AMERICAN INDIAN AUTHORS
MORALITY IN NATIVE AMERICAN LITERATURE
Native American literature serves as an ideal platform on which to dissect and challenge ethnocentrism, socioeconomic disadvantages, cultural dichotomies, and an unending list of other facets of the Native American experience, tradition, and heritage. One paramount facet of the Native American experience that is often examined in literary fiction, poetry, memoir, and non-fiction pieces is the crucial theme of morality. As the non-normative culture in many cases, Native American morals and codes of ethics bring about many questions and can provide the perfect starting place for a better understanding on the part of the reader. Prolific and talented authors Gertrude Simmons Bonnin, Basil Johnston, Thomas King, and Winona LaDuke in their respective short stories "The Soft-Hearted Sioux," "Secular Revenge," "Borders," and "Ogitchida Ikwewag: The Women's Warrior Society, Fall 1993" thoroughly tackle the important theme of morality through strong protagonists and narrators, informative points of view, careful narrative structure, and powerful diction.
"Sioux Warrior 1"
by
Tatanka 120
This image encompasses the theme of morality, the dichotomy in cultures, and the pride in one's heritage, all of which Bonnin highlights for the reader in "The Soft-Hearted Sioux."
"THE SOFT-HEARTED SIOUX" BY GERTRUDE SIMMONS BONNIN
In her short story entitled "The Soft-Hearted Sioux, " Gertrude Simmons Bonnin conveys the theme of morality through chronological narrative structure and first-person point of view. Bonnin highlights the theme of morality in the cultural dichotomy and tension that the narrator-protagonist experiences in his encounters with non-Native peoples and his own tribe in the draft. The narrator initially resists his Native American heritage, traditions, and ideals in the story: "'Ho, my son, I have been counting in my heart the bravest warriors of our people. There is not one of them who won his title in his sixteenth winter. My son, it is a great thing for some brave of sixteen winters to do.' Not a word had I to give in answer. I knew well the fame of my warrior father...my heart was too much stirred by their words, and sorely troubled with a fear lest I should disappoint them, I arose to go" (Bonnin 39). The narrator experiences an interior conflict surrounding the issue of hunting that prevents him from relating to the facets of his warrior father, ergo preventing him from clinging to his traditions and better preparing him for acculturation to non-Native American ideals.
Bonnin brings about the issue of morality in the symbolic ritual and tradition of hunting throughout the story. In "The Soft-Hearted Sioux," hunting is symbolic of the fierceness of the Sioux people to hold onto their traditions, beliefs, and culture at all costs; thus, when the narrator resists hunting as the Sioux do, he denies his congenital belief system in favor of the non-Native beliefs. In the second section, the narrator feels the intense struggle between Native American and non-Native ideas of morality: "Yet I did not grow up the warrior, huntsman, and husband I was to have been. At the mission school I learned it was wrong to kill. Nine winters I hunted for the soft heart of Christ, and prayed for the huntsmen who chased the buffalo on the plains" (Bonnin 39). Bonnin uses the dichotomy of non-Native and Native cultures to accentuate the differences in right and wrong in both cultures, and in doing so, accentuates the moral consequences of the narrator's murder of the cattleman at the end of the story.
Through her fine craft and carefully selected literary devices in "The Soft-Hearted Sioux," Bonnin denounces the narrator's decision to cling to non-Native American traditions and ideals, specifically surrounding the theme of morality. The initial language of the story is tightly composed and features spare, concrete detail, but the language and pace greatly differ following the shift on page 41 of the story: "With a strange warmth in my heart and swiftness in my feet, I climbed over the first hill, and soon the second one. The moonlight upon the white country showed me a clear path to the white man's cattle. With my hand upon the knife in my belt, I leaned heavily against the fence while counting the herd" (Bonnin 41). By portraying the narrator with such intrinsic fire and cunning in this scene (after portraying him as pious and stilted, as in the fashion of the non-Native American culture he has previously embraced, in the previous scenes), Bonnin conveys her belief that one should cling to and take pride in one's heritage and beliefs instead of casting them aside. Bonnin furthers her perspective in the loaded and powerful image of the narrator killing the cattleman but truly feeling remorse for not hunting for his dying father's food earlier.
"Native American"
by
Les LeFiere
The above painting encompasses the wry cunning and sheer orneriness of Kitug-Aunquot, as well as his vexation surrounding the dichotomy between the Roman Catholic and Ojibway ideals of morality in "Secular Revenge."
