Native American literature in tribal context: Anishinaabe aadisokaang noongom.

摘要

Anishinaabe culture and the Ojibwe language have survived centuries of trade, war, epidemic, relocation, and attempted termination. Yet, as Jim Northrup states, "Nimbwaawinanigoomin, we are still here" (Rez Road Follies 229). This dissertation introduces readers to four Anishinaabe authors, Louise Erdrich, Jim Northrup, Basil Johnston, and Gerald Vizenor, within the context of their own tribe. A comparison of their careers, texts, subject, style, and use of the Ojibwe language shows how Anishinaabe literature has survived as a subgroup distinct from the broader category of Native American Indian literature.;Some aspects of the Native American Indian experience are shared by all tribes, and it is important to contrast this pantribal view with the dominant culture in America. However, every Native American Indian author is related to one or more particular tribes. Cultural survival is achieved through the combination of signifying stereotypes and the specific distinctions of each tribe. Reading Anishinaabe authors within the context of their own tribal culture offers an opportunity to better understand the Anishinaabe culture and worldview. Before colonization, tribal groups defined themselves on their own terms. This is a task to which some of modern America's best storytellers are now returning.;The writers included in this survey are all members of the Anishinaabe tribe, some as enrolled reservation residents and others as part of a wider urban community. They have published books in the twentieth century, and they share identifiable patterns in the subject, style, and language of their work. For example, they all include traditional Anishinaabe stories in their modern fiction and use many Ojibwe words in their predominantly English language publications. More than being generally categorized as "Native American Indian" authors, Louise Erdrich, Jim Northrup, Basil Johnston, and Gerald Vizenor are individuals who write against a backdrop of Anishinaabe culture. Though in the present they live extremely different lives, what they have in common is a desire to share some portion of the Anishinaabe past with modern readers and to carry the Ojibwe language and storytelling tradition into the future. The task of this dissertation is to give evidence that they are succeeding.