“A PIECE OF THE ENDLESS BODY OF THE WORLD”: GENDER, IDENTITY, AND THE COEXISTENCE OF BINARY FORCES IN LOUISE ERDRICH’S THE LAST REPORT ON THE MIRACLES AT LITTLE NO HORSE, TRACKS, AND LOVE MEDICINE

Abstract

Louise Erdrich’s North Dakota series explores the historical and contemporary hardships faced by aboriginals. Her novels center on the families that live on the fictional reservation of Little No Horse and the communal and personal fragmentation that occurs as a result of colonization. Focusing on three of the novels in Erdrich’s North Dakota works, I identify the different ways in which Erdrich’s characters respond to the imposition of Western values. To frame my thesis, I focus on Dee Horne’s examination of subversive and colonial mimics. By examining the various responses to the colonization of the reservation, Erdrich’s novels reveal the possibilities of reconstructing Native communities. I identify the ways in which Erdrich exposes the similarities that exist between traditional Native spirituality and Catholicism which in turn suggests the ways in which a harmonious balance can be achieved between these two cultures.