"SECULAR REVENGE" BY BASIL JOHNSTON
Like Bonnin, Johnston tackles the theme of morality in his short story, "Secular Revenge." While Bonnin uses the weighty subjects of murder, death, and denial of one's heritage to convey her perspective on morality, Johnston leverages humor and wit to share his perspective on this theme in his story. Unlike the narrator in "The Soft-Hearted Sioux" who is caught between a nearly completely equal love and respect for two differing cultural ideals throughout the story, Johnston's protagonist Kitug-Aunquot struggles to stay out of the crossfire between the warring cultural ideals he bumps up against: "Kitug-Aunquot (Mottled Cloud) long resisted the blandishments of Episcopalians, Methodists, Anglicans, Catholics, United Church members, and a few other brands of denominations to join their congregation and become a Christian. Not that he had anything against any of them, nor that he so cherished his traditional beliefs and ceremonies that he had clung to them and would not have given them up...He did not wish, by joining one persuasion, to offend the other, especially his friends who belonged to one or other of the many denominations. Besides that, he could see very little difference between any one of them" (Johnston 42). Johnston takes the unique position of exploring the individual moral perversions through his character of Kitug-Aunquot to underscore his position on the theme of morality in the story.
Johnston uses the character of Kitug-Aunquot to mock the non-Native concepts of morality in the story through revealing his character to the reader in an objective third-person point of view. This decision coaxes the reader into empathy with Kitug-Aunquot's character, thus ultimately causing the reader to side with Kitug-Aunquot's decision to interpret the non-Native ideals of morality in his own twisted way. An example of this occurs early in the story, when Kitug-Aunquot finally accepts the Roman Catholic church: "The one church law that most disturbed him was, 'Thou shalt fast and abstain on the days appointed. ' It was easy enough to understand; but it was hard to observe even though the Ojibway were experienced fasters, accustomed to long and serious food shortages at times" (Johnston 42). Johnston knowingly and brilliantly abuts the Roman Catholic moral values surrounding fasting and the Ojibway concept of fasting incited by extreme food shortage to place Kitug-Aunquot at the center of the cultural conflict.
Johnston's perspective on the theme of morality is best revealed in the final scenes of the draft: "Would Kitug-Aunquot, who owned a team of horses, haul wood for the church? 'No,' said Kitug-Aunquot....Kitug-Aunquot considered the food and the dance; he decided to make an effort...'What's that?' a friend asked. 'Sawdust,' Kitug-Aunquot replied smirking" (Johnston 44). By the end of the draft, Johnston's perspective on the theme is clear: he conveys the belief that one should not beat another culture's ideals into someone who is unwilling to accept them, with the added tartness of the implied "or else." Showing Kitug-Aunquot luxuriating in an array of meats on a fasting day and then showing him hauling sawdust to the church to annoy the clergy further highlights his mocking of the Roman Catholic ideals of morality and acceptance of his own ideals for his convenience.
"Lovely Attire, Blackfoot"
by
James Ayers
"Lovely Attire, Blackfoot" shows the strength and pride of Laetitia's mother in King's "Borders." The reliance on Laetitia's mother's Blackfoot heritage and support of her culture are present in the proud and beautiful Blackfoot woman in the painting above.
"BORDERS" BY THOMAS KING
Thomas King's "Borders" attacks the theme of morality much in the same way Bonnin's "The Soft-Hearted Sioux" and Johnston's "Secular Revenge" do. King juxtaposes the American and Canadian ideals of morality with the Blackfoot ideals of morality, delineating them as their own separate entities as Laetitia's mother does in her mind. King uses the young, vibrant, passionate character of Laetitia, the experienced, prideful character of her mother, and the juvenile innocence of the narrator to emphasize his perspective on Blackfoot and non-Native morality. Immediately in the story, the reader understands the Blackfoot moral ideals that Laetitia's mother and Mrs. Manyfingers hold: "There were the fine points to Laetitia's going. She had not, as my mother liked to tell Mrs. Manyfingers, gone floating after some man like a balloon on a string. She hadn't snuck out of the house, either and gone to Vancouver or Edmonton or Toronto to chase rainbows down alleys. And she hadn't been pregnant. 'She did real good'" (King 45). By establishing this concept of morality that may be foreign to many current readers, King levels the foundation on which to convey his perspective on the theme of morality throughout the story.
