When I read Joseph Boyden’s “Abitibi Canyon”, I’ve learned a lot of how north american
aboriginal peoples are treated and then I used connectedness throughout his text to further
understand the meanings. I used connectedness because it reminded me when I visited my
mother’s hometown which is a reservation for native peoples. I thought,” where would
everybody be if there wasn’t a reserve?” Another thought that came to my mind was,” the place
felt so confined and in the middle of nowhere. Also, when I was reading the story I thought about
the world around me and how it is right now. Everytime Britannia has an assembly, the main
announcer always states that we are on “unseated” aboriginal land. Unseated as in there was no
treaty …show more content…
The
story is told by Remi’s mother and the author makes her sound like she’s having a conversation
with me (the reader). I feel like she’s telling a first nations tale that has been told by her
grand-parents. For example, when the mother describes Abitibi Canyon,”You see the Abitibi
Canyon from the Little Bear Express, appearing like a wendigo’s grave out of the trees, dipping
slowly at first, then shooting straight down, the rock cliffs dropping for a lifetime until the
brown water of the river licks them and swallows them up.” This style of writing relates to me
because it reminds me of stories being told by my grandma a long time ago.
When the Author introduces that the government is going to build a dam which would
flood the reservations traditional land, negative environmental impact and no more hunting, I
reacted by thinking of similar situations that are going on today in canada. These situations I’ve
thought of are the potential pipelines that may go through canada like the Trans Mountain …show more content…
New schools. New houses. Prosperity. The downside is that thousands of
hectares of traditional land will be swallowed up by water. No more hunting. No control in our
own country. Negative environmental impact.”
I experienced a moment in Joseph Boyden’s “Abitibi Canyon” when some of it’s
residents set up a camp in the canyon where the dam could be built. This reminded me of the
Oka incident in 1990 where the Mohawk nation and Quebec police had a standoff for 78 days.
The Mohawk nation was defending their land from an expansion of a golf course which would
cross over into 300 year old Mohawk land. This act of resistance from the Mohawk nation came
to my mind because it’s a rebellious act toward intrusion of properties. Just as the dam being
in “Abitibi Canyon”, I felt an invisible connection between those two texts.
I’ve experienced relations throughout Joseph Boyden’s “Abitibi Canyon” in which are
personal, formal and in context. From stories told by my grandmother, pipelines being built in
northern B.C., and resistance against systemic racism from the past, I’ve related these
aboriginal peoples are treated and then I used connectedness throughout his text to further
understand the meanings. I used connectedness because it reminded me when I visited my
mother’s hometown which is a reservation for native peoples. I thought,” where would
everybody be if there wasn’t a reserve?” Another thought that came to my mind was,” the place
felt so confined and in the middle of nowhere. Also, when I was reading the story I thought about
the world around me and how it is right now. Everytime Britannia has an assembly, the main
announcer always states that we are on “unseated” aboriginal land. Unseated as in there was no
treaty …show more content…
The
story is told by Remi’s mother and the author makes her sound like she’s having a conversation
with me (the reader). I feel like she’s telling a first nations tale that has been told by her
grand-parents. For example, when the mother describes Abitibi Canyon,”You see the Abitibi
Canyon from the Little Bear Express, appearing like a wendigo’s grave out of the trees, dipping
slowly at first, then shooting straight down, the rock cliffs dropping for a lifetime until the
brown water of the river licks them and swallows them up.” This style of writing relates to me
because it reminds me of stories being told by my grandma a long time ago.
When the Author introduces that the government is going to build a dam which would
flood the reservations traditional land, negative environmental impact and no more hunting, I
reacted by thinking of similar situations that are going on today in canada. These situations I’ve
thought of are the potential pipelines that may go through canada like the Trans Mountain …show more content…
New schools. New houses. Prosperity. The downside is that thousands of
hectares of traditional land will be swallowed up by water. No more hunting. No control in our
own country. Negative environmental impact.”
I experienced a moment in Joseph Boyden’s “Abitibi Canyon” when some of it’s
residents set up a camp in the canyon where the dam could be built. This reminded me of the
Oka incident in 1990 where the Mohawk nation and Quebec police had a standoff for 78 days.
The Mohawk nation was defending their land from an expansion of a golf course which would
cross over into 300 year old Mohawk land. This act of resistance from the Mohawk nation came
to my mind because it’s a rebellious act toward intrusion of properties. Just as the dam being
in “Abitibi Canyon”, I felt an invisible connection between those two texts.
I’ve experienced relations throughout Joseph Boyden’s “Abitibi Canyon” in which are
personal, formal and in context. From stories told by my grandmother, pipelines being built in
northern B.C., and resistance against systemic racism from the past, I’ve related these