References


Archibald-Barber, J. "Reliving the ‘Indian Problem’ at First Nations University." Canada's Voice
for Academics. May 2010: n. page. Web. 20 Jan. 2013.

Belanger, Real “Sir Wilfrid Laurier” The Canadian Encyclopedia. 2012

Edwards, Brendan Frederick R. “He Scarcely Resembles the Real Man: Images of the Indian In Popular Culture” Our Legacy. 2008. Web 20 Jan 2013

McDougall, R. "Duncan Campbell Scott." The Canadian Encyclopedia. 2012. Web 20 Jan 2013

Meckler, Lee B. “Rabbit-Skin Robes and Mink-Traps: Indian and European in The Forsaken” Canadian Poetry Press. Web 21 Jan. 2013

Monet, Jacques S.J. “Sir Wilfrid Laurier” Encyclopedia Britannica. 2012 Web 19 Jan 2013

Schurz, C. "Present Aspects of the Indian Problem." North American Review. 133.296 (1881): n.
page. Web. 20 Jan. 2013. 

National Archives of Canada, Record Group 10, vol 6810, file 470-2-3, vol 7, pp. 55 (L-3) and
63 (N-3). For a more accessible source see: John Leslie, The Historical Development of
the Indian Act, second edition (Ottawa: Department of Indian Affairs and Northern
Development, Treaties and Historical Research Branch, 1978). 114.

 "A history of residential schools in Canada." CBC News. N.p., 16 May 2008. Web. 20 Jan 2013.

“A History of the Vote in Canada, Chapter 2, From a Privilege to a Right 1867-1919” Elections Canada, 13 July 2012. Web 21 Jan 2013
<http://www.elections.ca/content.aspx?section=res&dir=his&document=chap2&lang=e>

Questions

1) How does Duncan Campbell Scott portray Canadian Culture/Identity in "The Onondaga Madonna"?  

How does Scott portray Canadian Culture/Identity in "The Forsaken"?
Do these portraits change over time?

2) How does Duncan Campbell Scott view First Nations people in "The Onondaga Madonna"?
How Does Scott view First Nations people in "The Forsaken"?

3) What where your first impressions upon reading these two poems and have they changed in light of the information on this blog?

4) What do you think is or would be the reaction to these poems from a native american perspective?

5) Do you think, as some do, that Duncan Campbell Scott was still sympathetic to the native peoples only from the colonialist perspective of the time where the indians needed to be "saved"?

List of Publications taken from Wikipedia


Poetry

  • The Magic House and Other Poems Ottawa: Durie, 1893. London: Methuen, 1893. Boston: Copeland & Day, 1895.
  • Labor and the Angel, (Boston: Copeland & Day, 1898. Ryerson, 1945. McClelland and Stewart, 1973. ISBN 0-7710-9192-3
  • New World Lyrics and Ballads. 1905. Morang.
  • Via Borealis. Toronto: W. Tyrell, 1906.
  • Lundy's Lane and Other Poems, Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1916.
  • To the Canadian Mothers and Three Other Poems. Toronto: Mortimer, 1917.
  • Beauty and Life, Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1921.
  • The Poems of Duncan Campbell Scott, Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1926.
  • The Green Cloister: Later Poems, Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1935.
  • Selected Poems, E.K. Brown. ed. Toronto: Ryerson, 1951.
  • Selected Poetry. Glenn Clever ed. Ottawa: Tecumseh, 1974.
  • Powassan’s Drum: Selected Poems of Duncan Campbell Scott.Raymond Souster and Douglas Lochhead ed. Ottawa : Tecumseh, 1985.

Fiction

  • In the Village of Viger, sketches of French Canadian life; Boston: Copeland & Day, 1896.[20]
  • The Witching of Elspie: A Book of Stories, Toronto: McClelland & Stewart New York: Doran, 1923.[21]
  • The Circle of Affection and Other Pieces in Prose and Verse Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1947.[20] mostly prose.
  • Selected Stories of Duncan Campbell Scott, edited by Glenn Clever. -- Ottawa: University of Ottawa Press, 1972.
  • The Untitled Novel. Moonbeam, ON: Penumbra, 1979. ISBN 0-920806-04-X (written about 1905; posthumously published)

