Katherena Vermette's The Break

Denise K. Lajmodiere “American Indian Females and Stereotypes: Warriors, Leaders, Healers, Feminists; Not Drudges, Princesses, Prostitutes.” National Association for Multicultural Education (2013): 104-109. Web. 7 Sept. 2015. This article, written by native female author Denise K. Lajmodiere highlights the racial stereotypes that surround Native American women and how they are historically inaccurate. She argues that the true role of Native American women in their tribes had been misinterpreted by European colonists who failed to understand that they were important figures, and not just drudges or prostitutes. She does so by giving clear examples of how many tribal cultures were matriarchal highlighting women’s roles as healers, leaders, warriors

“Dance me Outside” by W. P. Kinsella tells the story of little Margaret Wolfchild, an eighteen year old Indigenous mother who is brutally murdered by Clarence Gaskell at the Blue Quills Dance Hall (21). The film by the same name attempts to convey a similar message, but there are key differences such as overlooking the Gaskell’s trial. The broader scope of film allows for the story to be told through multiple perspectives, aiding in rounding out the characters and providing them with a realistic dynamism. In her book “Iskwewak Kah Yaw Ni Wahkomakanak” Janice Acoose criticizes Kinsella’s portrayal of Indigenous women, particularly a character from a different story of Kinsella’s named Linda Starr (69). Acoose asserts that Kinsella “exhibits

Throughout the course of American history, Native American women have repeatedly become primary targets of sexual violence from non-native men. Around one in three Native American women has been raped or had undergone attempted rape, which makes them the largest race to experience sexual abuse than any other race in the United States. Before any contact was established between the Natives and the European settlers, the Native population had thrived off the land and they had their own criminal justice systems, which was meant to help all Native citizens find justice (Griffith, 5). Unfortunately, their efficient way of life would soon be interrupted forever following the arrival of white setters upon their lands.

Hollywood films have influenced our values and beliefs of socio-cultural groups within a film. In the context of race and gender the films Cowboys and Aliens (2011) and the searchers (1956) both share similarities. These two successful films are 55 years apart the both convey the perspectives of race and gender through the reflection of American Indians in these films. The films The Searchers and Cowboys and Aliens show that Hollywood has changed the way we see the status of Indians. In the earlier film the Indians are represented as killers and mongrels as in this current day and age we have grown to accept them and appreciate their culture. This is done prominently through both films as they feature the interaction between white Americans and Indians. The searchers depict the Indians as the villains who capture the girls from the white American families and are seen as a risk to the community. In the

Richard Wagamese’s semi-autobiographical novel Keeper’n Me paints the portrait of a young man’s experience—one shared by many Indigenous peoples across Canada—revealing a new perspective on Aboriginal life. First Nations have often been romanticized and the subject of Western fantasies rather than Indigenous truth concerning Aboriginal ways rooted in “respect, honor, kindness, sharing and much, much love” (Wagamese, 1993 quote). Keeper’n Me tells the story of Garnet Raven, an Ojibway, who is taken from his family as a child by the Children’s Aid Society, and placed in a number of (white) foster families, where his Indigenous identity is stripped away. He serves time for drug charges, during which he receives a letter from his brother, inviting him back to the White Dog Reserve to rekindle ties with his people and learn about Ojibway culture, traditions, spirituality, and philosophy with the help of his community and his teacher, Keeper, an elder and recovering alcoholic who was instructed in his earlier years by Raven’s grandfather. In viewing the novel through the theoretical frameworks of the “Middle Ground”, “Orientalism”, and “Agency”, Keeper’n Me explores Canadian-Indigenous relations in a moving, yet humorous way, as well as the meaning of “being” a First Nation in modern society,

Richard Wagamese brings to light the troubles of aboriginals living in Northern Canada in his book Indian Horse. Wagamese demonstrates the maltreatment aboriginals have faced at the hands of the Zhaunagush and their residential schools. The disgusting truth of the treatment of aboriginals in Canada is shown through recovering alcoholic, Saul Indian Horse, who recounts his life from the time he lived in the bush with his native family, the Anishinabeg, to the the time he checked into The New Dawn Treatment Centre.

The rate Missing and Murdered Indigenous Woman in disproportionality high in Canada in comparison to other missing and murdered woman in Canada. Currently there has been “1017 aboriginal female homicide victims between 1980-2012. Of all these cases 225 of them have gone unsolved”(Missing and Murdered Aboriginal Women: A National Overview,2014). There are various factors in which play some type of contribution to The rate Missing and Murdered Indigenous Woman extreme high rates in Canada. This paper will address The rate of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women is disproportionately high in Canada. What factors contribute to this? The main factors that contribute to the higher rates of the missing and murdered indigenous women are are Representation

The voices of Indigenous children are unheard and purposely ignored. This is portrayed through the literature of Birdie by Tracey Lindberg and Indian Horse by Richard Wagamese. Despite both apologies from Stephen Harper and Justin Trudeau, the government system to protect First Nations children appears to have detrimental effects on the life of a child. This is proven by young children turning to drugs in order to satisfy their growing pain, family members who abuse their children because they consume high amounts of alcohol, which has a negative impact on the child, and discriminatory behaviour by surrounding communities.

