Analysis Of Waterlily By Ella Cara Deloria

Lives for Native Americans on reservations have never quite been easy. There are many struggles that most outsiders are completely oblivious about. In her book The Roundhouse, Louise Erdrich brings those problems to light. She gives her readers a feel of what it is like to be Native American by illustrating the struggles through the life of Joe, a 13-year-old Native American boy living on a North Dakota reservation. This book explores an avenue of advocacy against social injustices. The most observable plight Joe suffers is figuring out how to deal with the injustice acted against his mother, which has caused strife within his entire family and within

“We live the Old Way” are the words that author, Catherine Knutsson, uses to introduce readers to the fascinating culture of the Métis Indians in her intriguing book, Shadows Cast by Stars (1). Set in an unspecified future, sixteen year old protagonist, Cassandra Mercredi, finds herself and her family fleeing from the mainland of UA and going to find refuge on “The Island” (Knutsson 21). They have been targeted because they are “marked by the precious Plague antibodies in [their Native American] blood” (Knutsson 1). According to Essentials of Young Adult Literature, Knutsson’s book is categorized as American Indian and Indigenous Literature (Short, Tomlinson, Lynch-Brown, and Johnson 177). After analyzing the text, the categorization is correct because the story is told from the perspective of the protagonist, Cassandra, who provides readers are given insight into the cultural beliefs and values of the Métis tribe. Additionally, her character communicates the traditional roles of men and women within the tribe, while integrating cultural details that provide authenticity to the story.

The book that I decided to read was Night Flying Woman by Ignatia Broker. The tribal identity in the book was Oibwe from the White Earth Band. Ms. Broker started out the book from the present day in Minneapolis where she grew up. There wasn’t much culture to be seen, and the younger generations were getting too lost in the new world. Ms. Broker made sure to mention that she still taught her children the Ojibwe ways, and told them the stories that her grandmother had once told her. Throughout Ignatia Broker’s introductory chapter, we got a sense of the amount of respect she had for you great-great grandmother Oona, or Night Flying Woman.

“A Yellow Raft in Blue Water” is divided into three sections narrated by three different Native American women: Rayona, Christine and Ida. All three of these women are all related. Rayona is the daughter of Christine, and Christine believes she is the daughter of Ida, but Ida is actually her half-sister and cousin. All three sections were a part of a larger story; they all helped support or complete each other. The structure of this novel forces us as readers to be more active. It causes us to look more closely, and fit together the stories of the three women. When the ladies’ are explaining the same event, it sometimes feels

“Waterlily” by Ella Cara Deloria begins with a woman named Bluebird giving birth to a child named Waterlily while away from the caravan. The story shifts to a memory from Bluebird’s childhood about how she lost her family to a possibly raid or attack by another tribe while gathering supplies. However, the only other living relative happens to be her grandmother. Later, Bluebird and her grandmother set off to find a neighboring tribe. Eventually, Bluebird meets a young man named Star Elk. Bluebird goes on to marry Waterlily’s father, Star Elk, who happens to be a terrible husband. However, Bluebird remarries Rainbow. The story finally shifts to focus solely on Waterlily. During her childhood, Waterlily and her family are invited to attend a Sun Dance. Also, she witness her cousin, Leaping Fawn, participating in a Virgin’s fire and learning the proper way to accept a marriage. Eventually, Waterlily is brought by Sacred Horse because she felt that she must fulfill these obligations due to her family. However, Waterlily has a hard time adjusting to her new life and the new role she has to play. Waterlily begins to miss her family and people but she finds a sense of comfort with Red Leaf’s parents. She is finally able to relax with people she can relate to. Back at camp, an outbreak of smallpox spreads throughout the tiyospaye due to buffalo blankets. Sadly, Sacred Horse catches the sickness and requests to die alone. Leaving a pregnant Waterlily without a husband. Waterlily and

At the age of fourteen, the nameless protagonist meets Old Chief Mshlanga on a walk with her dogs, a native tribal leader who used to own the whole area. The chief's pride and respect make the girl gingerly change her opinion of natives and reconsider her prejudiced vision and idea. As a result, she begins to be more pleasant towards the natives she encounters.

The life of a ranch girl is unknown to many people across America. In Maile Meloy’s Ranch Girl, a female narrator brings the reader into her hard life being raised as a ranch girl. Through many different literary devices including, tone, mood, and characterization, the writer set the reader to feel everything the narrator depicts and the reader ingested with a heavier impact than the reader anticipates. The obligation to the community for the ranch girl is to break all stereotypes, thus showing her community and all ranch girls alike that she can be successful and break free of the ranch girl life.

