Borders

The unnamed mother is a Canadian Blackfoot woman with two children, Laetitia and the unnamed narrator. The mother’s character is round in the sense that she has multifaceted motivations and perspectives that reveal themselves throughout the text. The mother is practical, critical, conservative, set in her ways, and has a deep well of stubbornness and pride. She would prefer to stay on the reservation and wants her children to do the same. The mother is also the primary mode of transportation throughout the book, which is ironic as she would rather stay on the reservation than venture into the outside world. Both storylines show the mother as a critical, practical, and unchanging person. The mother is the true protagonist of the story as in both narratives she struggles with personal and external conflicts that force her to make difficult decisions.

The first conflict is her daughter Laetitia’s decision to leave the reservation. The mother is critical of her daughter’s decision and her attraction to things outside the reservation. She criticizes her daughter’s decision to leave but is pleased that she left for “acceptable” reasons—for example, she was not pregnant and did not run off with a man. She constantly tells her daughter that anything exciting she finds in the outside world can be found near the reservation. It is unclear whether the mother’s dismissal of anything beyond the reservation stems from caution and experience or a deep-seated unwillingness to change. The mother eventually accepts her daughter’s decision given that Laetitia is unwavering in her convictions and sense of adventure. This fact is revealed at the beginning of the text when we learn that the mother eventually came to be proud of her daughter for her accomplishments.

The second conflict for the mother is with the border authorities. The mother identifies as Blackfoot, while those around her classify her as Canadian. The mother has likely lived with this tension for decades. We can see that she consistently asserts her Blackfoot identity in a world that wants her to assimilate. Through this conflict, we explore the mother’s deep sense of pride and unwillingness to bow to the demands of others. Like her daughter, she has profound convictions, but hers relate to personal identity, staying close to home, and Blackfoot culture. Despite her role as the protagonist, however, the mother does not have a transformational experience that shifts her character’s motivations or perspectives. If anything, her experiences seem to deepen her convictions and perspectives across both storylines.

Laetitia is the older sister of the unnamed narrator and the third main character of the book. Through the narrator, we learn that Laetitia is around 17 when she leaves the reservation and about 22 at the time that her brother and mother visit her in Salt Lake City. Laetitia’s main conflict is with her mother, who is critical of both her reasons for leaving and her excitement to see the outside world. Laetitia is adventurous, confident, decisive, and optimistic. She sees only positives in moving to Salt Lake City and decisively carries out her plan to start a life there.

Laetitia is the dynamic character in the story, both in her attitude and her role as a character. She is keen to explore the outside world, and her decisiveness moves the story outside of the reservation. Laetitia’s convictions allow her to take on the daunting adventure of moving to a new country. After a few years in Salt Lake City, Laetitia tells her mother that she is thinking of coming home to the reservation. Laetitia’s character has come full circle; she initially wanted to distance herself from the reservation, but she now understands the comfort of home and the cultural and communal value it holds for her.

Laetitia’s character is a foil to her mother. She is not the antagonist of the story in the sense of being a villain, but she is an antagonist in that her actions and perspective force change and movement in the story. Laetitia’s obstinance forces her mother to venture outside the reservation, soften her critical perspective on her daughter’s choice to move away, and draw attention to Indigenous rights.

Inspector Pratt, a secondary character, is a female border patrol officer who talks to the narrator and his mother. She is the third law enforcement officer the mother and son encounter, and she seems to be the most respectful and willing to help. Inspector Pratt is different from the other officers in two key ways: she explains in a respectful way why they are requesting such information, and she seems to understand the conflict the mother feels about expressing her nationality. Inspector Pratt also differs from the other officers in that she treats the narrator and his mother with dignity and kindness.

Inspector Pratt explains how the border patrol officers record and use information in a genuine attempt to convey why the mother is being forced to declare her citizenship. When this does not work, she appeals to the mother on a personal level. She seems to be the only law enforcement officer who understands the mother’s conflict regarding citizenship. She tells the mother that she understands why this is difficult for her and offers an alternative: the mother can just say it to her quietly, and it never has to go on the form. Inspector Pratt’s ability to identify with the mother leads her to find wiggle room in the policy. Despite Inspector Pratt’s attempts to circumvent the policy, she is unable to extract the information she needs from the mother.

Inspector Pratt’s kind treatment of the narrator and his mother is partly self-serving in that she seeks to uphold the policies and governments that prevent them from crossing the border. She represents many law enforcement officers who use kindness to enforce potentially dehumanizing policies of identity, citizenship, and status. These officers may view people as capable human beings worthy of respect, but their job dictates that they uphold policies set by governmental agencies. The mismatch between individual beliefs and official responsibilities can cause internal conflict for the officers tasked with enforcing these policies.