Establishing Native American and Magical Realist Literary Traditions

Abstract

A saga of early twentieth century Anishinabes is told in Louise Erdrich's novel Tracks. In the novel, the two narrators offer diverse perspectives on what happens when the tribe loses its land to the government: the elder who is a tribal member, and the mixed blood who ultimately leaves the tribe. These occurrences are interpreted magically realistically as representing the struggle within the tribe to maintain tradition despite the increasing influence of European settlers. To shed light on the significance of Erdrich's use of magical realism, this paper examines the perspectives at odds in her text. The discourse of authenticity and identity within Native American literature can be analyzed by exploring Erdrich's use of magical realism, which was shaped to a great extent by postcolonial literary devices.