Motorcycle And Sweetgrass By Drew Hayden Taylor

Rachel McCann Ms. Norman NBE3U1-02 8 May 2024 What it Means to Live Together In the novel Motorcycle and Sweetgrass by Drew Hayden Taylor, the necessity of cultural understanding and respect for Indigenous perspectives is explored through the characters and conflicts depicted. The author explores the idea that people must become knowledgeable about each other’s culture in order to live together well, as demonstrated through the disrespect the Indigenous people experience through their loss of land and John’s respect for indigenous culture, ultimately suggesting that knowledge of others can create strong communities. Colonizers’ perspective on the land conflicts with the Indigenous peoples’ connection to the land. Arguments on land property

Otherwise, it was wasted. Native people, on the other hand, saw themselves as being part of nature. [...] You could no more own the land under your feet than you could the sky over your head'' (Taylor 83). Maggie's insights highlight the land as a powerful symbol of culture, tradition, and community. The author ironically uses the idea of “owning the sky” to typically criticize property rights, ownership, and occupation based non-Indigenous perspectives. Furthermore, colonizers’ control over the land disrespects Indigenous people’s rights. This is shown by the attitude of local non-Indigenous residents, who were concerned that Indigenous people were trying to purchase land over non-Indigenous people. Maggie expresses her opinion in her argument with the local non-Indigenous residents, “This is the land of our ancestors”. [...] We have always considered ourselves a part of the land, so you will have to excuse us if we get a little ornery when it comes to deciding what to do with that land. Our legends say the ground is Mother Earth’s skin, the trees and grass her hair, the water her blood. It’s hard to bargain away or discuss appropriating land when you think of it in that way” (Taylor

The author emphasizes the spiritual and ancestral significance by describing the land as the "skin" of Mother Earth. Therefore, colonizers' disrespect towards Indigenous perspectives was rooted in a lack of understanding of Indigenous values and beliefs. By respecting the Indigenous’ perspectives, society can acknowledge the importance of Indigenous’ priorities in order to build a more inclusive community. John, as a non-Indigenous representative in the novel, showed a positive example of living along with Indigenous culture through his respect for Indigenous culture and knowledge of historical injustices. John shows empathy and understanding towards the traumatic experiences of Sammy, who was a victim of residential school. John expresses his empathy through his conversation about Sammy, “As you probably know, they forbade the students from speaking their language. [...] They beat him practically every day. I think to the point it made him kinda crazy. That can happen after a decade of abuse” (Taylor