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ABORIGINAL / INDIGENOUS PEOPLES

The Oxford English Dictionary defines indigenous peoples as those ‘born or produced naturally in a land or region; native to…'  The term aboriginal has been used for hundreds of years, as early as the seventeenth century, to describe the native inhabitants of areas that were explored and colonised by Europeans. The most common use of the word now, however, is for the description of Australian natives.

‘Aboriginal' can be seen as a derogatory term in that it does not distinguish between the various tribes or races that are lumped together under its title by white European colonists.   One of the preferred terms to describe native inhabitants is ‘First Nation'.

A characteristic of Aboriginal or Indigenous peoples is their tradition of oral literature that has been passed down over centuries.

Oral traditions exist in many different cultures of indigenous people such as native Canadians.  

Consider the Cree Indians.   Their oral tradition and customs, their own tribe has almost been completely eradicated through colonisation.   They were denied a voice by the colonisers and were educed to what Ruby Weibe describes as a ‘wordless cry' [1] .  

Unlike European settlers, the Cree were not allowed to maintain their own identity and due to this they have almost been eradicated from Canadian history.   It has only been in the past fifty or so years that Canadian authors have tried to recover some of this ‘lost' oral tradition allowing such cultures as the Cree to have their own voices.

One of these authors, Thomas King tries to incorporate the oral tradition of literature into his narratives.   However, as a non-native, can King or any other author truly encapsulate, through written narrative, an oral tradition long since abandoned by the majority of the population.

In his essay, Godzilla vs. Post – Colonial , King discusses the origin and the precise definition of the term post-colonial.   He concludes that in terms of Native literature, ‘we can say that pre-colonial literature was that literature, oral in nature, that was in existence prior to European contact, a literature that existed exclusively within specific cultural communities.' [2]   He draws from this assertion, the idea that post-colonial literature is then literature written after the period of colonisation which would then, obviously, be influenced by the very act of colonisation.   These seemingly simple points, according to King allow us to consider Native literature as a counterpoint to Canadian literature because it is a different voice.

One of the problems of the term post-colonialism, for King, is that it assumes too much.   He declares that it ‘assumes that the struggle between guardian and ward is the catalyst for contemporary Native literature, providing those of us who write with method and topic'. [3]

However, King believes the worst aspect of post-colonialism is that it suggests and supposes that contemporary Native writing is merely a construct of oppression, and that it deprives and removes us from our traditions which heave survived despite the advent of colonisation.

Three terms that King uses to describe the varying range of Native writing are tribal, interfusional, polemical, and associational.   These terms can be seen as less centred and there is no bias implied for one culture over another.   Where ‘post-colonial' implies a sense of progress and improvement moving from savagery to cilivisation, these terms instead emphasise that Native literature is not solely dependant on the introduction of Europeans to their countries.

King describes the four terms in greater detail; ‘Tribal refers to that literature which exists primarily within a tribe or a community, literature that is shared almost exclusively by members of that community, and literature that is presented and retained in a Native language.' [4]   It is virtually impossible to separate this from of literature from its community partially due to language barriers, but also because it has no interest in being accessible to other audiences.  

The Hopi Indians go to great lengths to ensure that their literatures are only available to members of their immediate community.

‘Polemical' refers to literature which is either in a Native language or in the language of the colonisers which is pre-occupied with the struggles between indigenous and European cultures or with the advocation of Native values over non-Native values. King describes how ‘polemical literature chronicles the imposition of non-Native expectations and insistences (political, social, scientific) on Native communities and the methods of resistance employed by Native people in order to maintain both their communities and cultures.' [5]

‘Interfusional' is used by King to describe literature which is a mix of both oral and written narratives.   Possibly the most complete example of interfusional literature is that of Harry Robinson's Write It On Your Heart .   Although the tales in this collection are written in English, the grammatical structures as well as the themes and characters are all exemplars of oral literature.   Robinson succeeds in designing and developing a series of stories in which the reader is encouraged to read them aloud.   This, in King's eyes, helps to avoid the problem of loosing the voice of the storyteller and audience, which is the biggest complaint about transferring oral literature to the written word.

‘Associational' literature describes what has been developed by contemporary Native writers. In this form of literature, a Native community is most often described down to daily activities and everyday life.   Although the plot is generally linear, it does not give importance to concepts such as climax and resolutions that are a maker of much non-Native fiction.   Because of the style of this literature, non-Native readers can accsess and associate with the native world without actually being encouraged to feel part of it.