Non-Fiction

  • John Graves Simcoe Morang, 1905.[19] Biography, in the "Makers of Canada" series.
  • The Administration of Indian Affairs in Canada. Toronto: Canadian Institute of International Affairs, 1931.
  • Walter J. Phillips Toronto: Ryerson, 1947.
  • More Letters of Duncan Campbell Scott. Arthur S. Bourinot ed. Ottawa: Bourinot, 1960.
  • At the Mermaid Inn: Wilfred Campbell, Archibald Lampman, Duncan Campbell Scott in the Globe 1892–3, Barrie Davies ed. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1979.
  • The Poet and the Critic: A Literary Correspondence Between Duncan Campbell Scott and E.K. Brown. Robert L. Macdougall ed. Ottawa: Carleton U P, 1983. 

Exerp from Duncan Campbell Scott: The Poet and the Indians


Interpretation of "The Forsaken"


When I first read The Forsaken and indeed other poems included in Duncan Campbell Scott's Indian Poetry my impressions where that the authors view on the north american culture where favourable and that he was saddened by a seemingly dying noble race. However, after researching into Scott's political life as well as different in depth interpretations of this particular poem, I find his sympathetic attitude much harder to believe.

To begin my look into The Forsaken I would like to first look at its possible sources. Through his government work with Native Affaires, we seen in his biography that Scott would have had plenty of first hand experiences with native americans but this particular tale is one that is very intimate and as noted by R.H. Cockburn, most likely comes from a story told by Thomas Anderson that was later published in The Arctic Prairies: A Canoe-Joumey of 2,000 Miles in Search of the Caribou; being the Account of a Voyage to the Region North of Aylmer Lake. The story tells of an Algonquin mother who survived with her baby after her band had all starved to death. She finds a cash with a small bone fish hook and makes the quick decision to cut a piece of flesh from her own leg to use as bait. She survived by fishing throughout the winter until she rejoined the rest of her people but her son grows to be a cruel man and later leaves her to die of starvation. As you can see, the resemblances between these two stories are uncanny and although The Forsaken was published 6 years earlier, it is very possible that Scott would have heard Anderson's tale before then. Scott takes this specific tale and turns it into a generic type of fairy tale beginning with “Once” and without specifying time or place.
Victorian Picture of a Cheyenne Chief with european style clothing and weapons
<http://www.victorianpicturelibrary.com/cheyenne-native-american-chief>


The poem is split into two parts. The first part consists of 53 lines all between 4 and 7 syllables with irregular meter and tells of a young mother using her own flesh to bait a hook and fish for her starving child. The fast pace lends to the dire situation she finds herself in and echoes the adrenaline and fast heart beat that comes with the fear of starvation. We can sense her stress and determination. The second part consists of 41 lines ranging from 5 to 16 syllables. The longer lines and the much more irregular meter slows down the reading and adds to the melancholy of the theme where the mother is now “old and withered” and is eventually left to die. There is a noteworthy repetition of the line “Valiant, unshaken” appearing twice in part 1 and once again in part 2. This helps to bring the two parts together and begs the reader to draw comparisons. Although much is changing around her, the woman in the poem retains her composure through these two very different moments in her life. Is this to say that native americans can retain their essence whilst being assimilated by the encroaching european civilization? Could this simply be a subtle form of propaganda? The significance of these two parts and their correspondence was brought to life by an essay by Lee B. Meckler entitled Rabbit-Skin Robes and Mink-Traps: Indian and European in “The Forsaken”. This text focuses primarily on this particular issue of encroaching european culture on native americans which it says is at the heart of much of Scott's poetry. In part 1 of the poem, the vocabulary is all of the natural world for example she fishes “With a line of the twisted / Bark of the cedar, / And a rabbit-bone hook” and there is even an instance of a native word “tikanagan” whilst in the second, there is the appearance of “kettles”, a “shawl” and a “kerchief”. The speech pattern differs as well from one that is of a more simple english to a more complex one, from phrases such as “Bark of the cedar” to “ Then folded her hands ridged with sinews and corded with veins”. The growing influence of white man is also seen in the ways and attitudes of the characters in the second part. Not only do they use tools gotten from european trade, but they now use christian symbols surrounding death since the aged and dying woman crosses her arms over her breasts and is covered in a “crystal shroud”. The main cultural disconnect in this poem which may show a lack of understanding and sympathy for the native americans comes in the attitude of the family who leave her to die. As Lee Meckler states, the word “slunk” in reference to their moving off has been very controversial and has been much debated. Although it may have been custom for some native peoples to leave their old to die alone, it is the imprint of a christian faith in this poem that would have them feel guilt. The effect this word had on my reading is that of a judgement being made on their actions, one that is very much an outsiders point of view. It makes the natives look selfish and cruel since their own sense of guilt emphasizes the external christian impression of such a scene whereas if their own culture dictates such customs, then perhaps the old are prepared to die alone and embrace their return to the earth. These types of misinterpretations can be very dangerous to the impression the rest of the population has of native cultures since it is a hidden criticism amongst a beautiful and seemingly sympathetic poem.

