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Chapter 7
Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Motorcycles & Sweetgrass, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Cultural Maintenance vs. Loss
Grief and Trauma
Colonialism and Land Use
Stories and Religion
Humor
Summary
Analysis
Two days after the funeral, Maggie drives through the newly acquired parcel of land. She thinks about the history of the land, and about the white locals who are uneasy at the thought of Indigenous people purchasing land that colonizers “went to so much trouble to appropriate.” She knows that Native and non-Native people have fundamentally different understandings of land, and that many Anishnawbe residents of Otter Lake have internalized the colonial idea that land must be put to use to have value.
Though her mother believed that Maggie lacks a meaningful connection to her Anishnawbe identity, Maggie holds a traditional Anishnawbe respect for land that many of her neighbors do not share. The fact that her perspective is unusual among the residents of Otter Lake speaks to the pervasive nature of colonialism due to forced assimilation. Maggie plays down the tragedy of colonization and internalized colonialism with some humor, sardonically noting that colonizers “went to so much trouble” to steal Native land.
Themes
Maggie’s car gets a flat tire, and when she gets out to replace it, John rides up on his motorcycle. He offers to help, and when she reluctantly agrees, he introduces himself as John Richardson. She is impressed by his motorcycle, and when the spare tire turns out to be deflated, Maggie accepts John’s offer of a ride to her brother’s garage. They ride on the motorcycle together, which draws attention and gossip from the other residents of Otter Lake. Virgil sees them and is stunned.
John doesn’t care about maintaining a consistent alias; in fact, as the novel continues, he claims a different last name every time he introduces himself, suggesting that he finds some fun in changing his name. This kind of impulsive mischief is uncharacteristic for Maggie, but she needs to accept it in order to get a ride to the garage.
Themes
After John drops Maggie off at her brother’s, he feels like he knows more about the current state of Otter Lake. He reminisces about his homeland, and his memory stretches back to before the ice age. As he walks through the woods, he encounters a racoon. He has been in a feud with the racoons for longer than he can remember, and John and the racoon regard each other with hatred.
John’s knowledge of the land of Canada is ancient and expansive, and Maggie presents him with an intimate kind of knowledge that is new to him. Even as he learns more about the modern Otter Lake Reserve, the past still affects him, which is evidenced by the racoons that keep appearing at the edges of the narrative.
Themes
