Monkey Beach's Role in Highlighting Native Canadian Issues European dominance over Aboriginals has ended however the negative effects of colonization continue to impact Natives to this day. Although many efforts have been made to reverse the damage done, Native Canadians still face many drawbacks and issues to this day as a result of colonization. Eden Robinson's Monkey Beach is the story of Lisamarie Hill and her search for her brother, Jimmy, who is missing at sea in northern British Columbia. During Lisa's search for Jimmy, she reflects upon her childhood and the different hardships she faced growing up. Monkey Beach depicts the real life struggles of indigenous people in a modern, euro-centric society through taking a close look at the story of Lisa and her family. Lisa and other Aboriginal characters in the novel act as an example of the issues faced by Aboriginals by showing society's treatment of Aboriginals, Lisa's difficulty in connecting with her spirituality, and the many instances of sexual abuse towards Aboriginals. Monkey Beach highlights issues faced by Native Canadians by showing numerous instances of society's mistreatment to this particular group. The first example is the government's treatment of Lisa's grandfather after he loses a leg in World War II. Lisa explains the disorganization of the government when it comes to her grandfather's compensation, “when he came home, he couldn't get a job or get the money he thought he should get from Veteran Affairs because they said Indian Affairs was taking care of him.” (Robinson 81). In the end, Lisa's grandfather is unable to receive compensation from either organization due to miscommunication and other complications. This situation shows the lack of care the Canadian government gives to Natives and that they are often neglected and disrespected. Next,

Pham 2 characters in the novel speak of their experiences in residential schools and the exploitation of children there. Trudy discusses the abuse at residential schools when she states, “there were tons of priests in the residential schools, tons of fucking matrons and helpers that 'helped' themselves to little kids just like you. You look at me and tell me how many of them got away scot-free.” (Robinson 255). Residential schools are a result of colonization, as they are a way to westernize Native Canadians and impose Christian and Catholic religions on Aboriginal children. Mick and Trudy both had to endure residential school and the abuse they experienced there left a lasting impact. Finally, Lisa feels embarrassed to talk to people about certain aspects of her culture. When Lisa discusses the Native myth of the B'Gwus, or Sasquatch with the reader, she states, “I cringed when I imagined myself telling people I'd seen the B'Gwus. They'd snicker about it the way they did when Ma-ma-oo insisted they were real.” (Robinson 17). The shame and fear she has of talking to non-natives about the B'gwus is a result of the lack of respect Westerners have on Aboriginal culture. In conclusion, this novel uses different situations faced by the characters in the novel to display different ways Natives are mistreated by a western society. A large element of Monkey Beach is Lisa's restricted understanding of her spirituality, caused by her family's detachment from First Nation heritage and traditions. From a Haisla perspective, Lisa can be seen as a shaman with her ability to communicate with the dead. However, due to the westernized world she lives in, many view her powers as hallucinations: a pathological flaw caused by trauma. When Lisa discusses her visions with her Grandmother, Ma-ma-oo, she reveals that Lisa's mother once had the same power as her but ignored it growing up. This topic is discussed by Lydia Roupakia when she states, “eventually, Ma-ma-oo reveals that as a young girl Lisa’s mother also had the gift of predicting other people’s deaths, a gift she refused to cultivate in favour of middle-class, assimilated normality.” (8). Lisa's mother's ignorance and lack of interest of her inherited powers is caused by its irrelevance in western society. It causes her to ignore an ability important to her Haisla culture. This ignorance of their traditions is passed down to Lisa as she cannot look to her mother as a mentor or guide as a shaman.

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Furthermore, when Lisa becomes especially troubled by her visions, her parents send her to see a therapist. This therapist, Ms. Jenkins, reinforces the western view of Haisla spirituality by dismissing her visions and referring to them as a coping mechanism. Ms. Jenkins states, “'Do you think,' she asked me halfway through our first and last session, 'that maybe these ghosts that you dream about aren't really ghosts, but are your attempt to deal with death?'” (Robinson 273). Ms. Jenkins' explanation of Lisa's condition is another example of the effects of western colonization as Jenkins implies that the spirits Lisa is seeing are nothing but hallucinations. Ms. Jenkins is imposing her western beliefs on Lisa rather than being sensitive to what is real in her Haisla culture. Finally, Lisa faces the consequences of ignoring her powers in favour of a more western lifestyle. Before Ma-ma-oo's death, Lisa has a vision warning her that something bad is about to happen but she ignores the warning, as most would tell her it was merely a hallucination. When, Lisa finds out that Ma-ma-oo perishes in a house fire, she reacts by saying, “I remembered that I could have saved her. If I had listened to my gift instead of ignoring it, I could have saved her.” (Robinson 294). Lisa's decision to conform to western culture by dismissing her vision rather than harness her spiritual powers causes her to lose the opportunity to save Ma-ma-oo. This results in Lisa feeling extreme guilt and anguish. Therefore, a large conflict in Monkey Beach is Lisa's inability to harness and understand her powers as a shaman. This conflict is due to the fact that her and her family have integrated themselves into western culture and become ignorant to their Haisla traditions and heritage, an issue that many other Aboriginals face. Research shows that violence and sexual assault is more severe and common to Aboriginal women than Non-Aboriginal women (“Aboriginal Women and Domestic Violence” 1). This issue is also reflected in Monkey Beach where many instances of sexual assault and harassment occur. A significant conflict Lisa faces is when she gets sexually assaulted by her friend at a party. Lisa gets drugged and describes her limited recollection of the event when she states, “I'm cold and someone is breathing over me. The last piece is pain between my legs, and a body on top of me, panting.” (Robinson 258). This

Pham 4 assault has a heavy psychological impact on Lisa and reflects the issue of violence against Aboriginal women. Next, Lisa's cousin Erica gets harassed by a group caucasian men who yell to her from their car. Lisa describes the situation by saying, “they pulled a U-turn and the driver called out that he'd teach her how to fuck a white man.” (Robinson 250). This instance shows the objectification of Aboriginal women by westerners and is a sample of sexual abuse often found between caucasian men and Aboriginal women. Finally, a disturbing chain of sexual abuse is revealed near the end of the novel when Lisa finds out that Josh, her uncle's friend, had been sexually assaulted by a priest (Archibald) in residential school as a child. Josh then proceeds to sexually assault a girl named Adelaine. Jennifer Andrews analyzes this situation and its meaning in a postcolonial society by saying, “colonization has led to the sexual abuse of children, both by the colonizer (Archibald) and eventually by the colonized (Josh), by virtue of power relations, which relegate women to a lesser status than men.” (13). This situation is a display of sexual abuse against young Native children and priests in residential school, another prevalent issue to Native Canadian children. It also highlights the effects that this abuse can have on people as it shows that sexual assault can lead to the victim inflicting similar behaviour on others. The multiple instances of sexual harassment and abuse found in Monkey Beach is an example of how Robinson conveys issues faced by Native Canadians in today's western society. Therefore, Eden Robinson's Monkey Beach plays an important role in literature by informing readers about the struggles of the modern day Native Canadian in a euro-centric society. Robinson highlights different issues including society's treatment of the Natives, Lisa's inability to connect with her spirituality, and sexual assault of Natives. The hardships faced by this novel's characters inform the reader of the difficulties Natives still face as they adapt to a postcolonial, western society. Not only does Robinson use conflict to create an entertaining piece of literature, but she also plays an effective role of creating awareness about issues in the Aboriginal community.