The Chicana feminist is not widely accepted, or even recognized. At its best, Chicana writers and artists take to paper and other mediums to share the message. Writers, such as Andzaldua, comment on the necessity for writing. The Chicana expression of creative thought, otherwise unnoticed by the majority of people, is important in that it allows people to show the struggle, emotion, and wisdom surrounding personal experience (Andzaldua). Poetry, for instance, can be described as a political act, which enables further thought and understanding between people. Additionally, these stories reveal the great diversity among women.

Maxine Hong Kingston's use of talk stories in The Woman Warrior emphasizes that individuals will find a more fulfilling life if they defy the traditional gender norms place on them by society. While contemplating beauty standards in Chinese society in “No Name Woman” Maxine Kingston thinks, “Sister used to sit on their beds and cry together… as their mothers or their slaves removed the bandages for a few minutes each night and let the blood gush back into their veins” (9). From a young age girls are expected to be binding their feet and are told that it is to look beautiful, but in reality that is not why. When a womans feet are bound they are restrained and silenced. These girls could be free and happy but they are restrained by men through this binding. Kingston reveals another example of how defying gender roles can lead to a better life in her story “Shaman.” As her mom is

Octavia Butler is an Afrofuturist, science fiction author who writes many dystopian stories that allude to questions about gender, social structures, and an individual’s ability to control her body and sexuality. When people think of speculative and science fiction they tend to think of nerdy white men writing stories about space and light sabers, but Octavia Butler challenges this stereotype herself by being one of the few African American women in this genre. In Octavia Butler’s speculative fiction short story “Speech Sounds” there is a reversal of gender roles and a strong idea of feminism that is portrayed through the main character Rye. There is also the use of simile and metaphor to help point out flaws in the social structure of the story and the world of the reader.

Anthropologic studies of culture are about observation through a lens that is defined by the observer. In order for it to be free of bias, the observer needs to remove any and all preconceived notions and their own ’world’ references while functioning ‘emically’(Kottak 2013). Part of the observer’s job is to look into the past and present, reconciling roles within that culture (Kottak 2013). Gender roles are an important area of study (Kottak 2013). In the study of roles of female and males within a society, some early tradesmen, scholars and observers often overlooked women’s roles when addressing Native American culture (Mann 2000). However, looking back at early settlers,

The media has long been recognized as important source of gender related information, television and cinema specifically influences its audience in a considerable way. (Denmark and Paludi 2008). With regards to the concept of gender cinema can offer a space where ambiguities of identities are played out; understanding the play of the categories of femininity and masculinity is very important in evaluating our own understandings of gender and how we react to different representations of it (Tasker 2002).If a film can show different individuals and we can recognize how social forces shape and constrain the individual according to classifications of gender it narrates an experience where we experience the film as gendered viewers. Film reflects and generates out own experience of gender over and above out own recognition and observation of it. (Pomerance 2001). Gender itself is a very complex concept to understand and portray onscreen, the concept of gender performativity was introduced by Judith butler in her book Gender Trouble: Gender Performance and Performativity.

Indigenous populations in Canada face severe disadvantages related to their health. The racism that Indigenous people face is further compounded by the disadvantages that women face making the situation even for difficult for Indigenous women. With this said Indigenous women do share many issues with the rest of the Aboriginal population as a result of colonization, loss of land, forced time in Indian Residential Schools, loss of language, and racial, political, and economic marginalization (McNab). Furthermore, Indigenous peoples in remote communities face the difficulty of lacking access to healthcare, education, employment, and income equality (McNab). Indigenous women face a unique combination of oppression through their intersectionality

Kathy Acker’s Blood and Guts in High School, through a vulgar, unreal narrative, critiques and mocks the gender expectations of our patriarchal society. Acker writes a narrative that routinely switches between various forms: imagery, fairy-tale, drama, poetry to name a few. As one progresses through Acker’s comically un-realistic story, her scathing critique of patriarchy in society becomes clearer. Acker’s writing can be viewed through the lens of Judith Butler’s theory of gender performativity in Gender Trouble: Feminism and the Subversion of Identity. Butler stresses on the fact that modern society views sexuality as a primary element of one’s identity. Additionally, gender as part of one’s identity is socially produced through repetition