Sciences Participating with Arts & Culture in Education

A Broken Hoop

Illustrated by Kiara Thompson

Upon one’s reading of Medicine River, by Thomas King, it is clear that community is a fundamental aspect of Aboriginal culture. This story is set in the late 1900’s but strong community has been an integral part of Native culture since long before that. From before colonisation to the present day, Native culture has revolved around group-oriented teamwork. This theme of community is also prevalent in various other works pertaining to First Peoples, such as Black Elk Speaks, by Black Elk and John Neihardt, and The Rez Sisters, by Tomson Highway. Medicine River conveys the need for support from the community to accomplish a goal and the importance of a strong community in preserving culture, but also depicts how this crucial comradery is steadily declining among Native people as time goes on.

Medicine River portrays the essential role that community plays in accomplishing a goal. This can be seen in the character of Harlen Bigbear, who is constantly arranging for everyone to have help. For instance, when Will lost his job and took the risk of beginning his own business in the town of Medicine River, “Harlen insisted that Will stay at his place” and recommended him to banks in the area so that Will could gain stability (King 99). Ultimately, Will is able to make a successful business for himself. Furthermore, when Louise Heavyman becomes pregnant, Harlen tries to recruit several men in town to care for her because he believes that “somebody’s got to look after her [and] be with her” (King 32). In the end, it is Will who takes on the responsibility of caring for Louise, and this act of support from the community gives Louise someone to depend on when she is in need and provides a father-figure for her daughter, South Wing. Similarly, in The Rez Sisters, the strong sense of community is depicted when the women all use what skills they have to fundraise for the trip to Toronto (Highway 70-74). None of them could have made it to Toronto by themselves, but because they all contribute, they are able to fulfill their dream.

Medicine River also demonstrates how a strong community is necessary to preserve a culture. This story includes the historical event of “Wounded Knee 2” where a group of Lakota people in the American Indian Movement took control of a town and demanded the government to reopen treaty negotiations. This protest would not have succeeded if so many Aboriginal people had not joined together and put themselves at risk for the cause of defending their Native rights. A large group of people with a common value for the culture is needed to preserve traditions. Black Elk Speaks contains another important example of Aboriginal people rallying to fight for their culture—the Battle of Little Bighorn. When they were attacked by the powerful United States army, several different Aboriginal groups joined to defend themselves (Black Elk and Neihardt 65). It took their unified effort to stand against the oncoming forces, and as a result, they won that battle.

Although a strong sense of community among Aboriginal people has been prominent throughout history, Medicine River also presents the unfortunate reality that this unity is steadily waning. In the years following colonisation, it becomes evident that the Aboriginal community is falling apart. This can be seen in the dysfunctional family units that are now so prevalent in the Native population. For instance, so many Aboriginal children grow up without a father. This was the case for Will whose father “took off when [Will] was about four” (King 7). Similarly, South Wing was born outside of a marriage relationship, and her mother refused to get married. As the story progresses, it is emphasized that she “needs a father” (King 139). The loss of community is also manifested in the poor relationships between men and women in Native circles. For example, Jake Pretty Weasel beat his wife January several times to the point where she becomes “a regular in the emergency ward” (King 45). Similarly, Lucy and George Cowley’s marriage ended because George “was pretty mean to Lucy” (180). This painful truth is upheld in The Rez Sisters when Emily Dictionary expresses how she has lost her faith in men because of the actions of her ex-husband who “treated [her] real bad” (Highway 99). This notion of abusive men who women do not respect is such a contrast to what their relationship used to be. The reader can get a glimpse of their past harmony in Black Elk Speaks when the men and women each have an important position to fill and cooperate to perfectly accomplish tasks such as the bison hunt (Black Elk and Neihardt 36). Unfortunately, the energy and passion that Native people used to put into fighting for their beliefs and against assimilation have seemingly been turned inward, and they have begun to hurt each other. This is the case for Raymond Little Buffalo and David Plume who differ on their perspectives of Aboriginal integration. The two men become too preoccupied with their disagreement, and they resort to violence. They will not respect each other’s opinions and they grow so angry that Raymond and his friends “beat [David] up” (King 253) behind a hotel, and David “starts shooting at [Raymond]” (King 254). They stopped fighting to protect their identity as a whole and wasted their time having confrontations about their views on identity, and this only served to harm them.

A strong community is a critical component of any functioning ethnic group. Medicine River and other works about First Peoples illustrate the benefits of this sense of community among Aboriginal groups in that it helps the people achieve more and preserve their culture. However, Medicine River also illustrates how this bond between Native people is seemingly breaking and their relationships are becoming hostile. This is a problematic situation because Aboriginal culture is already threatened from outside, and Native people need to join together to keep it alive, not endanger it further by creating tension within. Medicine River includes an excellent symbol of this which is the basketball team. When Raymond would practice, he would become so competitive that he would hurt other players (King 75). Even though he would score, he would only serve to weaken the team and compromise their success in the real game. In the same way, when Native people focus on their own interests so much that they hurt each other, they do not truly accomplish anything. They only weaken the “hoop” that connects them which they need so desperately in the real fight to keep the Aboriginal culture alive.   

Works Cited

Black Elk, and John G. Neihardt. Black Elk Speaks: the Complete Edition. University of Nebraska Press, 2014.

Highway, Tomson. The Rez Sisters. Fifth House, 1988.

King, Thomas. Medicine River. Viking, 1990.