Motorcycles and Sweetgrass: Characters and Their Colonial Struggle

In Motorcycles and Sweetgrass, lots of the characters are impacted by colonialism. Much of the conflict that is present in the novel
stems from the characters dealing with the pressures imposed by colonial culture. To help reveal conflict and the arc of various
characters, complete the following chart by outlining the colonial pressure that is put on the character and providing evidence from
the novel to illustrate it.

Character Summary of Colonial Example Any sort of resistance?

Pressure

Sammy - Forced to learn English - At the residential school, Sammy - Sammy only speaks Anishnawbe
- was forced to read and learn but now in Iambic pentameter
Shakespeare while at the same
time he was forbidden to speak
Anishnawbe

Maggie - Forced to make a
decision about what to
do with the land.
- “What is it, Tony? I’m not in the
mood to discuss anything.”
“I know, I know,” he said,
nodding, then swallowing.
“However…”
- “Maggie shook her head. “No
however. Tony, we just buried my
mother. Now is not the time.”
- Maggie delays her task of
making a decision about the
land.

Lillian - Forced to attend - “I don’t have a choice.” Lillian’s parents tried to favour Lillian but
residential schools - “You don’t know White people. failed.
They don’t take no for an answer.
My parents tried but…”