How the novel In Search of April Raintree furthered my Knowledge of Native People

                     Before reading this novel I was not able to fully understand why Native people drank or commited suicide. After I read this book I finally understood that these acts are a method of escapism for all the hardships they faced in their lives. I know that this shouldn't be an excuse for giving up and wasting their lives. But after reading this book I was given an insight as to why people do what they do. I think after reading Beatrice Mosionier's novel In Search of April Raintree we are more aware of the injustices Native people faced and can stop them from occurring again. If we do this than many like Cheryl can be saved. I also learned that being proud of who you are and where you come from is the key to survival for Native people if not everyone. That diversity should be celebrated and not ridiculed. Cheryl was proud of her heritage but April was not. April denying her heritage and Cheryl's parents being alcoholics made Cheryl lose hope in her culture and made her believe that what everyone said about her and her people were true.Cheryl had lost her identity. At her point of weakness she turned to alcohol which only created more problems in her life and ultimately lead her to commit suicide. This awakened April from her slump and it ignited her pride and passion of her Native heritage. It was unfortunate that in order for April to find her identity Cheryl had to die, but it informs the reader that accepting and being proud of yourself will keep you and those around you happy. I learned that losing your identity could be detrimental.

                              

Representation of Indigenous Culture in In Search of April Raintree

                

                  The author Beatrice Mosionier does an amazing job tying in Indigenous culture into the novel. 

Mosionier explains many instances where Indigenous values and culture is represented. In the novel when Cheryl and April lived with their foster parents the DeRosier's Cheryl was given the ultimate punishment when they cut her long black hair. Cheryl was a Native at heart and her hair was her pride. Mosionier subtly slipped into the novel the value of a Native persons hair in the Indigenous culture. Also, the main characters Cheryl and April Raintree visited a powwow in the novel. The powwow is an important Native gathering where Native people dance, sing, eat and celebrate their culture. Cheryl took April to the powwow and April was able to see another of side of Native people that she wasn't accustomed to. She was used to envisioning Native people as savages and alcoholics but this was different side to them that she liked. Through this Mosionier informs the reader that Native people are not savages and that their central beliefs revolve around family togetherness, preserving mother earth and worshiping and giving thanks for what they have. 

Themes present in the novel In Search of April Raintree

              Beatrice Mosionier tackles many themes in the novel  In Search of April Raintree such as: family relationships, sovereignty social challenges and identity. Right from the beginning of the novel Mosionier writes about young April Raintree observing her family carefully. April  was close to parents and understood that they took a particular medicine to cure their sickness. Later April discovers that the medicine was alcohol that their sickness was caused by themselves. She grows a strong hatred for them because they had lied to her and that alcohol destroyed them. Throughout the novel we get to see the strong relationship between April and Cheryl. The two sisters stuck by one another throughout everything even when they were taken to separate foster homes. Throughout the novel we are taken on a roller coaster ride of  this relationship: the sadness of being split apart, their hope for survival, their dreams to achieve, their freedom, their fallout etc. Mosionier also explains the theme of sovereignty in the novel. Although Native people faced many injustices they were given a choice to overcome them or to let it break them. The strong ones fought hard but the weak one's just gave up and fell into the stereotype put out by the white society in the novel. April did not sympathize with those who drank and wasted their lives because she believed they did this to themselves. But Mosionier tells us that although some chose to give up that we need to help them get out of their slump. Cheryl did this for many people in the community and helped especially girls like Nancy to turn their lives around.

           Another theme that is prevalent in the novel is the theme of social challenges. Beatrice Mosionier tackles many social challenges such as: alcoholism, rape, and suicide.  She explains that often times Native people turn to alcohol as a means to escape their lives and to forget all the hardships that they faced. But she also explains the severity of this disease and how it destroys people. In the end of the novel April  is left alone with her entire family falling victim to alcohol. She explains her hatred for alcohol for destroying her parents, her sister and her people. The character April Raintree was mistaken for Cheryl and was  raped by three men simply as a means of revenge against Cheryl. Mosionier expresses that when someone is raped they are not only physically abused but also mentally abused. April continuously bathed and scrubbed herself because she felt dirty and used and  felt the smell of the men still lingering on her. Lastly Mosionier also talks about suicide in the novel. Cheryl commits suicide in the novel as an outlet to all her sorrows. She explains in a letter that she could not live like the living dead any longer and that her time was up. Cheryl opted to kill herself like her mother did as well  so she could run away from her problems. Mosionier allows the reader to see why the social challenge of suicide is prevalent by giving us an insight into the lives of the characters.

