Sophie Wyck Colonialism

The Effect of Colonialism on Indigenous Culture
By: Maher Jibrini

In Klee Wyck, by Emily Carr, colonialism is an important issue that is brought up throughout the book. Colonialism creates divisions between natives and eventually erases their culture. In Sophie, Carr utilizes specific language to create a feeling of empathy with the First Nations people, emphasizing her view of colonization as a tool to erase the Indigenous culture.
Carr’s views for colonial issues can be seen in the very beginning of the story with Sophie stating, “I got baskets” (Carr, 27). In this context, baskets can be seen as a symbol of Indigenous culture, since the baskets were “made by [Sophie’s] own people” (27). When Sophie attempts to sell her baskets to Carr, the implication is that Sophie is selling her culture. Carr’s word choice of “basket” specifies the current state of the First Nations people by choosing something that can be quickly identified as part of Indigenous culture. From there parallels can be drawn to show that colonialism is one of the major causes for Sophie to be selling baskets. Before the colonial
project, there was no need for natives to deal with selling their belongings to make a living, but now, due to colonization, many natives have no choice but to do so. Although Carr did not state the colonial project, it can be seen through her choice of words which invoke a feeling of understanding that clarify the effect of colonialism on the Indigenous culture.
Moreover, Carr’s specific use of diction can be seen when she refers to the native parents, as “the mothers of all those little cemetery mounds” as they look upon “the thriving white babies” (35). Her choice to associate the native children to cemetery mounds invokes a palpable feeling of emptiness. This emptiness, is used as a tool to show the loss of a generation of Indigenous culture through the death of the children. Unlike the colonials, the First Nations people do not have babies that are “thriving” (35) and full of life. Thus, Carr includes the comparison to show the future generation will be erased as the colonial project goes on.
Additionally, Carr uses Sophie as a means to invoke empathy and fuel her view of colonialism.
Carr utilized Sophie’s position as a mother to indicate grief by stating that “almost every year [Sophie] buried one [of her children]” (28). However, after all of Sophie’s children died, “she took to drink” (28). Carr’s decision to include drinking plays a large role in invoking empathy for Sophie’s loss. The feeling of empathy for Sophie poses a line of questions. Why did Sophie drink? To grieve for her children who died. But then why did all of the children die? The implicated response is that the colonial project caused the early onset of their deaths. The repression of the Indigenous culture caused many natives like Sophie to become unable to take care of children as colonial ideologies were implemented, effectively erasing an entire generation of First Nations
people.
Although the colonial project did not succeed, many important features of Indigenous culture were lost, such as their language and heritage. Carr’s evocative language towards the natives solidifies her view of the colonial project as an adverse way of assimilating the Indigenous culture into European culture.