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/>
