Analysis Of Waterlily By Ella Cara Deloria

An emphasis on family is one of the central facets of Native American culture. There is a sense of community between Native American. Louise Erdrich, a Chippewa Indian herself, writes a gripping bildungsroman about a thirteen year old boy named Joe who experiences all forms of family on the Native American Reserve where he lives. He learns to deal with the challenges of a blood family, witnesses toxic family relationships, and experiences a family-like love from the members of the community. In her book, The Round House, Louise Erdrich depicts three definitions of the word family and shows how these relationships affect Joe’s development into an adult.

Egstrand 1 Alyssa Egstrand Professor Sewell ENG: The Literary Experience 1331 28 September 2011 Investigating the Impact of History on Modern Society within Natasha Trethewey’s Native Guard Rooted in the shadows of history, Native Guard by Natasha Trethewey intertwines personal and historical accounts to scrutinize the impact of the past on the present. Trethewey’s Native Guard is divided into three sections, which chronicle her mother’s life and death, the erased history of the Louisiana Native Guard, and Trethewey’s childhood in Mississippi. These different stories amalgamate, and open a dialogue about the impact of history on today’s world. Throughout Native Guard Trethewey infuses emotion into these untold stories by including personal

“We live the Old Way” are the words that author, Catherine Knutsson, uses to introduce readers to the fascinating culture of the Métis Indians in her intriguing book, Shadows Cast by Stars (1). Set in an unspecified future, sixteen year old protagonist, Cassandra Mercredi, finds herself and her family fleeing from the mainland of UA and going to find refuge on “The Island” (Knutsson 21). They have been targeted because they are “marked by the precious Plague antibodies in [their Native American] blood” (Knutsson 1). According to Essentials of Young Adult Literature, Knutsson’s book is categorized as American Indian and Indigenous Literature (Short, Tomlinson, Lynch-Brown, and Johnson 177). After analyzing the text, the categorization is correct because the story is told from the perspective of the protagonist, Cassandra, who provides readers are given insight into the cultural beliefs and values of the Métis tribe. Additionally, her character communicates the traditional roles of men and women within the tribe, while integrating cultural details that provide authenticity to the story.

The book that I decided to read was Night Flying Woman by Ignatia Broker. The tribal identity in the book was Oibwe from the White Earth Band. Ms. Broker started out the book from the present day in Minneapolis where she grew up. There wasn’t much culture to be seen, and the younger generations were getting too lost in the new world. Ms. Broker made sure to mention that she still taught her children the Ojibwe ways, and told them the stories that her grandmother had once told her. Throughout Ignatia Broker’s introductory chapter, we got a sense of the amount of respect she had for you great-great grandmother Oona, or Night Flying Woman.

The life of a ranch girl is unknown to many people across America. In Maile Meloy’s Ranch Girl, a female narrator brings the reader into her hard life being raised as a ranch girl. Through many different literary devices including, tone, mood, and characterization, the writer set the reader to feel everything the narrator depicts and the reader ingested with a heavier impact than the reader anticipates. The obligation to the community for the ranch girl is to break all stereotypes, thus showing her community and all ranch girls alike that she can be successful and break free of the ranch girl life.

Lives for Native Americans on reservations have never quite been easy. There are many struggles that most outsiders are completely oblivious about. In her book The Roundhouse, Louise Erdrich brings those problems to light. She gives her readers a feel of what it is like to be Native American by illustrating the struggles through the life of Joe, a 13-year-old Native American boy living on a North Dakota reservation. This book explores an avenue of advocacy against social injustices. The most observable plight Joe suffers is figuring out how to deal with the injustice acted against his mother, which has caused strife within his entire family and within

and then she never came back - That's how the man got the boy. The man doesn't know

