Week 5- The Birchbark House

There are many components to Louise Erdrich’s The Birchbark House, but most are related back to the aspects of ties to the land and environment. The family transitions from their winter cabin to their summer birchbark house while dealing with family, neighbors, wildlife and dreams. The major theme of respect for nature flourished over all concepts of the book. Identity and gender roles, assimilation and spirituality all intertwine with the land and environment yet the notion of “Earth is our Mother” is prevalent over all. The book emphasizes understanding change and adaptation going along with the land. The Omakayas family focuses on the correlation between the land with knowledge and power while ultimately gaining valuable resources from it.

Another common theme is the concept of reciprocity, or balance of giving back to the land. In doing so, the family takes into account only using the bare essentials to survive. The sustainability of lifestyle is also very apparent in this book. The ties to The Birchbark House are apparent regarding the kinship with the environment in particular recognizing it as siblings. The ideologies of learning from nature and animals stay true to the beliefs behind family togetherness. After using an animal as a source of food, the family buries the bones as a proper burial. Also tobacco ties are regarded as sacred and used as gifts. The symbolism of birds, in particular owls and foreboding, show the inner relationship between land/environment and society.