Motorcycle And Sweetgrass

715 Words2 Pages

The Lasting Impacts of Settler Colonialism: Are Indigenous communities content with the modern-day impacts of settler colonialism? This question is explored in the novel “Motorcycles & Sweetgrass” by Drew Hayden Taylor alongside Tomson Highway’s play “The Rez Sisters”, which depicts these themes through the perspective of Indigenous communities, shedding light on the idea of the lasting impacts of settler colonialism. Both texts convey the challenges of settler colonialism consisting of intergenerational trauma, loss of cultural identity, and economic struggles faced by the Indigenous characters. Firstly, Drew Hayden Taylor’s novel “Motorcycles and Sweetgrass” centers around Maggie Second, a single mother and chief of the Otter Lake reserve. …show more content…

John, who is represented as a mysterious figure in the novel, preaches traditional Anishnawbe spirituality. John helps Maggie and Virgil to go back to their Indigenous roots, addressing the intergenerational trauma that continues to pass through families, overall affecting their mental and emotional state of being. On the other hand, intergenerational trauma is represented in Tomson Highway’s “The Rez Sisters”. The lives of the seven Indigenous sisters on the reserve are portrayed with different personalities and relationships. When they interact with each other, the reader can reflect upon the personal experiences of the sisters that are caused by settler colonialism, specifically intergenerational trauma. Among the seven sisters, Marie-Adele Starblanket’s husband, Eugene, is seen to have struggled with alcohol abuse. Tomson Highway represents this through his illustration as it is a prevalent factor of intergenerational trauma within Indigenous communities. Secondly, in both “Motorcycles and Sweetgrass” and “The Rez Sisters,” characters such as Maggie Second and Emily Dictionary symbolize the loss of cultural identity, originating from the lasting impacts of settler …show more content…

John puts in the effort to help Maggie and Virgil as he sees that their Indigenous identities have been fading away. Through John’s assistance, Maggie soon embraces the once-forgotten Indigenous identity. She does this by participating in ceremonies and reconnecting with some spiritual beliefs that she had previously distanced from due to the lasting impacts of settler colonialism. The reader gets an overview of how colonialism has affected Indigenous people, specifically the loss of their true identity, showcased by Maggie and Virgil. Similarly, Emily Dictionary represents her loss of identity due to the impacts of settler colonialism. Throughout the play, Emily is seen to have violet outbursts and the way she channels her anger. Her character portrays how the suppression of Indigenous people and classism has affected all of the sisters, including Emily. She stressed that she does not have enough money to live. Throughout the illustration, Emily tries to find and reclaim her

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