Green Grass, Running Water

This section primarily explores The Consequences of Western and Indigenous Cultural Conflict. The dam functions as a symbol of Western modernity (its purpose is to generate electricity and profit) and continue colonial domination (it is built on stolen land and will destroy the Sun Dance tradition for the Blackfoot of Blossom). The dam’s name, the “Grand Baleen,” is a reference to the Great Whale project in Northern Quebec, which is part of a larger project to create a series of hydroelectric power stations in the province (it also ties in thematically with Part 2, which features references to Moby Dick). This reference is a prime example of how King uses allusion to contextualize his narrative in the ongoing issues between Indigenous people, and, in this case, Canadian colonialism.

The dam also provides an example of how the values on display in the creation story plotlines can be traced to colonial oppression in the real world. For Sifton, the dam’s lead engineer, the dam is a question of profit, not politics. As far as he is concerned, the Blackfoot community will receive a hefty payout once the dam is up and running, and that is all that should matter—especially because, in his view, the treaties are a thing of the past, and none of the remaining Blackfoot people “[are] real Indians” anymore anyway (142). However, Sifton’s attitude reveals how the construction of the dam is fundamentally a political issue and reflects colonial ideology: For Sifton, the land and natural resources are there to be exploited for profit, regardless of the environmental or cultural impact, and the needs of the Indigenous people are an inconvenience he did not anticipate. That Sifton can pretend to be friendly and believes he is apolitical reveals the degree to which he has benefited from this system of domination and has never had to face the consequences of the destruction and exploitation it authors.

The creation story plotline in Part 2 follows the same structure as Part 1. It starts with a take on a traditional Indigenous creation story, which is then interwoven with a Christian story, followed by a story from the Western literary cannon, only to end up back at Fort Marion. King continues lampooning Christian values, but this time adds gender politics into the mix: When Changing Woman encounters Noah, Noah is no longer the heroic figure he is normally presented as; instead, he is aggressively lustful and sees Changing Woman as his God-given property.

Like God/Dog in the Garden of Eden, Noah is also obsessed with control and order. When Changing Woman refuses to play by the strict Christian Rules of his Christian Ship, he leaves her behind in a fit of rage. This thread is continued later when Changing Woman comes across Ahab from Moby Dick. As before, there is the immediate threat of violence. Ahab obsessively wants to kill a white whale because there’s a big market for oil, perfume, and dog food, and because “[it’s] a Christian world” where “[they] only kill things that are useful or things [they] don’t like” (202). As is soon revealed, that doesn’t leave out much, as King also uses Moby Dick to explore other types of identities that are marginalized by traditional Christian and Western values.

Moby Dick is often considered an adventure novel about masculinity and sexual identity. In Green Grass, Running Water, King implies the connection between this kind of male-dominated story and the patriarchal values that dominate Western narratives. When the crew discovers a black whale, Ahab refuses to recognize it as such, insists it is the great male white whale, and throws everybody who disagrees overboard. He is so conditioned by the racist, sexist, hierarchical worldview of Western literature that the very idea of a non-straight, non-white, female character existing in his story is outside the scope of his imagination—even Coyote can’t see Moby Jane because he has “read the book” (203). This idea can also be extended to the rest of the novel, with Babo being the only person to see the escaped elders as the women they really are.

This part of the text also starts to explore other elements of cultural identity. The introduction of Latisha and the Dead Dog Café (a clever reference that makes use of the God/Dog joke allude to Nietzsche’s “God is dead’) suggests that harmful stereotypes can be taken advantage of in certain situations. Knowing that tourists exoticize her people and have no actual knowledge of Blackfoot culture, Latisha creates a menu and merchandise that plays off their ignorance to bring in business. However, Charlie’s father, Portland Looking Bear, demonstrates that even this can be a double-edged sword. He initially plays into the stereotypes by creating a fake, Hollywood-sounding Indigenous name: Iron Eyes Screeching Eagle. At first, it helps him get parts, but eventually he is deemed not the “right kind” of Indigenous person and forced to wear a fake nose that more closely conforms to Hollywood-created stereotype.

King also demonstrates the challenges that arise from cross-cultural relationships, as Latisha and Eli both have past relationships with white partners, and both ended up being exoticized in some way. For Karen, Eli is a marker of her progressiveness. She is quick to demonstrate how accepting and tolerant she is and enjoys showing off Eli to her friends. However, she often comes across as patronizing despite her best intentions. The best example of this comes from her book recommendations. She is constantly giving Eli books about Indigenous people when he has made it clear he would be happier with something lighter, like a Western. Likewise, when George and Latisha first meet, he likes that she is “a real Indian” because she was born on the reserve (134). Ultimately, the way Karen and George perceive Eli and Latisha is not that different from how the tourists at the restaurant behave because are incapable of seeing Latisha and Eli as individuals outside of their Indigenous identities.