Analysis Of Keeper N Me By Richard Wagamese

Keeper’n Me, an award-winning book by Richard Wagamese, introduces an exclusive perspective into the way the Indigenous peoples see the world around them. The author gives his own unique narrative, partly based on his own experiences as an Ojibway hailing from the Wabaseemoong First Nation in Northwestern Ontario. In addition to writing Medicine Walk, Dream Wheels, Ragged Company, and Indian Horse, the 59-year-old author, born in 1955, has been recognized with numerous awards. Notably, Wagamese accepted the 2012 National Aboriginal Achievement Award for Media & Communications and the 2013 Canada Council on the Arts Molson Prize. More specifically, Keeper’n Me won the Alberta Writers Guild Best Novel Award. These awards, along with countless

The arrival of Red Sky Radio One, brought in by Wally Red Sky, created a buzz of life within the White Dog reserve. Opposite to the thoughts of many of the inhabitants living on the reserve, the Keeper felt as if the radio would impact the culture if the technology was integrated too rapidly. The fear of the busy city life, filled to the brim with task after task unaccompanied by a single pause for appreciating the surrounding life, terrified the Keeper. Garnet grasped the concept of balance from the Keeper’s apprehension, resulting in his appreciation for the differences within the

A major theme in the novel was assimilation and attempting to reverse the effects of Garnet’s life away from home through the process of healing. Despite Garnet spending twenty years away from home, he still retained speckles of his native foundation. Garnet’s journey to fulfilling his soul was a miracle, although the process was certainly arduous and complex. The healing began as soon as Garnet reconciled with his mother. Their tears flowed from the heart with ease as they hugged; The sobs reflected the idea that years of isolation do not contain the ability to erase the effects a maternal heartbeat leaves on a child. Later in the novel, this theme of the heartbeat returns. An object of passion and love within numerous Indigenous nations, the drum, is revealed to be a tribute to the loving heartbeat a human becomes connected to in the womb. Additionally, the drum resembles the fusion to the land and the simplest foundations of life. These aspects grounded Garnet and aided in furthering his understanding of his true