Residential school classroom
<http://www.cbc.ca/thecurrent/episode/2012/12/14/ruth-reconciliation-lawsuit-wants-records-to-residential-school-program/>


The Forsaken 1905

I

 Once in the winter
Out on a lake
In the heart of the north-land,
Far from the Fort
And far from the hunters,
A Chippewa woman
With her sick baby,
Crouched in the last hours
Of a great storm.
Frozen and hungry,
She fished through the ice
With a line of the twisted
Bark of the cedar,
And a rabbit-bone hook
Polished and barbed;
Fished with the bare hook
All through the wild day,
Fished and caught nothing;
While the young chieftain
Tugged at her breasts,
Or slept in the lacings
Of the warm tikanagan.
All the lake-surface
Streamed with the hissing
Of millions of iceflakes
Hurled by the wind;
Behind her the round
Of a lonely island
Roared like a fire
With the voice of the storm
In the deeps of the cedars.
Valiant, unshaken,
She took of her own flesh,
Baited the fish-hook,
Drew in a gray-trout,
Drew in his fellows,
Heaped them beside her,
Dead in the snow.
Valiant, unshaken,
She faced the long distance,
Wolf-haunted and lonely,
Sure of her goal
And the life of her dear one:
Tramped for two days,
On the third in the morning,
Saw the strong bulk
Of the Fort by the river,
Saw the wood-smoke
Hand soft in the spruces,
Heard the keen yelp
Of the ravenous huskies
Fighting for whitefish:
Then she had rest.


II
Years and years after,
When she was old and withered,
When her son was an old man
And his children filled with vigour,
They came in their northern tour on the verge of winter,
To an island in a lonely lake.
There one night they camped, and on the morrow
Gathered their kettles and birch-bark
Their rabbit-skin robes and their mink-traps,
Launched their canoes and slunk away through the islands,
Left her alone forever,
Without a word of farewell,
Because she was old and useless,
Like a paddle broken and warped,
Or a pole that was splintered.
Then, without a sigh,
Valiant, unshaken,
She smoothed her dark locks under her kerchief,
Composed her shawl in state,
Then folded her hands ridged with sinews and corded with veins,
Folded them across her breasts spent with the nourishment of children,
Gazed at the sky past the tops of the cedars,
Saw two spangled nights arise out of the twilight,
Saw two days go by filled with the tranquil sunshine,
Saw, without pain, or dread, or even a moment of longing:
Then on the third great night there came thronging and thronging
Millions of snowflakes out of a windless cloud;
They covered her close with a beautiful crystal shroud,
Covered her deep and silent.
But in the frost of the dawn,
Up from the life below,
Rose a column of breath
Through a tiny cleft in the snow,
Fragile, delicately drawn,
Wavering with its own weakness,
In the wilderness a sign of the spirit,
Persisting still in the sight of the sun
Till day was done.
Then all light was gathered up by the hand of God and hid in His breast,
Then there was born a silence deeper than silence,
Then she had rest. 




