Before watching the microlecture I have never really hear of settler colonialism. Just thinking about the definition of settler colonialism: colonialism where the settlers never leave, I thought right away of the Americas. With the Interview of Tommy Orange, I learned that the Indian Termination Act and Indian Relocation Act was incredibly impactful to the different Native tribes in the United States. Orange mentioned that his story is basically rooted in these different Acts that happened in the fifties and are based off of the descendants of those who moved into urban locations. I see the effects of settler colonialism especially in the description of Opal in Orvil's chapter. Opal was one of the first generations to actually be growing up after the relocation and because of this she was subjugated to move incredibly often because her mother couldn't really afford to keep them in one place. In Orvil's chapter he mentions that Opal has intentionally refused to teach him and his brothers about their native background and culture. Perhaps Opal is wants the boys to grow up "normal" in the city and maybe doesn't even have much to offer them because she herself never really got to be a part of a tribe or overall native American community.
In the recent chapters the impact of settler colonialism and the Indian Relocation Act can be seen in Dene Oxendene's chapter when he is trying to get the story of Calvin. Due to all of the these acts and him grow up in a city, he doesn't entirely feel like he should consider himself a Native American. Due to all of the attempts to dismantle native tribes in the United States, Calvin doesn't really know his ancestral history and the meaning that it had. He doesn't have access to this information which actually means, in a way, that these acts achieved their goal in trying to erase and force natives to assimilate into the American society. This entire novel seems to be set with characters who are just trying to find out who they are, who their ancestors were, and just how to get by in this society.
Hey Monique! I really liked how you connected the effects of settler colonialism to specific characters. It seems like settler colonialism disrupted Native peoples' sense of identity and belonging, which is why Dene may be trying to share untold stories about post-relocation Natives. I wonder if Orange is portraying himself as Dene in the book, because he is essentially doing the same thing in real life.
ReplyDeleteHey Monique! This is an awesome post. I liked how you connected the Microlecture with the interview with the author we watched in class. Definitely interesting stuff! You did a good job looking into lots of different characters, I think this analysis will definitely help you out when you start your Research Excursion/Literary Interpretation!
ReplyDeleteHi Monique! I think it's interesting how you mentioned how Calvin doesn't really know his ancestral history and how he didn't have the access to learn about it. I think that it goes to show how much the government and its legislation has erased Native history and culture. I wonder if Calvin will try learning about his Native history!
ReplyDeleteHey Monique! I also had no prior knowledge of how impactful the Indian Termination Act and Indian Relocation Acts were to the Native tribes. The acts essentially show how much control the Government has over the perceptions, history, and culture of any one group.
ReplyDeleteHey Monique, thanks for sharing! I, too, hadn't really heard of the exact term "settler colonialism" before. I also wrote about the relocation and how I think that is definitely impacting the characters' stories and narratives. It was cool to see you write about something similar and hear another perspective on the same topic!
ReplyDeleteHey Monique! Loved the way you dissect "settler colonialism" here. I also was not familiar with the specific term of "settler colonialism" but it's meaning evidently became clear to me once I started viewing the micro lecture. I like the connection you made with relocation to one of the There There characters.
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting that you point out how the US policies against Native Americans seem to have worked, and this book shows the aftermath. I think the older characters in this novel strongly feel the effects of these policies. I believe that younger characters such as Dene, Orvil or even Edwin symbolize a hope and desire to bring this culture back, and I definitely hope that the second half of the book will contain many hopeful aspects, perhaps like Dene's storytelling project being a success.
ReplyDeleteIt's interesting how the micro-lecture connects to specific chapters quite directly as well as the entire book. All of these acts were working to break the ties of community and Calvin is a great contemporary example.
ReplyDeleteI think your example of Calvin is a super interesting point. There is this idea that was pushed on to me and I'm sure many others as kids that there are different Native American tribes, but they're all really the same people. I have since learned that to be untrue but when looking at the two maps from microlecture three and really understanding how many different tribes they were and how they were forced together and killed to push them onto such a small amount of land, I now understand where the sentiment that they are the same came from.
ReplyDeleteThe term "settler colonialism" was new to me, too. It's interesting to acknowledge the effects it has had on Native Americans. Your example of Calvin is a good one. He is the direct result of policy that has been designed to assimilate, to remove connections to Native culture. This is where the novel's theme of identity and many of the character's perceptions of it come from. There is conflict between their identity as urban Americans and their culture as Native Americans.
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