Both Borders Thomas King Summary

Both Borders by Thomas King and Hunger by Phoenix Boudreaux explore how colonial systems challenge and impact Indigenous cultural identities. In Borders, the mother’s refusal to be categorised as either Canadian or American reflects a challenge towards colonial borders, which oppresses her cultural identity. A prime example can be found where the border guard asks the mother “Canadian side or American side?”, to which the mother responds “Blackfoot side.” (King 4). With the mother refusing to acknowledge herself from the colonised name of Indigenous land, the border rejects her crossing request, undermining her identity as an unacceptable answer thanks to colonial systems at the border. This highlights how colonial systems force Indigenous people into categories that do not reflect their true identities,
Similarly, in Hunger, Boudreaux talks about the Wehtigo’s dissatisfaction towards those with cultural disconnection, feeling figuratively "hungry" for the “Original People”, despite the reality that the “Original People” have forgotten their identity. In the story, Boudreaux illustrates the deep loss caused by colonialism, writing that “Other People came and erased [their] stories, tried to pretend it didn’t exist.” This leads to a sense of forgetfulness and knowledge loss among Indigenous communities, as seen in “The People forget, but [the Wehtigo] does not,” ultimately creating “Empty People. missing something inside,” disconnected from their cultural roots (Boudreaux 1). As Boudreaux illustrates, the Wehtigo represents a spirit that hunts down those who don’t have a culture to defend themselves with, and Boudreaux reflects on the loss of traditional knowledge and practices in the story using the desire of the Wehtigo, symbolising the impact of colonialism from the “Other People” towards Indigenous cultural