Connor Hogan Mrs. Kerslake Grade 11 English June 5, 2024 Poverty in indigenous Communities The negative effects of racism are a damaging factor and issue in the indigenous communities. Throughout the story Indians on vacation by Thomas King and the play The Rez Sisters by Tomson Highway, the authors show the theme of racism by the discrimination and unjust actions by other people on the characters in both of these stories. Racism isolates indigenous people from society resulting in them not receiving the same opportunities as everyone. Throughout the play The Rez Sisters by Tomson Highway, the author uses the theme of racism to tell the readers about the struggles the First Nations people have to endure being put down by other races …show more content…
They face subtle and open prejudice, showing how stereotypes are a thing even far from home. Their journey shows the impact of colonialism and the struggle they have to go through, especially with people that often discriminate against Indigenous people. Despite these challenges, they get through their travels with humor and resilience, putting light on the challenges faced by Indigenous people.” They were used to being stared at in Europe. Used to people assuming that they were something else and ignoring them when they weren’t.” (King 34). This quote, said by the narrator of the novel, shows the subtle racism that Bird and Mimi go through when in …show more content…
They live on a reservation where jobs, healthcare and more opportunities are low, but they keep dreaming of a better life. Pelajia dreams of moving to Toronto for work, showing her hope for a healthier future in a way where she can provide for herself. The women's shared goal of going to "The Biggest Bingo in the World" brings them together and gives them something to work hard for. They sacrifice their small savings and face personal challenges, like Marie-Adele's illness and Philomena's pain of losing her child. Their journey to the bingo game, filled with ups and downs, shows their strong spirit and support for each other. Through their struggles and dreams.“ We’re gonna have enough to go to Toronto and see the Skydome. That's where we’re gonna spend our million bucks. In Toronto. At the Skydome. ( Highway 41
Thomas King uses an oral story-telling style of writing mingled with western narrative in his article “You’re Not the Indian I Had in Mind” to explain that Indians are not on the brink of extinction. Through this article in the Racism, Colonialism, and Indigeneity in Canada textbook, King also brings some focus to the topic of what it means to be “Indian” through the eyes of an actual Aboriginal versus how Aboriginals are viewed by other races of people. With his unique style of writing, King is able to bring the reader into the situations he describes because he writes about it like a story he is telling.
In the book Bad Indians, Miranda talks about the many issues Indigenous People go through. Miranda talks about the struggles Indigenous people go through; however, she talks about them in the perspective of Native Americans. Many people learn about Indigenous People through classrooms and textbooks, in the perspective of White people. In Bad Indians, Miranda uses different literary devices to show her perspective of the way Indigenous People were treated, the issues that arose from missionization, as well as the violence that followed through such issues. Bad Indians is an excellent example that shows how different history is told in different perspectives.
The novel “Indian Horse” by Richard Wagamese demonstrates the many conflicts that indigenous people encounter on a daily basis. This includes things such as, the dangers they face and how they feel the need to flee to nature, where they feel the most safe. Another major issue they face is being stripped of their culture, and forcibly made to believe their culture is wrong and they are less of a human for being brought up that way, it makes them feel unworthy. Finally, when one is being criticised for a hobby they enjoy due to their indigenous upbringing, they make himself lose interest and stop the hobby as it makes them different and provokes torment. People who are trying
“Don’t you read the papers? I’m the Rampaging Redskin.” (Wagamese, 165) This quote indicates how the the Residential School system is starting to effect Saul’s mentality that he is inferior than the non-Indigenous population. In addition, the non-Indigenous population portray offensive racial slurs against the Aboriginal population. “Thirteen’s good for an Indian.” (Wagamese, 89) This quote states how society degraded Indians and consider them to be useless. Discrimination towards the Natives in Canada becomes the leading issue that Saul results into his tragic lifestyle. “We don’t eat with Indians.” (Wagamese, 133) This quote is a representation of the discrimination Saul is forced to endure and demonstrates the lack of education of non-Indigenous people. Consequently, the prevalence of racism in Indian Horse sets as a perfect example of the discrimination many Canadians are experiencing in today’s society.
Danielle Evans’ second story “Snakes” from the collection of short stories, Before You Suffocate Your Own Fool Self depict a biracial girl who has been pressured due to her grandmother’s urge to dominate her. The story pictures her suffering with remarkable plot twist in the end of the story. Evans utilize a profound approach on how to bring readers to closely examine racism implicitly, to make readers recognize the actions may lead to social discrimination and its consequences that are often encountered in our daily life.
The play The Rez Sisters is written by one of Canada's most celebrated playwrights, Tomson Highway. Highway was born in 1951 in northwestern Manitoba. He went on to study at the University of Manitoba and graduated from the University of Western Ontario, with honors in Music and English. Native Literature is inspired by 'contemporary social problems facing native Canadians today; alcohol and drug abuse, suicide, wife battering, family violence, the racism of the justice system, loneliness, rejection, youth awareness, as well as modern-day environmental issues.';(P. 172 Native Literature in Canada.) Highway once said, 'We grew up with myths. They're the core of our identity as people.';(P. 172 Native Literature in Canada.) I am going to focus on the image and identity of Native people as seen through the play The Rez Sisters.