“Waterlily” by Ella Cara Deloria begins with a woman named Bluebird giving birth to a child named Waterlily while away from the caravan. The story shifts to a memory from Bluebird’s childhood about how she lost her family to a possibly raid or attack by another tribe while gathering supplies. However, the only other living relative happens to be her grandmother. Later, Bluebird and her grandmother set off to find a neighboring tribe. Eventually, Bluebird meets a young man named Star Elk. Bluebird goes on to marry Waterlily’s father, Star Elk, who happens to be a terrible husband. However, Bluebird remarries Rainbow. The story finally shifts to focus solely on Waterlily. During her childhood, Waterlily and her family are invited to attend a Sun Dance. Also, she witness her cousin, Leaping Fawn, participating in a Virgin’s fire and learning the proper way to accept a marriage. Eventually, Waterlily is brought by Sacred Horse because she felt that she must fulfill these obligations due to her family. However, Waterlily has a hard time adjusting to her new life and the new role she has to play. Waterlily begins to miss her family and people but she finds a sense of comfort with Red Leaf’s parents. She is finally able to relax with people she can relate to. Back at camp, an outbreak of smallpox spreads throughout the tiyospaye due to buffalo blankets. Sadly, Sacred Horse catches the sickness and requests to die alone. Leaving a pregnant Waterlily without a husband. Waterlily and

Waterlily by Ella Cara Deloria tells the story of a young woman, Waterlily, and her family as they experience the every-day life on the prairie as Oceti Sakowin. Through the clever storytelling of Waterlily’s childhood, Deloria’s novel covers the Oceti Sakowin family life, camp circle, ceremonies, hunts, war parties, and the introduction of white presence in the Midwest. Themes of reverence for tradition and honoring of beings and nature span the book; however, the story also exceptionally demonstrates the Oceti Sakowin way of life in a way that illuminates many of the beautiful pieces of the Oceti Sakowin culture. Waterlily displays two particularly significant aspects of the Oceti Sakowin culture: kinship and generosity.

After they married, in spite of her unentertained heart, they had two boys. Many of the other women around her made

In Louise Erdrich’s Famous work of poetry, “Indian Boarding School: The Runaways”, shows how the context of the work and the author play major roles in understanding the poem from different aspects and angles to see between the lines of what we really call life. The Author Louise Erdrich is known for being one of the most significant writers of the second wave of the Native American Renaissance. She is a member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians and her writing on Native American literature is seen throughout the world. Through word decision, repetition, and symbolism bringing out her incredibly fierce tones, the author recalls the hurt and enduring impacts of Native American children being forced to attend Indian boarding schools. These schools emerged of a post-Civil War America in an effort to educate and also “civilize” the American Indian people.

    Leslie Marmon Silko is a Native American from New Mexico and is part of the Laguna tribe.  She received a MacArthur "genius" award and was considered one of the 135 most significant women writers ever.  Her home state has named her a living cultural treasure.  (Jaskoski, 1)  Her well-known novel Ceremony follows a half-breed named Tayo through his realization and healing process that he desperately needs when he returns from the horrors of World War II.  This is a process that takes him back to the history of his culture.

feminine feelings showed and thats what got her attached to the men she was having

At the age of fourteen, the nameless protagonist meets Old Chief Mshlanga on a walk with her dogs, a native tribal leader who used to own the whole area. The chief's pride and respect make the girl gingerly change her opinion of natives and reconsider her prejudiced vision and idea. As a result, she begins to be more pleasant towards the natives she encounters.

     The main character in this story is s young Eskimo woman. Her parents are dead so she is cared for by her grandmother and grandmother?s boyfriend. While she is away at reform school her grandmother dies leaving her in the care of ?the man';. This man was whom her grandmother lived with who the girl was not blood related. The man abuses her sexually and has for a long time. In addition she is taken advantage of by other men in the town. She is constantly evaluating white culture that is always encroaching. She laughs when she thinks of the yellow stuffing that is supposed to keep them warm. The boarding schools take away the young people in the village and cause them to lose traditions and cultural traits. The young men who had been away at school forgot how to hunt the seals. Silko is saying that whites are destroying the Indian culture. Eskimo and Navajo are completely different cultures, which Silko describes and details beautifully.