Native Spaces Of Continuation, Preservation, And Belonging: Louise Erdrich's Concepts Of Home

Abstract

In light of continual Native migration, relocation, and hybridization, it is my intention to examine the evolution and diversification of home in a spectrum of Louise Erdrich's writing. My examination of the texts focuses on the notion that "home" for all Native Americans (mixed and full bloods) has and is evolving and that this re-definition has made the location of language, culture, family, and community a "Home" that cannot be defined by traditional Native or Western boundaries or definitions. Instead, home depends on the inter-relation of such attributes, but it is not specific to any inclusion or omission. Home is not anything or everything but a definite correlation of those elements that correspond to belonging to a space or place. My contentions rely on the fact that the traditional sense of space and place is no longer readily available to a majority of full-bloods and mixed bloods