Resistance or Assimilation?

In The Birchbark House, by Louise Erdrich, we learn about a young Anishinabe girl named Omakaya. Omakaya and her people are faced with a number of issues, one of which is the choice of assimilation or resistance to an invading culture. Throughout the story, the family’s existence depends partly on the French traders that are working with the Native American’s in the area. Also, there is a mission school that is teaching people of the tribe how to read, write, and speak English. These details are anything but insignificant. The Ojibwa are faced with an invasion of their way of life by that of English speaking peoples. While many of the people of the tribe are accepting of these ideas, there is still an underlying uneasiness, suggested most prominently in Fishtail’s desire to learn English so that the tribe will not be cheated in any treaties they make with the Europeans.

The Birchbark House is, in my view, a story of assimilation and resistance. In the example of Fishtail, we are presented with a man who embraces his way of life but is faced with certain immovable obstacles. In an attempt to preserve the tribe’s existence as it is, Fishtail must actually partially assimilate to the other culture. He attends the mission school to learn English. While solely for the purpose of protecting his people, he is also opening the doors for change. He understands that there are dynamics to existing side-by-side with different cultures and therefore chooses to assimilate in a way by learning their language. However, he resists the other culture by learning the language only to preserve his way of life.

Another example of assimilation and resistance appears in the form of Andeg, Omakaya’s pet crow. Andeg is brought into the family after Omakaya discovers him trapped in a net she and her sister were using to capture crows for food. She spares him since the family has no need for more food and decides to care for him. Andeg becomes domesticated under her care but still retains his earlier wild demeanor, represented best by his leaving with the other crows for a while at the end of the novel and returning with a fear of humans. Andeg becomes assimilated to the life of the family. He learns to trust them and participates in their daily activities. He rides on Omakaya’s shoulder and watches over Pinch as he “guards” the berries. Andeg grows accustomed to domestic life. He even learns a little of their language, yelling at Pinch for messing around in the boat. But while Andeg assimilates to much of the family’s domestic life, he also resists. Andeg retains some of his inhibitions about humans. After Omakaya’s mother throws a rock at him, Andeg never trusts her again. He recalls a part of his wild behavior and holds on to that through the rest of the novel. Also, at the end, Andeg rejoins a flock of crows for a while, living their way of life. However, he does return at the end but with reservations about the people. He will only come to them after Pinch stands completely still and allows Andeg to land upon his head. Andeg is embracing part of his pre-domestic life and resisting complete assimilation into Omakaya’s family. This again, reveals The Birchbark House as a work that accepts both assimilation and resistance.