Commentary on "The Onandaga Madonna"


The Onondaga Madonna paints a vivid picture of the Canadian government's "colonial gaze" of the First Nations people (Archibald-Barber, 2010). Scott's work portrays his (along with most of the Canadian government's) incredibly biased belief behind assimilation; this belief generally was that the white man's way of life is better than the "Indian's", thus the government felt it was their right to revoke all of the First Nations people's rights and conform them to a more British-style, colonial life.
This poem has great relevance to English 222 because it portrays the conflicted views of Canadian culture around the time shortly after Confederation. At the time of the poem, the colonial view was considered the "correct" view, and every culture that deviated from the colonial view was considered "wrong" and needed to be "fixed". Canadian culture was idealized as a homogenous entity that allowed no variation away from this idealization. Thus, the government had a problem with the culture of First Nations people.
The term "Onondaga" (link to http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Onondaga) refers to a group of First Nations people, probably a group that Scott had knowledge of from working with them as his job to assimilate the people. The term "Madonna" refers to the Christian faith's representation of Jesus' mother: the Virgin Mary. The entity that Scott describes with the title "Onondaga Madonna" suggests the clash of the two cultures, which represent the feelings of rest of the poem: the Canadian culture versus the First Nations culture.

Aboriginal woman and child


The mood of the poem is quite demoralizing with regards to the First Nations culture. The author makes his colonial mindset about the First Nations people quite apparent. In this poem, Scott is describing an Onondaga woman who has refused to assimilate with the Madonna (Christian) culture.
Scott Describes the First Nations woman as strong when Scott describes the woman's physical appearance as "[standing] full-throated" (line 1). This image portrays a mother (Madonna) who is sturdy and strong, however, this notion is contradicted when Scott adds that she is standing with "careless pose" (line 1), which begins to reveal his true negative opinions of this woman that he is describing. Perhaps these contradictory descriptions describe Scott's conflicted views of the people as he began to get to know them more.
Like many of his fellow coworkers from the department of Indian Affairs, Scott felt their actions to the First Nations people were justified because he thought that his actions were improving the lives of many people from their "weird and waning race" (line 2).
Scott goes on to describe the mother as a "tragic savage" (line 2), which represents the predicted fate of the First Nations people as "tragic", while maintaining the negative representation of the people as "savages". Scott may describe the fate of the First Nations people as tragic as a way of justifying his cause for intervention of the people: because they will have a tragic loss if the intervention is not successful.
Scott goes on to describe that the woman's "rebel lips are dabbled with the stains/Of feuds and forays and her father's woes" (lines 7 and 8). These lines reveal Scott's opinion of the woman as a rebel, as she is resisting the assimilation of the colonized culture that Scott idealizes. The author refers to the woman's ancestor's past as "woes", implying that they have made mistake in the past, resisting the (arrogantly-considered "superior") colonized life.
Consistent with the poem's degrading theme towards First Nations people, Scott refers to the mother's baby as a "primal warrior" (line 12). Once again, this shows how the colonized people's racism, and their inability to see the First Nations people as equals, or anything close.
Overall, this poem is a gross blow to the First Nations people, which is consistent with many colonial views at the time. Perhaps when Scott describes that the child "will not rest" (line 14), he is referring to his personal experiences working closely with the First Nations people to attempt to force assimilation. Revealing this personal aspect of the poem gives depth that shows the author's passion with regards to this topic.

The Onondaga Madonna 1898


She stands full-throated and with careless pose,
This woman of a weird and waning race,
The tragic savage lurking in her face,
Where all her pagan passion burns and glows;
Her blood is mingled with her ancient foes,
And thrills with war and wildness in her veins;
Her rebel lips are dabbled with the stains
Of feuds and forays and her father's woes.
And closer in the shawl about her breast,
The latest promise of her nation's doom,
Paler than she her baby clings and lies,
The primal warrior gleaming from his eyes;
He sulks, and burdened with his infant gloom,
He draws his heavy brows and will not rest.




