Contemporary Connections: Tracks and the Dakota Access Pipeline

DAPL Article

Reading Tracks, I have noticed several comments made by the characters about the American government taking their land. When convincing Native Americans to sign it away, the government would have them think that the money is worth the loss, though in the long run, it isn't. Nanapush says at the beginning of the book, "Our trouble came from living, from liquor, and the dollar bill,"(p. 4). Two out of three of these things were made accessible by European settlers. They introduced Native Americans to the higher concentration alcohol that led to the high risk of alcoholism among them. The disrespect of Native American culture and land by white people in this book correlates to the construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline near Sioux land. People of and not of the tribe have been protesting this for months for a reason. Finishing the pipeline means the potential of contaminated drinking water and the disturbance of sacred land. This disregard for the safety and lives of other people is shown in Tracks again when everyone living with Fleur and Eli gather around to see which parts of the community don't belong to them anymore. It can also be connected to the story told in this video by Jennifer Lawrence. When filming in Hawaii, she disregarded the status of  sacred rocks by sitting on them, something she was specifically instructed not to do. While telling the story, she found it funny that by disgracing these rocks, she almost knocked out the sound technician.

Other things to take into account include the sense of otherness in the story. Fleur, in the beginning, was seen as untouchable, in a sense, because of her oddness. Whether or not the speculations of her having supernatural connections are true, they seem to be happening because of the fact that she is mysterious and acts differently than the rest of the community. Pauline also evokes a strong sens of otherness for herself before others do it for her. Halfway through the story, Pauline becomes a very devout Christian(?) and further pursues her "white half." She separates herself by calling everyone else Indians rather than us. Pauline's rejection of her ethnic heritage is almost the opposite of how people today embrace theirs.