         Lastly, Mosionier discusses the theme of identity in the novel. The novel is called In search of April Raintree and is essentially about the character April finding herself. Right from April's childhood she explains instances in the park where she and her sister were teased for being half breeds. She envisioned the Native children as dirty and unclean and the white children as winners. Growing up April always connected with the white part in her rather than the Native part of her whereas Cheryl connected  with the native society. April was of lighter pigmentation and could pass for a white person whereas Cheryl was of darker pigmentation. In her teenage years April started to hate anything Native because she believed that they were inferior and that white was better so she started identifying herself as a white person. April was ashamed of her full heritage and would often times hide Cheryl so her secret remained a secret. This signified the loss of April's identity. After April got divorced and moved back to Winnipeg she started to immerse herself into Cheryl's life.As she took care of Cheryl she started to become more aware of the lives of her people in the community center and as well as with her culture by going to the powwow. She gained insight as to why Cheryl connected with the Native community so much. April regains her pride of being Native and her passion for the Native community when Cheryl died, it ignited a fire in her. She was determined not to allow alcohol to destroy her people anymore.  Her people? She finally acknowledged both aspects of her race, she finally accepted her Native heritage without shame. This signified April regaining her identity.

What I didn't like about the novel  In  Search of April Raintree

           Although I loved the novel  In Search of April Raintree by Beatrice Mosionier there were also some aspects of the novel that were a bit much for me. The novel is fairly explicit and raw. Which adds an amazing dynamic to the book. But when I read the portion in the novel about April's rape I was a bit disturbed. It is a given that this sort of situation would leave any reader with an unsettling feeling. But for me this scene was creating an image that was a bit too vivid, I felt that I didn't need to know some of those things. I wasn't prepared to come across something like that in the book and I was bit shocked after I read it. I don't think that portion of novel is something every reader can digest. Also as a reader of the novel I always envisioned Cheryl to be the stronger one of the two sisters. The one with faith in her people and where they could go in the future. So to read the novel and to end it off with Cheryl committing suicide was not the outcome I had hoped for. I understand that this was necessary in order for April to regain her lost identity. But I think Mosionier should have at least gave us more insight as to what Cheryl was thinking in  her final days or even what she thought before she actually jumped off the bridge. Lastly I felt that not allowing April to get there in time before Cheryl actually jumped was unfair. I think that allowing both sisters to have a final moment together would have left a lasting effect on the reader and would have given April much needed closure.I didn't like this ending also because I felt that April not getting there in time insinuated that Native people who fell of the wagon are always too late when it comes to turn their lives around, which diminishes their hope. Although this is true in some cases I feel that the vast majority of Natives today fight to survive and don't opt to suicide and alcoholism to end things. In fact today Native people are all around us and are prospering in many fields and using their hardships in a positive way through literature, poetry, and music.

What I like about the novel In Search of April Raintree

            I really loved this Native novel. Throughout reading this book I often found myself sympathizing with the main characters April and Cheryl Raintree. I enjoyed reading the novel and seeing the story through the eyes of April Raintree. It gave me an in depth view of every character's life and what they were feeling.  Another aspect I loved about this Native novel was the fact that Beatrice Mosionier wrote the novel with the character April narrating her story as she grows up. This gave me an insight has to how April felt when she was a little girl as supposed to how she felt when she was a grown adult. April and Cheryl faced opposition their whole lives through various forms. I enjoyed reading how both emerged or fell with each passing remark or action. Both the main characters were victims of racism and abuse from the white society. I loved the fact that when one fell victim to the opposition that the other one was always their to pick them up. I think Beatrice Mosionier did an impeccable job tying in issues prevalent in the native community such alcoholism and suicide while simultaneously keeping the balance of both the bad and the good. I liked that while she focused on some of the bad things occurring amongst the Native community that she still recognized their deep ties with family, their traditions and their rich culture.