of the grave is indicated by the fact that they are excavating the area to build upon and the sheer shock they display when the narrator’s skull is found. Although malintention is not explicitly intended by the actions of the residents, their lack of knowledge and inadvertent ignorance causes an event harmful to natives. The way the residents described in the poem can be extrapolated and seen as social commentary on the lack of knowledge current day residents have about the land they reside upon. Often times residents live on native lands in unaware of the land’s history and the negative side-effects their presence has caused.

The issue of who truly owns the land is another point that is discussed throughout this poem.

As majority of the narrative in this poem is told through the perspective of a deceased Nishnaabeg native, there is a sense of entitlement to the land present which is evident through the passage: “ breathe we are supposed to be on the lake … we are not supposed to be standing on this desecrated mound looking not looking”. Through this poem, Simpson conveys the point of how natives are the true owners of the land and that colonizers are merely intruders and borrowers of the land. There is an underlying idea that instead of turning a blind eye to the abominations colonizers have created, the natives are supposed to be the ones enjoying and utilising the land. The notion of colonizers simply being visitors is furthered in the conclusion of the poem, in which the colonizers are welcomed to the land but are also told “please don’t stay too long” in the same passage. The conclusion of this poem breaks the colonialistic idea of land belonging to the colonizer once colonized by putting in perspective that colonizers are, in essence, just passerbys on land that is not

theirs.

“jiibay or aandizooke” provides a critique on colonialism through the viewpoint of native peoples; from this poem, an uncommon and viewpoint on the notions and effects of colonialism is expressed. The issues of ignorance and ownership are ideas well communicated in the narrative of this poem. A substantial point that can be drawn from this poem is that colonizers have been ignorant of the fact that the true owners of the land are the natives. This analysis of the poem is limited to only two issues and does not include all aspects and ideas presented in the poem. Further analysis could be made on the importance of ancestral native remains and the degree of sacrilege afflicted upon the deceased.