| dc.description.abstract | Ruby Slipperjack's Honour The Sun (1987) and Thomas King's
Medicine River (1989) are the two novels I discuss. Slipperjack's
novel investigates the adolescence of a female protagonist known as
the Owl, who passes through the vicissitudes of many family changes
and yet sustains her will to grow into adulthood. Her mother is
also a key character who shows the reader her view of a Northern
Ontario land and her love for her children. The second story
examined has a male principal character. King's work employs
humour, the situating of traditional people in modern times and a
Trickster-like character, Harlen Bigbear, as the reader views
relationships that are common to people of any colour. Will, the
central character, explores both his ancestry and his love for
Louise as the reader follows his life in the past and present.
One significant aspect that is used to examine both works is
the Gavanashagowa--The Great Law of Peace and Power and its respect
for and interplay between the community and the individual. Rooted
in the formation of the Six Nations, this law has grown to be a
part of the constitutions of the United States, Canada and the
United Nations. It is my view, therefore, that this way of life
has also influenced Native people in general and more specifically
Native literature in some instances.
Supported by my traditional Indian perspective that is
intertribal, the reader of both works is introduced to Canadian
Native Literature. Enduring images of the land and community life
that all Canadians and readers of any nation can relate to carry
the novels through their unique landscapes. The Medicine Wheel, an
aboriginal way of viewing the world, is examined by me as an
interpretive entry point to a wholistic understanding of the
actions of the characters and their families. I discuss the
metaphor of the circle, with its journey through the Four
Directions, as a effective way to look at the writing of these two
authors and Native literature generally.
As an outgrowth of the Native practice of storytelling, these
books are part of the growing body of aboriginal literature. The
experiences of King's and Slipperjack's characters are set in
Canadian contemporary times so that we may learn more of Native
people; yet the stories are timeless in their vision of a world all
may appreciate. | |
