3。2 The Confrontation between American Indian Culture and White Culture 13

4。 Conclusion 16

Reference 17

1。 Introduction

1。1 The Background 

1。1。1 Louise Erdrich and Her Literary Achievements

With the starting of the industry and commerce throughout the Western Europe in the 16th century, a confrontation between American Indian culture and white culture began。 For the purpose of wealth accumulation, the white grabbed land and natural resources by their advanced technology and demographic advantage。 However, at that time, American Indian did not have the consciousness of sovereignty and territorial integrity。 So the white squeezed American Indian out of their land by their weapons and lies。 What is more, the white were proud of their race and culture, they thought American Indian are brutal and original。 So they force-fed their culture and literature to American Indian。

At that time American Indian did not have their own language, so all the things happened after the colonists coming were written by the white from the perspective of the colonists。 No one knew the American Indian real feelings and living conditions。 论文网

Since the middle of 20th century, many excellent Indian writers appeared。 Louise Erdrich, a well-known woman writer of contemporary American Indian literature, is acclaimed by many readers。 She was born in a mixed-race family。 Her father was a German American and her mother was an Ojibwa that both of them served the local India school。 Her grandfather once was a chief of Indian tribe, which makes her know more about the impact of the white culture on Indian tribe culture and the enormous influence of traditional Indians’ live。 It is completely different from the white’s description。 Her vivid description of character changed the world view of the Indians。 Although Erdrich is good at many literature genres, she is well-known for her fiction。 She is proficient in interweaving stories told by different narrators and recording different generations of European immigrants and American Indian characters。 Erdrich is acclaimed as one of the most significant writers of second wave of the American Indian Renaissance。 Erdrich’s successive novels created multiple narratives in the same fictional area and combined the tapestry of local history with current themes and modern consciousness。

1。1。2 The Introduction of Love Medicine

Love Medicine, as Erdrich’s representative work, gained Erdrich a lot of fames。 Some critics once thought that it was the first novel which owned the features of new American writing, and it was also the first novel to combine the traditional culture with the popular culture。 (Smith, 1988) Erdrich first novel Love Medicine, which is one of her representative works as well, has won the 1984 National Book Critics Circle Award and many other awards。 Love Medicine is recognized as one of the highest achievements and the main text for American ethnic literature study。

 It describes the lives of three generations of Indian families in North Dakota。 The three generations were from two big families in the Chippewa reservation, the Lamartines and Kashpaws。 The stories cover the growing-up process of the families’ love and hate。 The plot is intricate and exciting。 The story began with the death of June, a member of the Kashpaw family。

With the process of modernization, the members suffered from poverty, alcoholism, suicide and spiritual delusion in that moment。 They were no longer the stereotyped American Indians who lived in an ecological American。

In general, with the influence of white, some of American Indians insisted on their traditional way of life, and some other may choose to abandon their traditions and embrace the new life。 And others felt confused about the American Indian culture and white culture。 It is obvious that the American Indian culture was in danger。 It is a big challenge to find a way to reserve the American Indian culture。