Green Grass, Powerful Women

Green Grass, Powerful Women

White culture misinterpreted, ridiculed and even outlawed native beliefs. Natives, in turn were forced to live according to the absurdities of the white man. In Green Grass Running Water, King portrays these absurdities through four old Indians and a coyote that are trying to fix the world. This task becomes very difficult for them, when the Christian God appears and messed everything up. Now they are confused and the world is in chaos. King shows how illogical and foreign the natives found the Christian religion; especially in it’s views on Women’s inequality.

It all started “in the beginning.” Everything was fine with this [Indian] beginning until that crazy Christian God (or dog) got a hold of the world and mixed everything up.

So, there was a Sky World and in that sky world was a woman. Big woman.

Strong woman. First Woman. First woman falls from the sky world into the water world and decides she better make some land. G O D thinks this is ok, but a garden would be better. First woman makes a garden and lives there with Ahdamn. Nobody knows were Ahdamn came from, but things like that happen, you know. (King, 40)

At first this novice Christian G O D does not realize that there is anything wrong with First Woman being called Strong Woman. Naturally, no (Christian) G O D in their right mind would let a woman have a name with that much power. This new G O D also does not realize the insignificant role that Adam plays or the humiliation that he brings with a name like “Ahdamn”. Aside from his name, Ahdamn is a foolish man. While First Woman is busy finding them something to eat, Ahdamn is naming the animals.

You are a microwave oven, Ahdamn tells the Bear. We got to get you some glasses, says the Bear. You are a telephone book, Ahdamn tells the Cedar Tree. You’re getting closer, says the Cedar Tree. You are a cheeseburger, Ahdamn tells Old Coyote.

Everything is fine and G O D does not think anything is wrong until First Woman comes across that forbidden tree. It has all sorts of goodies such as apples, melons, bananas, hotdogs, fry break, corn, potatoes, pizza, and extra-crispy friend chicken. But G O D does not want anybody eating his food and so his Christian rules are made and women are suppressed.

In this next story G O D has more control over the situation and is...

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.... She has to grab his face to keep his attention; and second, Alberta’s control over him. She holds all the cards, he is just a player in her game, and he’s about get loose. She doesn’t really need him, in fact, if she can find a way to do without him, it’s done. She would rather have a one-night stand or be artificially inseminated than to have a man tag along. It is clear that the role of a man is very diminished, not needed to make the baby and not wanted to raise the baby. This is outside of the social Christian norms, but Luckily Alberta is a Strong Woman, an Indian woman and has the economic means to support a child on her own, which is more than she can say for Lionel. Poor Lionel is left in the dark with no role to play but that of a child whose fate is controlled by the women around him.

The four old Indian’s must have done something right, despite the Christian G O D getting in the way of their culture and messing up their story. Even outside of this novel, we live in a chaotic world of mixed up stories and combined religions. We are a Christian nation (thanks to the Christian G O D) but we also hold true to our Native origins of female superiority.