The Gardens in the Dunes of Leslie Marmon Silko as a Site of Cultural Resistance from Native Americans

Abstract

Every society relies heavily on its culture. Different cultural groupings have different ways of thinking, feeling, and acting. Europeans have always thought of themselves as superior to others in terms of culture. They've used their self-proclaimed cultural superiority to oppress other cultures. Native Americans have been exploited and marginalised by colonial powers because of their culture and race. European invaders used a variety of discursive agencies to spread false information and preconceptions about the Indians and their culture. Their clandestine political goal was to make the indigenous people feel inadequate about their own culture and way of life, so that they would adapt to European customs and accept colonial rule as a benevolent civilising gesture. Native writers are increasingly attempting to reclaim their culture, restore its role in society, and deconstruct the misconceptions imposed by Europeans. They have selected literature as a weapon against the invaders because they recognise the potential of writing to influence people. Leslie Marmon Silko is one of such Native American woman writer, who employs the influence of various literary genres like novel and poetry to uphold the voice of Native Americans and to deconstruct the wrong notions created by white settlers about native culture and society. Silko attempts to resist the various colonial discursive agents that strive to exploit and oppress Native Americans culturally, politically, and economically in her novel Gardens in the Dunes. Discourses played a key influence in the propagation of such inferior notions about Native American culture and traditions.