Peguis First Nation reads Native literature: toward a community based theory

Abstract

My thesis will first discuss the motivation for my project. I will talk about my personal experience with Native literature and its impact on me as a Native person. I discuss what Native scholars and writers have said about why they write and what they hope Native literature can do for Native readers, people and communities. As a Native person carrying out a research project in my home community I struggled with how I could approach this endeavour in a respectful way. I share my thought process and journey throughout this thesis. This is my methodology. In chapters four and five, I present the responses of community members to Native literature, their thoughts on what Native literature did for them and what it can potentially do for other Native people and communities. I draw out and share my thoughts on what I believe to be is an important point made by each participant and the commonalities I see among participant responses. And while it may be my interpretation of these responses that presents community based theory at the end of this thesis, at the heart of that interpretation lies the words of each participant. All I can do is offer how I see things and what I know.