Analysis Of Keeper N Me By Richard Wagamese

Keeper’n Me, an award-winning book by Richard Wagamese, introduces an exclusive perspective into the way the Indigenous peoples see the world around them. The author gives his own unique narrative, partly based on his own experiences as an Ojibway hailing from the Wabaseemoong First Nation in Northwestern Ontario. In addition to writing Medicine Walk, Dream Wheels, Ragged Company, and Indian Horse, the 59-year-old author, born in 1955, has been recognized with numerous awards. Notably, Wagamese accepted the 2012 National Aboriginal Achievement Award for Media & Communications and the 2013 Canada Council on the Arts Molson Prize. More specifically, Keeper’n Me won the Alberta Writers Guild Best Novel Award. These awards, along with countless

others, has to ability to reflect the strong literary capabilities that Richard Wagamese holds within himself and contributes to the world around him. Even prior to the winning of multiple awards, Wagamese beautifully poured his soul into his debut novel, Keeper‘n Me; this story had a way of being absorbed into the heart peacefully and effortlessly, leaving just enough room for one’s own interpretations of the morals and themes discussed.
Richard Wagamese had the ability to successfully take a reader on one’s journey of self-healing in Keeper‘n Me. The story began with a young man, Garnet Raven, who did not yet know his place in the world. He was taken at the young age of 2 as a result of the Sixties Scoop, resulting in a separation from his family and his native culture. Garnet took the form of many aliases ranging from African-American to Hawaiian. Although he was not actually involved in drugs, Garnet was arrested and detained for possession with intent to distribute cocaine. As he served his sentence, he began to look at his life in a new light. Because his feelings of emptiness were so deeply rooted in his soul, Garnet was unaware of his internalized longing for love until his family reached out to him.
As soon as Garnet arrived at the White Dog Reserve, he was tentative about staying. Despite his immediate conflicting thoughts, he soon came to realize, with the help of the Keeper, that his history and heart lies in the very land he was standing on. Whilst his relationship with the Keeper, his mother, sister Jane, and brother Stanley formed rapidly, his brother, Jackie was a much harder man to connect to. Through the game of hockey, Garnet achieved the trust and love of Jackie. In reality, Jackie’s soul was filled with immense pain whenever he looked at Garnet. This was due to the “whiteness” that seemingly radiated from Garnet, along with the fear of becoming attached to a person who has the ability to abandon his heart once again. With the assistance of the Keeper, Garnet learned to put his pride aside and express vulnerability in order to understand Jackie’s true intentions.
As the story goes on, Garnet becomes aware of the significance of light and the influence the outside world has on a traditional life.

The arrival of Red Sky Radio One, brought in by Wally Red Sky, created a buzz of life within the White Dog reserve. Opposite to the thoughts of many of the inhabitants living on the reserve, the Keeper felt as if the radio would impact the culture if the technology was integrated too rapidly. The fear of the busy city life, filled to the brim with task after task unaccompanied by a single pause for appreciating the surrounding life, terrified the Keeper. Garnet grasped the concept of balance from the Keeper’s apprehension, resulting in his appreciation for the differences within the