First Nations woman and child

Meanwhile in Canada


The Canadian Confederation began on the 1st of July 1867 forming the federal dominion of Canada divided into four provinces; Ontario, Quebec, New-Brunswick and Nova Scotia. At the turn of the twentieth century, around the time of writing the two poems in question, Canada was undergoing many attempts to gain national unity, more precisely between the anglophone and francophone or protestant and catholic communities.
The prime minister from 1896 to 1911 was Sir Wilfrid Laurier of the liberal party. He did much for this national harmony although never attaining it and strongly believed in a future independent Canada, assisting in the creation of two new provinces, Alberta and Saskatchewan. Laurier's “national policy” did much for the now thriving economy of Canada with the protection of Canadian industries, the goal of settling the west and building a better transportation system. Within 15 years, upwards of 1 million people moved to manitoba and the newly formed western provinces bringing towns, ports, railroads etc not to mention much wealth for the country. Laurier even coined the phrase “the twentieth century belongs to Canada” with reference to its success. This expansion of course brought more conflict with native communities. Although Laurier believed in this unified country, wanting to bring together the french and english speakers of Canada, he was not sympathetic to the native american culture and even removed the right of status indians to vote. The general view of native americans by the euro-canadian population was one that either glorified the “noble savage” or one that saw them as being dangerous, uncivilized and untrustworthy, often stemming from faulty and sensationalist stories circulated by the media. Many thought that the true native americans no longer existed since they had come into contact with the west and so had lost their authenticity. Either way, the consensus was that they needed to be assimilated, for their own good as well as that of the country and so solutions to what was called the “indian problem” in both the US and Canada continued to be put in place.

Sir Wilfrid Laurier
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wilfrid_Laurier>

Biography


Early Life

Duncan Campbell Scott is considered one of Canada's most influential Confederation poets. He was born - 5 years before Canadian Confederation - on 2 August 1862 in Ottawa, Upper Canada (now: Ontario) to Reverend WIlliam Scott and Janet MacCallum; Scott died 19 December 1947 in Ottawa. Scott lived through a major milestone in Canadian history that had an immense impact on Canadian culture: Confederation. From an early age he had wished to become a doctor but as his family did not have the necessary finances, he became a civil servant working for the Canadian government.



Duncan Campbell Scott



Literary Influences

Scott's literary passion was sparked by Archibald Lampman, who was also a writer. While they have been both considered significant Poets of the Confederation, along with Bliss Carmen and C.D.G. Roberts, Lampman and Scott were also close friends, who often worked together on literary works. A popular co-authored novel written by Lampman and Scott was At the Mermaid Inn, which is a novel about the famous Mermaid Inn Tavern (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mermaid_Tavern).
Another great influence on Scott's literary works, was his employment as a civil servant; specifically his job as head of the Department of Indian Affairs from 1913 to 1932. He worked for the Canadian government, dealing with the so-called "Indian Problem". Scott's job made him work closely with First Nations people usually in isolated areas.

The Indian Problem

The "Indian Problem", as described in the journal called the North American Review, was the Canadian government's view of First Nations people as "savages" and "uncivilized". The governments goal was to assimilate First Nation's people, supposedly for their greater good, and "cultivate them and make them contribute to the national wealth" (Schurz, 1881). The basic goal of assimilation was to conform the First Nations people to the "proper" colonialized ways, following the Christian faith and speaking the English language. Unfortunately, this so-called Indian problem was horrendously dealt with, and resulted in what has been referred to a "cultural genocide" of First Nations people. The Canadian government believed that "best chance for success [for the First nations people] was to learn English and adopt Christianity and Canadian customs" (CBC News, 2008). Assimilation happened the most forcefully with the installation of residential schools (link to http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/story/2008/05/16/f-faqs-residential-schools.html). While working to assimilate these First Nations people, Scott explains that:

"I want to get rid of the Indian problem. I do not think as a matter of fact, that the country ought 
continuously protect a class of people who are able to stand alone… Our objective is to continue until there is not a single Indian in Canada that has not been absorbed into the body politic and there is no Indian question, and no Indian Department, that is the whole object of this Bill."
(National Archives of Canada, 1978)

Treaty No.9 Commission at Fort Albany near James Bay in 1905
(Scott and others at the signing of Treaty No.9, where the Canadians attempted to make negotiations for land with the First Nations people)


First Nations Influence

The influence of Scott's involvement with the First Nations people is apparent throughout his literary works, and is especially predominant in his two poems "The Onondaga Madonna" and "The Forsaken". Scott's job required close work with the First Nations people, and this work influences his thoughts of the First Nations people over time.
A film called "The Poet and the Indian" (link to http://www.tamarackproductions.com/DCS.php) reveals the principles behind the assimilation of the First Nations people (a campaign led by DC Scott), and the film also portrays the vast effects that this notion had on First Nations culture.


Duncan Campbell Scott, 1943
Credit: courtesy of the Public Archives of Canada
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