Memory and Future Generations: An Ecofeminist Study of Joy Harjo’s Poetry

Abstract

Native people in American society face currently significant challenges in proving their Native identity. Researches have shown that the Native cultural identity has been influenced by the western colonization and their strategies of obliterating Native people’s history and cultural heritage. This research aims at studying the role of memory in the construction of home, restoring balance, and preserving the Native cultural identity. The study presents Joy Harjo, a Native American poet, who tries to discover the ecofeminist perspectives which was found in Native tribal lifestyle. Harjo finds in tribal memory the power to defy the oppression of the patriarchal system against Native American people in the contemporary society