Three Day Road Blog

Ever since she was very young, she has lived a less than desirable life. A number of awful events occur on a regular basis but she is resilient and strong spirited. The worst of these events would be when the French trapper rapes her in the Church. This act, although atrocious, could be compared the treatment of Natives in this book and in Canada. Rape is rarely about someone's sexual urges taking hold of them, it is more about overpowering and shaming the other person. Niska was raped in a church, by a white French man, while she was drunk. This represents the overpowering of Canadian Natives by European settlers. First they gave them religion, then liquor and then claimed the Native's land as their own. Natives were taken advantage of as Niska was. All her powers stripped from her as the Natives powers over their land was taken. This scene is one of a handful in the book that are alluding to the Native struggle as a whole, but this is the most cut and dry example of that allusion.
This scene connects with the rest of the book through the idea of white dominance over Natives. Elijah putting on a British accent and trying hard to fit in with the rest of the regiment is an example of how submitted Natives felt. So much so that they had to change who they were fundamentally so that the whites wouldn't see them as just Natives.

"'No more,' I said to him, standing up and walking out so suddenly that i surprised even myself. My legs left like a new calf's, loose and long under me so that i had to grab the door frame as i passed through it...""...'this is a good place, a holy place,' he whispered, biting at my ear.'You are a holy Indian, no?' he whispered 'The other Indians say you are very holy, very strong.' His lean body pushed against me. I could feel his hardness. I did not answer him but kissed him back instead...""...He laughed. 'I fucked you in a church,' he said, and smiled. I smiled back at him. "I fucked the heathen Indian out of you in this church,' he said, but this time the smile was not so happy. 'i took your ahcahk,' he said to me, the smile gone now. 'Do you understand? I fucked your ahcahk, your spirit. Do you understand that?' He stared down at me, his eyes wide with a look that made me feel ill. I pushed him away with my legs and covered myself up. 'It's too late.' he said 'Your nothing special, just another squaw whore. I took your power away in this place and sent it to burn in hell where it belongs'" (Pgs- 159-161)