Go Your Own Way: Changing perspectives in the contemporary Indigenous literary works of Michelle Good and Niviaq Korneliussen

Abstract

This thesis argues that the contemporary literary works by Cree writer Michelle Good and Greenlandic writer Niviaq Korneliussen indicate an evolution in the way we perceive and interpret Indigenous literature. These novels tell stories with complex and dynamic characters whose free-flowing and direct narratives elevate the level of individuality. Built into this argument is the central position which the novels portray characters relationship to places, following an expanded view of the very concept of place. Contributing to the argument lies the belief that the narrative structures and language use challenge the traditions in Indigenous literature, daring to go their own way. While certain elements appear inspired and influenced by traditional Indigenous writing, the way in which these novels are written calls for a revisitation of how we understand Indigenous literature in a global literary context. While not replicating the traditional style of Indigenous writing, these novels express Indigenousness in a modern world, dealing largely with issues relevant for our contemporary time where a focus on reconciliation and resurgence of Indigenous-non-Indigenous relations is systematically and institutionally investigated and discussed in the wake of several countries’ reconciliation processes. For their respective regions and demographics, the two authors problematise the issues surrounding contemporary Indigenousness in interaction with the increasingly global society surrounding them. Urban communities and places are given a central role in the characters’ lives, and the characters are given individual life goals which identifies them as individuals.