Early Indigenous Literatures

Conclusion

The texts highlighted in this exhibit serve as examples of the persistence and resistance of Indigenous authors within a print culture designed for settler authors and audiences. Of course, the archive of settler print culture is not the only archive in which Indigenous authorship and stories are present: Te Punga Somerville notes, “An archive in my line of work is just as likely to be in a wardrobe, cupboard, or meetinghouse; Indigenous texts might be carved, oral, written, sung, woven, danced and so on.”[1] In addition to providing an expansive view of Indigenous archives, Somerville’s use of active words draws attention to the ways in which these archives are in constant flux. Even as we consider how Indigenous authors have navigated the limitations of settler print culture, it is important to remember that Indigenous stories are not limited to this particular archive, nor do archives constitute the sole site of Indigenous authorial presence.
 
[1] Alice Te Punga Somerville, “13: ‘I do still have a letter’: Our sea of archives,” 121.

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