Early Indigenous Literatures

Contests and battle sites

Repeatedly, Bonnin refers to the narrator's circumstances as matters of war and battle. The violence of images such as the depiction of the "forlorn Indian girl" are not mere childsplay, but are intimately tied to contestations over space, presence, and narrative. As the young girl becomes a woman, we see how her childhood has been a continued site for these battles. As Arvin et al. remind us, this will only continue as Indigenous women bear special responsibility within their Nation's sovereignties.

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