Drew Hayden's alterNatives is a phenomenal play displaying the many stereotypes present between Indian and white people. The first issue that really caught my eye was near the end when Angel reveals to Colleen that she was one of the girls who would pay him and his friends 50 cents for every story they told her. I believe this message has so many different meanings. First of all, it displays just how flawed our view of Indian history can truly be, it's preposterous to think Anthropologists could show up to a reserve, pay a bunch of Indian kids (in this case Angel and Bobby) to tell them Native stories and then go on to write a book on these stories claiming them to be true Native history. To think that this could have happened, or could currently
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Angel, can be represented as the natives in these trips, and Colleen as a more humble and nice Jacques Cartier. Colleen and others went into Angel's childhood reserve and paid him in order to take something from him and his friends (their stories). Just as Cartier came into Natives home in the 1500s and offered gifts to the Indians as a method to gain a friendship and ultimately take their land. This comparison can be used as a demonstration of what has been happening to the entire Indian race since the 1500s in Canada. The whites continue taking from Natives and it won't stop until something is done about it. Drew Hayden's alterNatives raises for me, the question that is “Why aren't we better educated on Natives?” If Canadians were better educated on Indians it would avoid an absolute ton of stereotyping as well as misunderstanding that happens on a regular basis here in Canada between Natives and all other cultures. For example, these last few weeks where I have been in Professor Coupal's Indigenous Literature and Canadian Literature classes have completely changed my view on all Natives. I used to be just like everybody else stereotyping them in multiple ways, but after having the slightest bit of knowledge on their history I've learnt just how many struggles they've truly been through, and how wronged they've been done. Canadians need to be better educated on their oldest
Angel, can be represented as the natives in these trips, and Colleen as a more humble and nice Jacques Cartier. Colleen and others went into Angel's childhood reserve and paid him in order to take something from him and his friends (their stories). Just as Cartier came into Natives home in the 1500s and offered gifts to the Indians as a method to gain a friendship and ultimately take their land. This comparison can be used as a demonstration of what has been happening to the entire Indian race since the 1500s in Canada. The whites continue taking from Natives and it won't stop until something is done about it. Drew Hayden's alterNatives raises for me, the question that is “Why aren't we better educated on Natives?” If Canadians were better educated on Indians it would avoid an absolute ton of stereotyping as well as misunderstanding that happens on a regular basis here in Canada between Natives and all other cultures. For example, these last few weeks where I have been in Professor Coupal's Indigenous Literature and Canadian Literature classes have completely changed my view on all Natives. I used to be just like everybody else stereotyping them in multiple ways, but after having the slightest bit of knowledge on their history I've learnt just how many struggles they've truly been through, and how wronged they've been done. Canadians need to be better educated on their oldest