How do Orvil, Loother, and Lony each respond to trauma? In what way is this affected by their disconnection from their Indigenous community?
@Kim, what a great discussion topic! I was reflecting on the same question as I read the book, except I had it framed as, “why are the Red Feather boys all so messed up?!” Lony self-harms and develops a borderline delusional relationship to reality; Orvil becomes addicted to painkillers and other recreational substsances; Loother is possibly the most well adjusted and finds love, a stable relationship, and fathers a child eventually.
I’d be curious to hear what others think about the second part of your topic prompt, as I can’t really put my finger on how the disconnection from their Indigenous community fuels their trauma response. It feels like each brother in turn feels like there’s something missing from what they know of themselves and their ability to understand their community, heritage, and own identities. I can imagine that “missing piece” feeling being especially hard during the teenage years and being raised in a non-traditional family structure. But again, curious to hear how others interpret the connection between their trauma response and their disconnection from their community.
@Pei_C - I wish I could take credit. This one came directly from the publisher.
Disconnection suggests distancing from the underlying core of beliefs that provide guidance in one’s life. The boys did not feel the enduring threads to their culture, which must have been frightening and confusing. Their grandmothers were role models and they, too, had distanced themselves from native traditions for most of their lives. “Where do I belong in this world?” Really knowing one’s role or place in this world is a struggle for many people. Some seek answers and comfort in drugs, alcohol, and/or other risky behaviors.
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I agree with you all. Generational trauma deprives each generation, and each of these boys, of an essential positive aspect of their identity, their sense of connection with a heritage, with core values and stories and ancestors to be proud of, role models of ways to live in the wider world. Orvil’s addiction, Lony’s delusions and fantasies. reflect that. Each of them tries on his own to connect with their heritage but that leads to Orvil’s shooting and addiction, to Lony’s cutting as a result of an isolated piece of information from the internet. A lone individual cannot create a substitute for belonging to a homeland and a tribe. That explains Loother’s seeking out (like his ancestor Charles) a Native woman with whom he can start a family.
It is hopeful that at the end, Lony has learned to live off the land, and is ready to re-establish a relationship with his family, and that Orvil is in recovery and finding strength in his music. Above all that Opal has realized the importance of passing on to them a positive understanding of their ancestors.
Orvil completely escapes through numbing. Lony is just the opposite, cutting himself so he will feel. Loother, who is the middle child, appears to want to just blend in. I think their responses are fueled by their disconnection from their community. They have only heard stereotyped versions of indigenous stories, but have actually lived the trauma (death, addiction, poverty, displacement, etc.). I’m not sure they actually know what they should be feeling.