world.
With his newfound lessons, Garnet chooses to travel to the island where he grew up, alone and without any outside influences. His enlightenment came in the form of prayers and visions, including two eagles that represented his respect and connection to the land and his ancestors who lived there previously. Garnet’s return to the White Dog reserve after four days was welcomed with joy and exuberance. The Keeper’s gift of two eagle feathers, symbolizing pride, and the celebration of Garnet’s achievements, brought a new life to Garnet’s eyes. For the first time in an eternity, Garnet finally felt like his soul truly belonged.
Due to Keeper’n Me touching on an exceedingly serious topic, the opinions on the book range greatly. In the academic journal Living Racial Border, the book is seen as “[highlighting] Indigenous people's success in domesticating and appropriating imposed colonial spatial constructs” (Aurylaite, 2010). This is true in the fact that Garnet Raven works to reverse his past and the seemingly “whitewashed” lessons he has come to live with. An additional journal called Dreams and Inspirations noted the cross-cultural theme within the novel. The theme takes a strong hold within Keeper’n Me, due to the influence of two entirely different cultures present within Garnet’s life. The battle between his native culture and the culture he has been forced to undertake played an enormous role in Garnet’s process in learning to accept his original roots. These journals along with many others, such as Fiction: Bull Fiddling, saw Keeper’n Me as a humourous way to discuss the taboo topic of Aboriginal children being assimilated into a primarily “white” society. Contrary to multiple positive opinions displayed, a newspaper article, called An Unreservedly Ojibway Chronicle, perceived the book to be “difficult to share Garnet Raven’s sense of wonderment and discovery” (Taylor, 1994), due to the Taylor seeing the traditions contained in the book as common knowledge. Despite the vast range of ideas on Keeper’n Me expressed within the literary community, there is no doubt that the novel has made a significant impact on both the Indigenous peoples and non-Indigenous peoples.
Through reading Keeper’n Me, I became informed of how strenuous and difficult the process is of regaining one’s culture after the cultural spirit has essentially been stripped from him or her.

A major theme in the novel was assimilation and attempting to reverse the effects of Garnet’s life away from home through the process of healing. Despite Garnet spending twenty years away from home, he still retained speckles of his native foundation. Garnet’s journey to fulfilling his soul was a miracle, although the process was certainly arduous and complex. The healing began as soon as Garnet reconciled with his mother. Their tears flowed from the heart with ease as they hugged; The sobs reflected the idea that years of isolation do not contain the ability to erase the effects a maternal heartbeat leaves on a child. Later in the novel, this theme of the heartbeat returns. An object of passion and love within numerous Indigenous nations, the drum, is revealed to be a tribute to the loving heartbeat a human becomes connected to in the womb. Additionally, the drum resembles the fusion to the land and the simplest foundations of life. These aspects grounded Garnet and aided in furthering his understanding of his true

roots.
With the help of the Keeper, an exceptionally wise man, Garnet expanded his knowledge by means of gradual immersion of the virtues that are embedded within the environment and the language. The land appreciation came from the daily walks through the forest with the Keeper; most importantly, a new type of love for the wild stemmed from Garnet’s journey to the island where he grew up. Furthermore, the appearance of two eagles, representing the connection to his homeland and ancestors, struck a tender chord within Garnet’s soul. This range from the introduction of wildlife and its sustainability to the importance of ancestral knowledge resulted in merely the beginning of the journey to witnessing the world through Garnet’s heart and not just his eyes.
Overall, the novel Keeper’n Me was highly enlightening. Despite a fair amount of the plot being slow-moving, the end of each chapter held a new lesson and perspective on life. As a person who is non-Indigenous and primarily a scientific thinker, the ideas presented to me were almost seemingly preposterous, but I slowly welcomed the concepts that tie to the spirit based culture. My understanding was marked by the Keeper presenting the sunrise as the feeling of “life. That’s what you feel… When that light breaks on that horizon, you stand here, be part of it, you feel life comin’ back” (Wagamese, p.160). Even alongside my disbelief with a number of views associated with Indigenous beliefs, I could not deny the existence of the peace that is felt when a person takes a break from the hustle and bustle of city life to relax amidst nature. My view was additionally solidified when the Keeper spoke of the balance that is required to live wholeheartedly. The lesson involved taking hold of one’s life and “[going] and [being] whatever… as long as you carry them traditional teachin’s with you wherever you go” (Wagamese, p.200). The truth held in the Keeper’s words drew close to my heart, due to an internal balance being a constant struggle to maintain in my daily life, which most likely pertains to the lives of many others as well. Because of this powerful connectivity to what dictates a life, I strong recommend Keeper’n Me to readers who are not fearful of seeing a fresh outlook on the human existence and reevaluating their own values and virtues.