Louis Bird and Kuskapatchees, Essay Example

Kuskapatchees and Louis Bird are native writers that lived in different time periods in with two different approaches to telling the story of themselves and their people. Looking at the background of Kuskapatchees, a Cree Indian, not much is known about her background, except what is written in her own words. Kuskapatchees was born in the mid-19th century near Three Capes in a Lake. She lived an adventurous life, and in her old age, thought to share her people’s stories through Charles Clay, a non-native researcher. While he tried to stick to the style and way she said her words, many of the controversial or sexual content was taken out. Kuskapatchees was not able to write her own story, and, therefore, was not able to structure it in a way that reflected her style. Instead, Clay relied on developmental editing, the editing process in which during the production of stringing Kuskapatchees stories together, he structures and restructures significant parts of the manuscript. Clay, like in the development edition process guided Kuskapatchees in the writing process. Since Kuskapatchees did not write, but only relayed the stories, Clay coached Kuskapatchees chapter or story by story. The development editing process is implemented when there is to believe a substantial restructuring and revision of the stories.

In the story, “The Smoky One”, Clay makes sure that the interpretation of Kuskapatchees story is told in the syntax and retained the flow of her words, so the story could be as if she is writing it herself. Such as seen, But Wesukechak, the Great Spirit and Brother of the red man, came to my help, and in the heart of my lover he put the great desire.” (Kuskapatchees 61) The flow of the sentence can mimic the way in which Kuskapatches spoke. The art of the development process is similar to Bird’s in which it focused on structuring the flow of the storytelling to portray as if the author is speaking directly to the readers. While in comparison, Kuskapatchees relied on Clay to act as the official editor and writer in the duration of the writing process.

Looking at Louis Bird’s editing process and style of writing in comparison of Kuskapatchees, the differences are in who the official writer was. Bird an Omuskkego Cree Indian-born West of Hudson Bay. He was educated and lived a traditional native life learning of the stories of his people. He was an accomplished storyteller and recorded many of the Elders and his own stories. Unlike Kuskapatchees process, his story, was told orally and transcribed with little editing process that too tried to mimic the way in which it was speaking. “Louis was explicit from the beginning that he wants his stories to be presented simply, with no explanatory footnotes from scholarly sources and no additions by me (Gray) except the introduction and references.” (Bird and Gray, 2007, pg. xvii) He had a rhythm to his words, and was able to speak with his native and English languages translated in his words on the page. In contrast, both Bird and Kuskapatchees wanted to mirror the way in which they spoke, they didn’t want to edit too much that it took away from their native tongue, or the way in which they strung their sentences along.

Their stories detail the relationship between the settlers and the indigenous people from in Kuskapatchees story about the “white men” that work in the river, to Bird’s story of the men at the Hudson Bay Company. For Bird, “it changed their style of thinking, increased the negativity in their character.” (Bird 136) Kuskapatchees also iterated the relationship between the two, as she felt that the settlers did not like the indigenous people, as she told the story about them in a more negative light, while Bird talked about the settlers in a positive light. This has more to do with them being told at different times, as, in the past, settlers were more hostile towards the natives, unlike in Bird’s time where they were more tolerant. As detailed in McLeod’s book on postcolonial studies, the relationship between the settlers and the indigenous in the 18th and 19th century, were hostile, and an extension of the European colonization in which they wanted to achieve political autonomy, and were more violent against those that resisted. (McLeod, 2007, pg. 84) For Bird, his story told of white men that were friendly towards the natives and tried to learn from them, helping them, something that didn’t exist in Kuskapatchees stories.

References

Bird, Larry, Gray, Susan Elaine. (2007). Spirit Lives in the Mind: Omushkego Stories, Lives, and Dreams. McGill-Queen’s Press. MQUP.

Cariou, Warren, Sinclair, Niigaanwewidam James. (2011). Manitowapow: Aboriginal Writings from the Land of Water. Portage & Main Press. Canada.

McLeod, John. (2007). The Routledge Companion To Postcolonial Studies. Routledge. Oxfordshire.