The following recurring dialogue in the story underscores Laetitia's mother's regard of the Blackfoot culture and tradition: "'Now, I know that we got Blackfeet on the American side and the Candians got Blackfeet on their side. Just so we can keep our records straight, what side do you come from?' I knew exactly what my mother was going to say, and I could have told them if they had asked me. 'Canadian side or American side?' asked the guard. 'Blackfoot side,' she said. It didn't take them long to lose their sense of humor, I can tell you that" (King 47). King uses this dialogue to further the "otherness" that Latetitia's mother experiences in identifying herself as Blackfoot to the border patrol, as well as to further her perspective on answering the border patrol's questions the way she believes is right and true. Her perseverance and clinging to her heritage eventually allows both she and her son to visit Laetitia and Salt Lake City, which conveys King's perspective on morality and persistence. By showing the strength and prideful nature of the Blackfoot culture in this way, King supports the clinging to of one's heritage at all costs, just as Bonnin does in "The Soft-Hearted Sioux."
In the final scenes of the story, King adds the final zing to his perspective on morality, pride, and the dichotomy of American-Canadian cultural ideals versus Blackfoot (or, more generally speaking, Native American) ideals: "On the way home, we stopped at the duty-free shop, and my mother gave Mel a green hat that said 'Salt Lake' across the front. Mel was a funny guy. He took the hat and blew his nose and told my mother that she was an inspiration to us all" (King 50). These final actions on the part of both Laetitia's mother and of Mel highlight King's support of taking pride in one's beliefs and concepts of what is right and what is wrong, and consider the complex role of identity in the theme of morality in "Borders."
"Warrior - Audrey"
Courtesy of
Montana State University
"Warrior - Audrey" shows the quiet power, inherent strength, and morality of the Ogitchida Ikwewag women in LaDuke's "Ogitchida Ikwewag: The Women's Warrior Society, Fall 1993."
"OGITCHIDA IKWEWAG: THE WOMEN'S WARRIOR SOCIETY, FALL 1993" BY WINONA LADUKE
Perhaps the strongest example in terms of the theme of morality in Native American literature is Winona LaDuke's "Ogitchida Ikwewag: The Women's Warrior Society, Fall 1993." Like Bonnin, Johnston, and King, LaDuke ruthlessly and unabashedly dissects the Native American concept of morality through a number of powerful Native American characters. LaDuke's story differs from Bonnin's, Johnston's, and King's, however; while the other authors in this unit tackle the theme of morality by taking into account non-Native ideals, LaDuke creates an even more powerful examination of this theme by keeping the setting, characters, and common ideals within the Native American community: "'I found her in the bathroom crying more than a few times. She won't talk to me very much though.' Danielle continued, 'You all know that her mother is in Minneapolis, working, and she's got the job of taking care of those two young boys, and cooking for her dad. Everyone knows that her dad has a lot of power here on the reservation, but that's no reason to turn our heads. I think something is going on'" (LaDuke 51).
A fascinating aspect of "Ogitchida Ikwewag: The Women's Warrior Society, Fall 1993" is the fact that LaDuke turns conventionality on its head in the story. Her perspective on the theme of morality is a zealous perspective of support of the Native American morals, especially where taking justice into one's own hands is concerned: "The women watched as Fred Graves slowly pulled his car into the driveway at 115 Amik Street in the housing project. There were probably fifteen of the women, including Lucy St. Clair, Georgette Hand, Danielle Wabun, Maggie Jourdain, Meredith Dole, and Elaine, as well as three or four elders. Each woman listened to her own breathing as she sat. Elaine ran her hands over the smooth ricing sticks. In the fall, the sound of the sticks knocking against each other and the wild rice dropping into the canoe would make a soothing sound of harvest. This winter night, the sticks would make a different sound" (LaDuke 52). LaDuke uses the quick pace of the plot and the strength of the women to take down the powerful and tribally important man and free his innocent and vulnerable daughter, which goes against the reader's expectation of the scene in a particularly satisfying way.
Like King and Bonnin, LaDuke utilizes a strong narrative voice to convey her support of the Native American morality in "Ogitchida Ikwewag: The Women's Warrior Society, Fall 1993." An outstanding example of this fact, as well as of the aforementioned thwarted conventionality, occurs near the end of the story: "Not so fast, you pissin' asshole,' she said, and she yanked [his underwear] off his legs. "Howah," she said, as she twirled them on her ricing stick, "Your ass stinks as much as your politics'...The man, naked from the waist down, was walked through the housing project by the women. As he passed, each family came out to look at their Tribal Council representative" (LaDuke 53). LaDuke's cutting language and tautly composed story further emphasize her perspective of powerful reverence of the Native American morals and codes of ethics.
NATIVE AMERICAN MORALITY TODAY
Many people are adopting Native American moral statutes for practice in their daily lives, as evidenced by the number of articles comparing normative moral ideals to (in many cases, perceived superior) Native American morality. Below are a couple of links that I found helpful in learning more about Native American morality and values interpreted through a modern-day lens.