Essay on Loss Reclamation in the Uniform of the Dispossessed by Emma Larocque

The place of poetry in shaping the past or future of a community is one thing striving to see the light of day especially with the many historical literature and novels in the market. This, however, has not stopped one great scholar, Emma Larocque from using her prowess in poetry to portray the past situation and the current issues in Canada. Emma through her poetry work brings out unique and hidden characteristics and themes in the Canadian context something that continues to contribute to the body of knowledge about the origin and growth of Canada as a country. In her poem, The Uniform of the Dispossessed she expresses her fear of the fate of the natives in Canada who face a lot of challenges from the colonizers and how the same end up dying and suffering in the hands of the colonizers. She draws the readers to the profound happenings and the sad reality of how the natives struggled to gain independence from the colonizers with some even losing their lives in the process. This poem focuses on the loss of freedom, culture, values, and aspirations of the Canadians to the point of reclaiming the same. This indeed clearly sets out the poem as one that depicts the theme of loss reclamation. The Canadians lose their freedom and independence to the colonizers and have to fight tooth to nail to gain the same thus bringing about the idea of redemption. The uniform in question is a figurative language showing the state of the people who suffer in the hands of their oppressors as their land and other values go away from them in the process of colonization. In her work, Emma focuses on the loss of the native culture. She feels that the Indian citizens in Canada lack recognition yet their culture and contribution to the emancipation struggle in Canada should form part of the Canadian literature.

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In the first two stanzas, she talks of how she forgets at times and indulges in the white man culture. She talks of cafe, books, ceramics, and silk shirts among other stuff, which are modern (Natives 53). She is only trying to bring to attention some of the stuff that takes away from the rich Indian culture in which is born. She has issues with the way in which native culture is quickly getting lost with the advent of white man culture. The use of silk shirts is something that residents in Canada and especially the Indians were not aware of in the past. The native culture no longer appeals to the masses, and she is at a loss on how to salvage the situation. The current literature on the native culture in Canada portrays the Indian culture as archaic and uncouth. In fact, some research work depicts the same culture as one that was having so much negativity to the point of relating it with sexual oppression. Indeed, it cements the fact that most of the Canadians have only seen the Indian or native culture through the eyes of the white writers and in most cases, the presentations made portray the culture as sympathetic and at the same time limited regarding character. This means that the young generation has to contend with assimilation into the white man culture without considering the native culture, which is purely from the Indians. The native culture is thus at a loss, and it is the loss that Emma tries to reclaim from her poem. She asserts that native culture is no longer the practice and she has to make do with things like coffee and has to buy some stuff, which is not happy with just because the native culture no longer appeals to the masses. The environment has changed from what it used to be, and even her thinking is no longer the same because it would pass as unfashionable. The loss of culture and the struggle to keep the culture were and are still real and vivid in her memory. The natives are no longer heroes but villains. One of the main acts in Canada was The Indian Act. This action led to the construct of the European bureaucracy and at the same time elevated the academic level of the colonizers at the expense of the natives. In fact, one had to go through some form of assimilation to gain proper Canadian citizenship, yet they were citizens under this act. The act was a show that European ideology, cultures, and norms were above all other standards and habits. It was to wipe out all the native beliefs and customs. When Emma says that, sometimes I forget, she is only trying to insinuate that situations and conditions are forcing her to take a new dimension and approach to issues yet she does not agree with the same. She is trying to state that the effects of laws and policies such as the Indian Act are forcing her to behave in a way that does not correctly represent her persona.

In the fourth stanza, Emma talks of a former combatant. This statement reminds us of the role of the natives in the battles that led to the independence of Canada from the European colonizers. It serves to show the importance of the residents not just regarding culture but also their contribution to the well-being of Canada. The lost culture may exist, but the role of the natives needs some reclamation and what better way to do so than through the remembrance of those who put their lives on the line for the emancipation of Canada. She may not be specific, but such statements remind us of the various colonial battles where the natives either teamed up with Britain or France back in the days. The commandant may have been in the first Iroquois war that went on for nearly a century ending up with the Montreal Great Peace in 1701. Reclamation of the natives is necessary for the society to honor such men and women who gave up their lives in the various battles to see Canadians gain freedom. It was after this war that natives decided not to side with either the French or the English. Invoking such imagery in her poetry is to appeal to the readers ethos or emotions so that the reader gets to see the mental picture of the native on the battlefront and as such start to respect the citizens. Emma, an Indian by origin and a native for that matter seems to be at loggerheads with the fact that despite their main contributions to the well-being of Canada in regards to independence and economic growth the natives are nowhere near the white folks in the country. Therefore, the place of the citizens needs reclamation and poets like Emma through their work are doing the same.

Emma talks about some sorrows that she cannot forget. These afflictions include issues of past, women, natives, and earth. The pains in this context are subject to the mental suffering that the poet undergoes with the residents as a result of the cultural loss and lack of recognition in the society but again as she tries to forget, something still leads her to recall. In other words, Emma offers insight on how hard the struggle is in trying to ignore some of the experiences. The native women in the past went through many sufferings like sexual molestation by the Indian agents who were to implement the Indian Act and even separation from their husbands during colonial battles. The European invaders took the natives land away leaving them with less productive areas thus causing them the sorrows of the earth. So generally, these sufferings and sorrows are what define the natives, but unfortunately, current and modern literature tries to wish away such accounts and focus on the white man culture and accounts. Emma and her community work to be in cultured into the new system that some things from the past seem to haunt them and so it becomes quite difficult to forget. This then means that if they accept the new culture, they will betray their native cultures and remembrance of the same is what creates reclamation of the same. She even wants to run away, but culture and values are inborn, she cannot run away from them, and thus she has to contend with the situation, as it is (William 33).

Loss reclamation as a theme in the poem, The Uniform of the Dispossessed is quite evident from the opening line to the last of the entire piece. Emma being a Canadian of Indian origin is quite concerned about the place of the natives in the current political and cultural dispensation of Canada. The emergence of the white man culture in Canada at the expense of the indigenous culture is of much concern to Emma in the poem. The poet tries to fit into the white man culture from the onset to help her forget about the native culture, but the issues that the natives did face in the past confront her mind and this makes her unable to ignore the place of the citizens in the entire process. The battles they fought, the land they lost and the suffering of the women as well as the soldiers the men they lost on the battlefront are all reasons enough for the reclamation of the native culture and customs. Loss reclamation thus has to do with the loss of identity and culture of the Indian citizens in Canada and the advent of the new culture by the independent Canadians. It is thus necessary that those who played a role in the emancipation and independence of the country get the best recognition instead of assimilation into a new culture that is not an accurate representation of their beliefs and values. Emma finishes her work by stating that she cannot run away to imply that no matter how much we try to embrace modern ways of living we cannot avoid talking about our cultures and beliefs.

Works Cited

Native poetry in Canada a contemporary anthology. Toronto: Broadview Press, 2002. Print.

William, De Pasquale Paul. Across cultures, across borders: Canadian Aboriginal and Native American literature. Peterborough: Broadview Press, 2010. Print.