Beyond The Ecological Indian: On The Nature Themes In The Works Of Louise Erdrich

This dissertation focuses on the "Ecological Indian" imagination in contemporary Native American culture and literature and Louise Erdrich's Chippewa Tetralogy. Erdrich draws on the nature themes in Native American literature, but transforms and rewrites them. Her works go beyond the "Ecological Indian" imagination. This thesis also claims that it has two sides to make American Indian culture ecological. On the one hand, it renders Native American people conspicuous and charming, on the other hand, it conceals the problems of their society and culture.Introduction gives an overview of the novels explored in the thesis and Erdrich studies against the background of the American Indian literature studies. Erdrich, known as the backbone of the "Native American Renaissance", is one of the most important Native American novelists in the U. S. The studies on her novels are not only influenced by the research of Native American literature, but also significantly reflect the level of the research in this field. Owing to the close relationship between American Indians and nature, the ecological studies on their literature is always a popular topic in both Native American and Ecocritical studies. The truth that Edrich is popular in all of the other research fields but that of Ecocriticism is associated with the "Ecological Indian" imagination in mainstream American society. It is worthwhile to discuss the absence of ecological studies in this field which renders this thesis innovative and significant.Chapter 1 reviews the history of the American Indian images in American literature. The transformation from "bloody savage" to "innocent savage", and from "Ecological Indian" to "Native American ecologists", is also the process from being imagined by others to imagining themselves. American Indians gradually take "Ecological Indians" as part of the definition of themselves and develop three nature themes in their works:the earth theme which is about the relationship between American Indians and their land; the animal theme which is about the relationship between humans and animals, and the women theme which is about the relationship among people, especially the one between men and women. Native American authors attempt to express their worldviews different from those of European Americans by keeping writing about these themes. Then I try to figure out Erdrich's opinion about "Ecological Indian" by analyzing the debate between her and other Native American authors on this topic. In her novels, Erdrich continues writing about the nature themes, but her novels go beyond the "Ecologial Indians" framework already.Chapter 2 investigates the Homing theme in Erdrich's Chippewa Tetralogy. A considerable number of American classics tell of leaving home to try one's fortune in places far away, but in the novels of American Indian Writers, the heroes come home. Unlike the other Native American authors' works, Erdrich's reservation is not the last refuge. From the perspective of ontology and according to the definition of "home" in American Indian culture, I analyze the Homing theme from three respects: place/space, time/history, and people/community. Erdrich's reservation is not the Utopia. From the perspective of "returning", Erdrich's "Chippewa Tetralogy" is also very different from the other Native American author's works. The homing in her novels is kind of troubling homing, and the characters could not find peace at the end of the stories when they come back. Unlike the "geographical Utopianism" in the works of such authors as Momaday, there is a truly "geographical realism" in Erdrich's "Chippewa Tetralogy"Chapter 3 examines the animal theme in the Erdrich's novels. She uses the "animal transformation" motif in her novels extensively. Although many other critics have analyzed this motif in her novels from the perspective of cultural anthropology, I discuss this theme based on the "archetype theory" of Northrop Frye systematically. Erdrich writes about the "animal transformation" motif in her novels whose narrative styles changing from the "mythical" to the "ironical". On the one hand, the image of the contemporary Indians who ride their "mechanical horses" subverts the "Ecological Indian" image riding in their canoes; on the other hand, Erdrich points out implicitly that the contemporary American Indians alienate themselves from nature gradually. Hunting theme is another important theme in her novels which is related to the "animal transformation" motif. I analyze the hunting jokes and death humor in the light of "spiritual ecology". American Indians think they are part of the great circle of nature and thus are not more important than the plants or the animals or the rocks. So their death is by no means different from that of other creatures. The funny Indian image subverts the image of the crying "Ecological Indian"Chapter 4 discusses the theme of the female in Erdrich's Chippewa Tetralogy. At first, I point out the two trends-"feminization of nature" and "naturalization of women"-in American Indian culture, which are related both to Indian imagination of mainstream society and to the Matriarchal characteristics in the Indian culture. Then, by analyzing three different kinds of female characters in her novels, I argue that in Erdrich's works there are a series of powerful female characters who get their power from nature. They are Earth Mother, female Shaman and Mother without children. They used to be powerful women but loose their power and voice gradually. In the mean time, in the modern myth of "Ecological Indians", Indian people go into the jungle and vanish. The real Indians disappear in the "Ecological Indian" narrative. Echoing Introduction, Conclusion summarizes the whole thesis, arguing that "Ecological Indian" seem to have become the dominant image of American Indians. On the one hand, it is a fake vision made to meet the expectations of mainstream American culture; on the other hand, it is a secret and indirect resistance strategies employed to help American Indians speak in their own voice in the political and cultural field within the acceptable limit. Moreover, this fake vision not only makes misunderstanding deep, but it also simplifies the social issues in contemporary Native American community. Unlike the works of other Native American authors, not all of the characters in Erdrich's novels are ecological heroes who understand the systemic consequences of their actions, feel deep sympathy with all living things, and take steps to conserve so that earth's harmony is never disrupted and resources never in doubt. Rather, they have a lot of problems:gambling, alcoholism or misconduct, which are the problems of all the human beings in the contemporary society. This thesis holds that we should be more cautious when we discuss the relationship between American Indians and nature. On the one hand, the natural tradition in their culture should be admired; on the other hand, it is not sound to overstate that tradition because not all of American Indians are born ecologists. Given the Native American studies in American academic world, Chinese researchers have a big advantage in that filed because we don't have so many biases.