Throughout human existence, mankind has had to overcome difficult obstacles in order to prosper. In Diane Glancy’s “Pushing the Bear”, the reader discovers how the Cherokee Indians overcome their hardships and flourish into a new, thriving community. In this novel, the audience observe how these Cherokee Indians outlast the harsh environment during the Indian Removal Act. Additionally, Glancy creates a human experience during the Trail of Tears; giving a different perspective of various characters. Through the eyes of characters such as Maritole and Knobowtee, the reader is able to sense the desperation that the Cherokee endured. The upheaval of being forcefully removed from the land stripped the Cherokee of their identity. This disruption left the Cherokee confused, causing frustration to arise because they were unable to live their familiar roles. Men were no longer able to farm. Women had a loss of property and wealth. The bear symbolizes these struggles throughout this novel. Maritole explains, “The bear had once been a person. But he was not conscious of the consciousness he was given. His darkness was greed and self-centeredness. It was part of myself, too. It was part of the human being” (183). In other words, the “bear” is the personal dilemma each character is put up against during this removal. Furthermore, each character has their own personal struggles to overcome; whether that be Knobowtee’s loss of masculinity or Maritole’s loss of family. These struggles,

Wisconsin: Recollections of the Aborigine, written by Jack Fashbaugh, depicts the life of a young boy and how he begins to understand the world around him. When analyzing the second stanza of the poem, Fashbaugh makes it evident that one of the viewpoints the boy encounters is segregation. The opening line of this stanza recites, “Since Mrs. Bagley knew the best muskie waters, my father met her Chippewa Gardener.” Through this statement the writer is able to exclaim the separation between the common man and in this case the Chippewa gardener. Without the intent of the father to want to discover the fishing hole, the boy and his father would still have been secluded from the Chippewa culture. Another aspect the writer wishes to address

came a baby girl, Pearl) after her husband had been missing for four years, and presumed lost and drowned at

An emphasis on family is one of the central facets of Native American culture. There is a sense of community between Native American. Louise Erdrich, a Chippewa Indian herself, writes a gripping bildungsroman about a thirteen year old boy named Joe who experiences all forms of family on the Native American Reserve where he lives. He learns to deal with the challenges of a blood family, witnesses toxic family relationships, and experiences a family-like love from the members of the community. In her book, The Round House, Louise Erdrich depicts three definitions of the word family and shows how these relationships affect Joe’s development into an adult.

In Louise Erdrich’s Famous work of poetry, “Indian Boarding School: The Runaways”, shows how the context of the work and the author play major roles in understanding the poem from different aspects and angles to see between the lines of what we really call life. The Author Louise Erdrich is known for being one of the most significant writers of the second wave of the Native American Renaissance. She is a member of the Turtle Mountain Band of Chippewa Indians and her writing on Native American literature is seen throughout the world. Through word decision, repetition, and symbolism bringing out her incredibly fierce tones, the author recalls the hurt and enduring impacts of Native American children being forced to attend Indian boarding schools. These schools emerged of a post-Civil War America in an effort to educate and also “civilize” the American Indian people.

Deloria uses Waterlily to discuss the cornerstone value of kinship in the Oceti Sakowin culture. Throughout the story, Deloria professes that kinship required certain actions. Even as the story begins, with Blue Bird still carrying Waterlily in her womb, she sat painfully near to labor on the back of a horse and didn’t request a stop because it was her father-in-law that was leading her horse, and kinship required that she not speak to him (Deloria 4). According to the Oceti Sakowin rules of kinship, a daughter-in-law was to treat her father-in-law with what was called the rule of avoidance. She was to treat him with respect, but from a distance, and not to demand his attention (Deloria 165). The culture required this type of behavior to create an atmosphere of reverence for in-laws, which established a pattern for newlyweds to follow and eased the transition from living with their family to living with their new spouse. The Oceti Sakowin culture likes to suggest social norms; not to dictate the lives of the people, but rather to make it easier for people to know their place and proper actions for them to take. Although these cultural norms may not always feel ideal to the one expected to follow them, they often follow them regardless, because kinship demands obedience over comfort. In Blue Bird’s case, following this

After they married, in spite of her unentertained heart, they had two boys. Many of the other women around her made

Perpetuation of Native American Stereotypes in Children's Literature Caution should be used when selecting books including Native Americans, due to the lasting images that books and pictures provide to children. This paper will examine the portrayal of Native Americans in children's literature. I will discuss specific stereotypes that are present and should be avoided, as well as positive examples. I will also highlight evaluative criteria that will be useful in selecting appropriate materials for children and provide examples of good and bad books. Children will read many books as they grow up.