Louis Owens, in his account “Motion of Fire and Form: Autobiographical Reflections” and Wendy Rose, in her collection Bone Dance, create experience-and-memory-based narratives that help them to shape their identities. They are able to recreate events to which some of the pieces may be missing, allowing them to better understand their history and their place in a world of categories. They learn from their families how to fit in and interact with the environment around them when they do not fit cleanly into a an identity that the culture of colonizers recognizes. Further, they use memory as a means of rebellion against the sociopolitical standard that requires written record in order for a history to be legitimate. Through their writing, Owens
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As Owens says, “memory is the most unreliable narrator” (263). As memory is subjective, no two individuals will recall an event in the same way, thus memory has varying impacts which will shape individuals in unique ways based on their previous experiences. To this point, Owens goes on to say, “were they to read what follows, and undoubtedly they will, my family would surely remember our life differently” (263). Additionally, since memories change every time they are recalled, the context of new experiences can alter the subjective memory and meaning to the individual. This process allows memories to be applied to new experiences, evident in Rose’s poetry. In “Chicago,” she draws attention to the “Ojibwa songs from behind the jukebox,” imposing her perspective on a foreign environment based on her expectations and identity (38). Further, in “Leaving Port Authority for Akwesasne,” she describes seeing the urban landscape of New York City as “bare as the desert [she knows] with roofs appearing in clumps like greasewood” and “mesas …show more content…
Rose does this by unpacking the identity and life of her great-great-grandmother who moved from Germany to California. Rose describes the “dangerous dreams of a wild girl” and the “thousand Spanish swords, ankle deep already in Miwok bones” as she comes to terms with the role her family played in permitting and supporting the colonization that continues to oppress part of her family and part of her identity (77). She struggles to identify with this part of herself, as her “brown hands cannot recall ]her grandmother’s] Germany or [her] Mother Lode, Yosemite untouched by tourists buying ice cream and souvenirs” (79). She finds her peace by saying, “If you are a part of me, I am also that crazy acorn within your throat around which pioneer stories rattle and squirm… I am also the ghost of the pioneer’s future” (79). This is clearly a contentious point of identity and does not need to be sorted out or come to terms with cleanly because identity is a process that is forever changing with experience and perspective. Owens shares a similar background, as his Father is called an “‘Indian scout’ because, [he suspects], he guided the ‘Sooner’ land thieves into Indian territory before reservations were allotted and legally thrown open to white settlement. A Judas scout, maybe” (265). However, both provide strong identifying ties with their Native ancestry as well. Rose reflects deeply
As Owens says, “memory is the most unreliable narrator” (263). As memory is subjective, no two individuals will recall an event in the same way, thus memory has varying impacts which will shape individuals in unique ways based on their previous experiences. To this point, Owens goes on to say, “were they to read what follows, and undoubtedly they will, my family would surely remember our life differently” (263). Additionally, since memories change every time they are recalled, the context of new experiences can alter the subjective memory and meaning to the individual. This process allows memories to be applied to new experiences, evident in Rose’s poetry. In “Chicago,” she draws attention to the “Ojibwa songs from behind the jukebox,” imposing her perspective on a foreign environment based on her expectations and identity (38). Further, in “Leaving Port Authority for Akwesasne,” she describes seeing the urban landscape of New York City as “bare as the desert [she knows] with roofs appearing in clumps like greasewood” and “mesas …show more content…
Rose does this by unpacking the identity and life of her great-great-grandmother who moved from Germany to California. Rose describes the “dangerous dreams of a wild girl” and the “thousand Spanish swords, ankle deep already in Miwok bones” as she comes to terms with the role her family played in permitting and supporting the colonization that continues to oppress part of her family and part of her identity (77). She struggles to identify with this part of herself, as her “brown hands cannot recall ]her grandmother’s] Germany or [her] Mother Lode, Yosemite untouched by tourists buying ice cream and souvenirs” (79). She finds her peace by saying, “If you are a part of me, I am also that crazy acorn within your throat around which pioneer stories rattle and squirm… I am also the ghost of the pioneer’s future” (79). This is clearly a contentious point of identity and does not need to be sorted out or come to terms with cleanly because identity is a process that is forever changing with experience and perspective. Owens shares a similar background, as his Father is called an “‘Indian scout’ because, [he suspects], he guided the ‘Sooner’ land thieves into Indian territory before reservations were allotted and legally thrown open to white settlement. A Judas scout, maybe” (265). However, both provide strong identifying ties with their Native ancestry as well. Rose reflects deeply