Death by Landscape and the Canadian Identity Essay

Traditions and old teachings are essential to Native American culture; however growing up in the modern west creates a distance and ignorance about one’s identity. In the beginning, the narrator is in the hospital while as his father lies on his death bed, when he than encounters fellow Native Americans. One of these men talks about an elderly Indian Scholar who paradoxically discussed identity, “She had taken nostalgia as her false idol-her thin blanket-and it was murdering her” (6). The nostalgia represents the old Native American ways. The woman can’t seem to let go of the past, which in turn creates confusion for the man to why she can’t let it go because she was lecturing “…separate indigenous literary identity which was ironic considering that she was speaking English in a room full of white professors”(6). The man’s ignorance with the elderly woman’s message creates a further cultural identity struggle. Once more in the hospital, the narrator talks to another Native American man who similarly feels a divide with his culture. “The Indian world is filled with charlatan, men and women who pretend…”

“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.

In the essay, “A Literature of Place”, Barry Lopez expresses the importance of nature as it applies to human life. Through this he states that humans’ imagination are inspired by the scenery around them. Lopez revolves around a central perspective; Ancient american literature has always been rooted in nature. By acknowledging that modern human identity has been interpreted by nature, Lopez describes how the landscape of an area can shape the structure of the communities and how it can help with spiritual collapse. Nature writing has often been summarised by being one of the oldest threads in american literature. With our nation's aging one needs to reflect on their literary past; therefore, Lopez insists that we find our path to nature that

In the short story, Compatriots, one would read about Lucy and Hilda - two women who vastly differ from each other. Lucy has grown up on the reserve her whole life, where Hilda had just arrived from Germany and is seeking to observe “real Indian culture”. In comparison, David Goes to the Reserve also features two fairly diverse people of opposite cultures: the Aboriginal narrator of the story, and her Caucasian friend David.Within the story, David travels to a reserve to observe the culture of the First Nations people. Both stories contain wonder and excitement, but also presents a sense of culture that the First Nations have; it is this culture that the main characters struggle to grasp.

The Canadian North, a rugged landscape often glamorized as a land of adventure and promise, hides a dark history. From the early day’s of the gold rush, when the land was first colonised, to the attempted cultural assimilation of the indigenous peoples through residential schools, the people native to the area are still in a struggle of identity and culture, and the resulting effects such as high suicide rates, poverty and drug abuse,. It is through this lens that I will examine the work of Ted Harrison, a prolific English artist who spent the majority of his life living in the Yukon and painting the contemporary society that he saw around him. There is no doubt that his work was highly intertwined with the indigenous culture, and as such his identity brings up questions regarding the appropriation of native american culture. To that end, this essay will look at the context of his biography, the subject matter of his work, and compare it to contemporary Native American artists in order to clarify the nature of his art.

The purpose of this paragraph is to inform you about how Saint Thomas More became the school it is today. On August 30th, 1957, Bishop Bernard J. Topel named Fr. Paul A. Wenning the very first pastor at a new parish in Spokane. That parish was Saint Thomas More. All of STM’s first masses were held at Lynnwood Elementary School, because there was no church yet. There was a three phase plan in the making - to build a church, a rectory, and a four classroom grade school - with the groundbreaking in March 1958. Four years later, in March of 1962, when the rectory was finished, construction on the school began and was ready for students by September. In the beginning, STM only had grades 5-8, with a combined 7th and 8th grade taught by Sr. Bigitta,

The Indigenous people's story have impacted Canada's identity. We were thought to be multicultural, but we are truly not multicultural until we get the Indigenous people's culture back. If we re-teach the Indigenous children their religion then it is possible for Canada to truly be multicultural. Canada's identity has been impacted by the Indigenous

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.

One of the themes used in the book is of racism towards the Natives. An example used in the book is of Edward Sheriff Curtis who was a photographer of 1900s. Curtis was interested in taking pictures of Native people, but not just any Native person. “Curtis was looking for the literary Indian, the dying Indian, the imaginative construct” (King, 2003; pp. 34). He used many accessories to dress up people up “who did not look as the Indian was supposed to look” (King, 2003; pp.34). He judged people based on his own assumptions without any knowledge of the group and their practices. Curtis reduced the identity of the Native Americans to a single iconic quintessential image of what Native meant to white society. The idea related to the image of this group of people during the 1900s consisted of racism in terms of the “real looking Indian”. This is not

The media plays a huge role in forming people's perceptions of crime. Without the media we would remain ignorant to occurrences outside our direct social groups. The media and especially news coverage therefore provides us with an important point of contact with the rest of society. In evaluating its effect on popular perceptions of crime it becomes important to consider where most of the information comes from and how representative it is on actual criminality. If it takes "facts" (the truth, the actual event, a real thing) or if it is heightened to a crime myth. With a myth being based upon "exaggeration" or heightening of "ordinary" events in life. Crime myths become a convenient

Vincent van Gogh painted Starry Night in 1889 during his stay at the asylum of Saint-Paul-de-Mausole. The healing process began, his behavior began to coincide with society, and his mental health issues were being treated successfully. His positive turn around during the hospital allowed him to receive more freedoms than other patients. He could leave the hospital grounds; he was allowed to paint, read, and withdraw into his own room. Unfortunately, he relapsed. He began to experience hallucination, thoughts of suicide, and depression. During this time he created “Starry Night.”

What is Canada? What is a Canadian? Canada, to employ Voltaire's analogy, is nothing but “a few acres of snow.”. Of course, the philosopher spoke of New France, when he made that analogy. More recently, a former Prime Minister, Joe Clark, said that the country was nothing but a “community of communities”. Both these images have helped us, in one way or another, try to interpret what could define this country. On the other hand, a Canadian could be a beer, a hockey-playing beaver or even a canoe floating in a summer day's sunset. A Canadian could also be a “sovereigntyphobe”, refusing to see the liquefaction, albeit political, of the second largest country in the world.

Canada’s identity comes in many shapes and forms. Multiculturalism has been adopted and is at the forefront of Canadian identity. Following the Second World War, Canada’s multiculturalism policies became more acceptable and even successful in, not only accepting, but inviting multiple ethnic cultures in. In contrast to other countries, multiculturalism adaptation works for the Canadian culture. Canadian policies on multiculturalism have shifted over the past few decades; policies are now implemented for integration, not discrimination.

The wild and outdoors is such a special place to her and she speaks about how graceful it is and how she expects we all have stories like hers she’s explaining in this excerpt. She states in quotes, “Among the greatest of all gifts is to know our place.” (Barbara Kingsolver, 2002)

Perpetuation of Native American Stereotypes in Children's Literature Caution should be used when selecting books including Native Americans, due to the lasting images that books and pictures provide to children. This paper will examine the portrayal of Native Americans in children's literature. I will discuss specific stereotypes that are present and should be avoided, as well as positive examples. I will also highlight evaluative criteria that will be useful in selecting appropriate materials for children and provide examples of good and bad books. Children will read many books as they grow up.