The First Film Examining An Indigenous Female Agency In

Maria faces many of the same obstacles that Enrique faces with his parents. She also has face the obstacle of Enrique’s drug

In her youth, Clemencia struggles with not knowing which social and economic class she belongs to or her place in the community. As she recalls her family history and the culture of her parents, the gap between her father and her mother as well as how each of them grew up explains the disappointment in her mother’s marriage as neither parent meets the expectations and traditions they established and witnessed in youth. One statement the mother uses to describe the father is “Calidad. Quality” and even as her mother advises against marrying a Mexican, Clemencia manages to become involved with a man with an ego much like her father and she even speaks of his house and wardrobe just like her mother, as “Calidad. Quality” (Cisneros 81). Like her mother during her marriage to her

Which, of course she accepts without much intensive thought. In this new line of work, Maria travels to America, experiencing horrors that change her life, and new found realities that determine her future.

Enrique’s mother’s decision of leaving couldn’t have been any worse, “She walks away. Donde esta mi mami? Enrique cries, over and over. Where is my mom? His mother never returns, and that decides Enrique’s fate” (Nazario 5). His mother leaving without saying a word to him was heartbreaking because he had no idea she was leaving forever. Enrique became unhappy and had to grow up with this feeling inside him which later caused him to make poor decisions. Being left by his mother, Enrique had to stay with his grandma and “every year on Mother’s day, he [made] a heart shaped card at school and [pressed] it into her hand. “I love you very much grandma”… but she is not his mother” (Nazario 12). The growing love for his grandma caused him to consider her as his mother. Since Enrique was young and didn’t understand why his mother had left him, he blamed her for not being there for him. Nazario hopes to persuade readers to feel like they need to dwell on the topic of immigration and notice that it is still happening

It shows the community does not really welcome immigrants. Also it is very difficult to adopt life in new place, for example washing machine is so complicated for Rosa so she washes all the clothes by hand and lays them on the grass in the garden. Rosa and Enrique attend language school to improve their English. Movie emphasizes the power of the language again and also shows learning English helps their life to get better. Nacha helps Rosa to change her appearance with more fashionable clothing Nacha said “have you ever heard Sears” and tokes her for shopping. When Enrique sees her with new clothing and makeup, he says “What is this? You look like a clown! “. Scene shows Enrique’s attachment to their culture also they try hard to integrate. Enrique gets an offer for a better pay job with the chance to become legal resident but he refuses to leave his sister. The house they are staying is a mess when they come but after a while they clean and organize it and one scene Enrique told his sister that “In this country you work hard you can get somewhere” they are proud to earn better life standards. Then suddenly everything changes, Rosa gets sick, immigration was looking for Enrique. Enrique gets promoted at the restaurant and jealous coworker is upset about it and calls immigration police. At the end Rosa dies in the hospital room. The conversation between Rosa and Enrique is heartbreaking. Rosa said “they told us we make lots of money but

The author creates themes of commonality that are relatable to many in this story story. There is a crucial moment in rebellious child’s lives that pushes them to act out. For Lola this happens to be her mother and her battle with breast cancer, “with her cancer there wasn’t much she could do anymore” (Diaz 5). Lola,

Aboriginal women face disproportionate challenges throughout their incarceration which impacts their successful community reintegration. Over the last ten years, inmate assaults involving Aboriginal women have exponentially grown, almost doubling, while use of force incidents have more than tripled. Rates of self-injury involving incarcerated Aboriginal women are seventeen times higher than that of non-Aboriginal women. To agree with Baldry, Carlton, and Cunneen, using Indigenous women as a focus point is beneficial because their "experiences embody and exemplify the intersections between colonial and neocolonial oppression and the multiple sites of gender and disadvantage and inequality that stem from patriarchal domination." Cunneen highlights that Indigenous women actually live in "many prisons"; the prison of misunderstanding; the prison of misogyny; and the prison of disempowerment. Patricia Monture insists that one way women can resist oppression and facilitate social change is by telling their own stories. The Task Force for Federally Sentenced Women developed a report called Creating Choices, which attempted to relocate the power to make choices in womens' lives out of the hands of prison officials and back to the women themselves because, according to the findings of the Task Force, it is only when people are treated with respect and when they are empowered can they take responsibility for their actions and make meaningful decisions. Monture-Okanee reflects on the irony of the final report