The sisters band together to raise funds for their road trip to the “BIGGEST BINGO IN THE WORLD” (1125) distracting them from their fighting. “[T]he women start their fundraising activities with a vengeance” (1143) each of them using their individual skills as well as pairing up to maximise all of their efforts. The ladies use this fundraising frenzy to distract themselves from the “crazy” (1115) life on the rez where there are “[n]o jobs[, and] nothing to do but drink and - forget about [their] Nanabush” (1115). Only Marie-Adele and Zhaboonigan know the truth that Nanabush is back and having “a holiday” (1143) messing with the girls fundraising activities. The sisters finally raise enough money to get to Toronto and “THE BIGGEST BINGO IN THE WORLD” (1139) and start on their road trip full of “intimate conversations” (1148). Philomena discusses the child she gave up for adoption 28 years ago with Pelajia, Annie and Marie-Adele discuss what is going to happen when she dies, Emily discusses her lost lover with Marie-Adele and Pelajia, and Zhaboonigan and Emily discuss having children. Throughout all of the discussions, each sister gives advice and support to deal with the issues most of which were caused by living on or being from the rez. This part of the road trip was influenced by Nanabush’s attack on Marie-Adele and became important
As a result, both films represent Natives Americans under the point of view of non-Native directors. Despite the fact that they made use of the fabricated stereotypes in their illustrations of the indigenous people, their portrayal was revolutionary in its own times. Each of the films add in their own way a new approach to the representation of indigenous people, their stories unfold partly unlike. These differences make one look at the indigenous not only as one dimensional beings but as multifaceted beings, as Dunbar say, “they are just like us.” This is finally a sense of fairness and respect by the non-native populations to the Native Indians.
Paton is able to convey the idea of racial injustice and tension thoroughly throughout the novel as he writes about the tragedy of “Christian reconciliation” of the races in the face of almost unforgivable sin in which the whites treat the blacks unjustly and in return the blacks create chaos leaving both sides uneasy with one another. The whites push the natives down because they do no want to pay or educate them, for they fear “ a better-paid labor will also read more, think more, ask more, and will not be conten...
Specific elements of the storyline that display the theme racism include: the display of animalistic treatment, enforced religious practices, and historical comparisons. The film reveals the overarching government belief that the white race is smarter and purer, to the inferior, uncivilized and misguided, darker-skinned, Aboriginals. This belief is demonstrated throughout the film and signifies the government’s attitudes toward the half-caste race as: uncivilized animals that need a trainer to discipline them. For example, the film shows the girls being transported like livestock to th...
This brings us to the Toni Morrison short story “Recitatif”. This short story encourages an African American or ethnically minded style of understanding. The driving force for the thoughts and actions of both Twyla, Roberta, and the other characters is race and race relations. Those two events may seem like nothing, but it shows how even at the early age of 8, children are taught to spot the differences in race instead of judging people by their character.
In “The Truth about Stories”, Thomas King, demonstrate connection between the Native storytelling and the authentic world. He examines various themes in the stories such as; oppression, racism, identity and discrimination. He uses the creational stories and implies in to the world today and points out the racism and identity issues the Native people went through and are going through. The surroundings shape individuals’ life and a story plays vital roles. How one tells a story has huge impact on the listeners and readers. King uses sarcastic tone as he tells the current stories of Native people and his experiences. He points out to the events and incidents such as the government apologizing for the colonialism, however, words remains as they are and are not exchanged for actions. King continuously alerts the reader about taking actions towards change as people tend to be ignorant of what is going around them. At the end people give a simple reason that they were not aware of it. Thus, the author constantly reminds the readers that now they are aware of the issue so they do not have any reason to be ignorant.
The destructive nature of cultural collision is symbolized when Emily’s lover, Rose, kills herself because of “how fuckin’ hard it is to be an Indian in this country” (Highway 97). The suicide of Rose, which happened when Rose “went head-on” into a “big 18-wheeler...like a fly splat against a windshield” shows the brutality of cultural collision (Highway 97). The rape of Zhaboonigan is an indicator of the violence inflicted on Natives (especially Native women), and functions as a metaphor for the “intrusive, destructive impact of one society on another” (Nothof 2). Cultural collision results in a fragmented society, where the subdued struggle with their identity as a result of the violent colonization of the dominant
In the novel the Native Son, the author Richard Wright explores racism and oppression in American society. Wright skillfully merges his narrative voice into Bigger Thomas so that the reader can also feel how the pressure and racism affects the feelings, thoughts, self-image, and life of a Negro person. Bigger is a tragic product of American imperialism and exploitation in a modern world. Bigger embodies one of humankind’s greatest tragedies of how mass oppression permeates all aspects of the lives of the oppressed and the oppressor, creating a world of misunderstanding, ignorance, and suffering.
For example, in the local school, stereotypes such as the image of the ‘wild man’ are consolidated by claiming that there was cannibalism among the indigenous people of the northwest coast (Soper-Jones 2009, 20; Robinson 2010, 68f.). Moreover, native people are still considered to be second-class citizens, which is pointed out by Lisamarie’s aunt Trudy, when she has been harassed by some white guys in a car: “[Y]ou’re a mouthy Indian, and everyone thinks we’re born sluts. Those guys would have said you were asking for it and got off scot-free”