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Year 1998, Issue: 8, 65 - 71, 01.10.1998

Abstract

References

  • Hale, Janet Campbell. The Jailing of Cecelia Capture. New York: Random House, 1985.
  • King, Thomas. Medicine River. New York: Penguin Books. 1989.
  • Momaday, Scott. The Ancient Child. New York: Doubleday, 1989.
  • Mourning Dove. Cogewega, the Half-Blood: A Depiction of the Great Montana Cattle Range. 1927. Introd. Dexter Fisher. Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press, 1981.
  • Owens, Louis. Other Destinies: Understanding the American Indian Novel. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press. 1992.
  • Owens, Louis. The Sharpest Sight. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 1992.
  • Owens, Louis. Bone Game. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press. 1994.
  • Power, Susan. The Grass Dancer. Berkeley: Berkeley Publishing Group, 1995.
  • Ruppert, James. Mediation in Contemporary Native American Fiction. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press. 1995.
  • Sarris, Greg. Keeping Slug Woman Alive. Berkeley: University of California Press. 1993.
  • Silko, Leslie Marmon. Ceremony. New York: Viking Penguin. 1977.
  • Silman, Janet. Enough is Enough: Aboriginal Women Speak Out. Toronto: Women’s Press. 1994.
  • Welch, James. The Death of Jim Loney. New York: Penguin Books. 1979.

Status, Mixedbloods, and Community in Thomas King’s Medicine River

Year 1998, Issue: 8, 65 - 71, 01.10.1998

Abstract

The critic Louis Owens has called the dominant theme in novels by Indian authors “the dilemma of the mixedblood, the liminal ‘breed’ seemingly trapped between Indian and white worlds” 40 . By Canadian law, Will, the protagonist in Medicine River, is considered “stateless.” The Indian Act which determines his status governs the life of 350,000 Canadian Indians as well as more than 2,000 reserves in that country. The regulations of this act explain why, in spite of his father's death, Will, his brother and mother are prevented from living on the reserve when they return to Medicine River. His mother, Rose Horse Capture, had married a white man, and thus her legal status as an Indian could not be regained. Had Rose Horse Capture been a man and married to a white woman, not only would he not have lost his status, but his white wife and any children would have had Indian status conferred upon them—a result of the patriarchal lineage system being instilled by the Indian Act. A person can be of mixed race and still hold his or her status as an Indian, as long as the Indian blood derives from his father’s side.

References

  • Hale, Janet Campbell. The Jailing of Cecelia Capture. New York: Random House, 1985.
  • King, Thomas. Medicine River. New York: Penguin Books. 1989.
  • Momaday, Scott. The Ancient Child. New York: Doubleday, 1989.
  • Mourning Dove. Cogewega, the Half-Blood: A Depiction of the Great Montana Cattle Range. 1927. Introd. Dexter Fisher. Lincoln, NE: University of Nebraska Press, 1981.
  • Owens, Louis. Other Destinies: Understanding the American Indian Novel. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press. 1992.
  • Owens, Louis. The Sharpest Sight. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 1992.
  • Owens, Louis. Bone Game. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press. 1994.
  • Power, Susan. The Grass Dancer. Berkeley: Berkeley Publishing Group, 1995.
  • Ruppert, James. Mediation in Contemporary Native American Fiction. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press. 1995.
  • Sarris, Greg. Keeping Slug Woman Alive. Berkeley: University of California Press. 1993.
  • Silko, Leslie Marmon. Ceremony. New York: Viking Penguin. 1977.
  • Silman, Janet. Enough is Enough: Aboriginal Women Speak Out. Toronto: Women’s Press. 1994.
  • Welch, James. The Death of Jim Loney. New York: Penguin Books. 1979.
There are 13 citations in total.

Details

Primary Language English
Subjects African Language, Literature and Culture
Journal Section Research Article
Authors

Mary M. Mackie This is me

Publication Date October 1, 1998
Published in Issue Year 1998 Issue: 8

Cite

MLA Mackie, Mary M. “Status, Mixedbloods, and Community in Thomas King’s Medicine River”. Journal of American Studies of Turkey, no. 8, 1998, pp. 65-71.

JAST - Journal of American Studies of Turkey