In chapter five of her book, Anderson starts it by stating that “I’m not a feminist”. She shares her experience that this is the remark she very often hears from Indigenous women. She further narrates that when she shared the idea of writing an essay on Indigenous feminism with friends and colleagues, many of them were skeptical: some seemed bored; others considered it a waste of time; remaining labeled it a negative activity. Interestingly, one of the author’s friends remarked that “feminists are always arguing against something”. These sentiments are main reasons of discouragement among Indigenous women to be identified as feminist. In my opinion, this issue is very complex; therefore, should be looked at holistically. Before I further reflect

Cristina Garcia’s Dreaming in Cuban tells the story about three generations of a Cuban family and their different views provoked by the Cuban revolution. Though part of the same family, an outsider might classify them as adversaries judging by relationships between one another, the exiled family members, and the differentiations between political views. Although all of these central themes reoccur over and over throughout the narrative, family relationships lie at the heart of the tale. The relationships between these Cuban family members are for the most part ruptured by any or a combination of the above themes.

She sometimes sits out by the creek and remembers her father telling her “I am your father, I will never abandon you.” (Cisneros 1) She remembers this only after she is a mother and this is when she realizes “How when a man and a woman love each other, sometimes that love sours. But a parent’s love for a child, a child’s for its parents, is another thing entirely.” (Cisneros 1) Surely by now she feels her love souring. She can not understand why Juan must drink all time and why he continues to beat after he promises that he will never do it again.

In Claudia Llosa’s The Milk of Sorrow, a girl from the Andes named Fausta has an odd disease contracted from her mother’s milk. Because her mother was raped and tortured during the Peruvian Civil War with Fausta in her womb, the mother’s milk is contaminated with the disease, according to the local people. This condition causes symptoms such as rarely leaving one’s home by will, avoiding men, rarely speaking, and walking close to the walls of houses for fear of having one’s soul stolen. In the film, Fausta undergoes a journey to empower herself to cure this disease and create a voice for herself. Through the use of central recurring symbols, Fausta’s actions, and the interactions of the people around her, the film suggests that historical trauma, if left unchecked, can negatively influence the person with trauma, the people around them, and even generations to come.

The relationship between Mariam and Laila grows overtime into an unbreakable love. Mariam is a vulnerable character that experienced hardships and negativity throughout her life. Her reliance on faith and religion gave her hope. Laila however, has had a positive upbringing from modern parents. Her education is what made her a strong and intelligent girl. Their personalities contrast to bring the best out of each other. However at first, in fear of being overshadowed by Laila, Mariam says “If [Laila] thinks [she] can use [her] looks to get rid of me, [she is] wrong. [Mariam] was here first. [She] won't be thrown out” (225). As Mariam has never been a priority to anyone in her life she was very defensive over her role in the house. As jealousy embarked upon Mariam,

Manuela’s withdraw into a vague response and her unwillingness to discuss the trauma and events which are so significant to her and Estebán’s lives highlights the distance created between parent and child through this suffering.

The relationship between mother and daughter is very evident in this novel. It is implied by the priest that Maria has duties in the household and duties as a woman. François Paradis also knew that Maria would make a good housewife, one that would give wholly, love of the body and the soul that she would be a devoted spirit that would not waver.[6] These similarities are apparent when the daughter’s first love is represented by a symbolic abduction, (winter storm) that is followed by a return to her mother’s way of life. She generously accepts Gagnon as her husband, thus guaranteeing the continued existence of family,

Since the beginning of the colonial process, Indigenous bodies have been seen as disposable. The dehumanization of the Indigenous body and the creation of the other, has allowed for the destruction of Indigenous Femininity. A system rooted in epistemic violence created by the colonial era. Continues to affect how Indigenous women are treated in modern societies. The demotion from “Indian Queen”, an exotic and powerful presence in colonial societies, to the “Dirty Squaw”, a figure depicted as lazy, and troublesome. Indigenous women have struggled to be seen as human people, rather than sexual object in the minds of the white settlers. A systematic dehumanization though through the process of epistemic violence. Which continues to affect how Indigenous women are treated today.