During the First World War, Canada's Indigenous and First Nations communities were consistently targets of racism from European settlers. The novel Three Day Road, written by critically acclaimed author Joseph Boyden, uses the literary lens of critical race theory to focus more on racism in the Indigenous community. Boyden uses three main axes to emphasize racism in the novel: Alienation of Indigenous people, treatment in residential schools, and treatment by the Hudson's Bay people. Through this, we can see how indigenous peoples were a major target of racism from white European settlers. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay First, Boyden begins the novel with Niska, a Cree Canadian woman traveling through a white-dominated town to the train station, where her beloved nephew, returning from World War I, l 'wait. As Niska walks through the city, she feels all eyes on her. She feels like an exception; distanced from the rest of society. Niska says: “They stare at me [the wemistikoshiw], point at me and talk about me as if they have never seen me before.” Here, it is evident that Niska feels alienated from the rest of society, all because she does not share the same skin color and values ​​as the white people in town. You can also see how the white people, or as Niska describes it, the wemistikoshiw, clearly show their pointing and staring. So obvious that Niska notices. This is a clear alienation and a clear intention to show Niska that she has no place in the city. Niska continues to walk around the town and says, “I must look to them like a thin, wild old woman, like an Indian animal straight out of the bush.” In this quote we see that Niska thinks that in the eyes of white people she is like an animal that belongs in nature and has no place in a “civilized” white town. Once again, it is clear how distant First Nations felt from the rest of society. Second, as the story progresses, we witness an unfortunate interaction between Xavier, Elijah, and "the man in uniform." Elijah and Xavier are getting on a train with the rest of their troop when the man in uniform tells them, “No Indians on this train car.” You belong to four cars in the back.” Here, the man in uniform denies Elijah and Xavier access to the regular car on the train only because their skin is not white. The man in uniform refers to Elijah and Xavier as "Indians" in an arrogant and disgusting way, as if the fact that they are Indians changes the fact that they are still human. Through this, it is evident that Boyden was making readers understand how racist European settlers and white people were towards indigenous people. Finally, Lieutenant Breech is a recurring character who is openly racist towards Xavier and Elijah. Often ridiculing them for being Cree Canadians; as if it was something they could control. As Xavier and Elijah are appreciated by McCann for their warrior skills, and as McCann is seduced by Elijah and Xavier's talent, he further tells Lieutenant "Bastard" Breech. “McCann reports our talent to Lieutenant Breech. Elijah tells me that Breech says it's our Indian blood, that our blood is closer to that of an animal than to that of a man. Here, despite being two of the best snipers in the troop, Lieutenant Breech still doesn't arriveto appreciate their talent. without identifying their race. Instead of applauding them for their good work, he compares their blood to that of a wild animal, regardless of their efforts in the war. This is a clear example of how Xavier and Elijah feel alienated from the rest of the troupe, simply because they are of Cree Canadian descent. Overall, through the alienation that Niska, Elijah, and Xavier face throughout the book, we see how Indigenous people and communities were targets of racism from white European settlers. We knew that the purpose of residential schools was to eliminate all aspects of Indigenous and First Nations culture. Boyden addresses the very real issue of residential schools and how Indigenous children were treated at the Three Day Road residential schools. First, we see it through Niska's time at boarding school. For example, Niska's experience at residential schools is not pleasant at all. Niska describes part of it this way: “The nuns would wake me up in the middle of the night and drag me into a brightly lit room where I had to repeat words over and over again until I pronounced them correctly. When I was caught speaking my language, they would force me to use soap and give me nothing else to eat for days. Here it is clear that Niska's experience at residential schools was nothing short of unpleasant. They [the nuns] would wake her up in the middle of her sleep just to force her to learn a language she didn't want to learn. Instead of making it a choice for indigenous people, it has become an obligation. The English language was so forced upon them that if Niska was caught speaking her native language, Cree, soap would be put in her mouth and she would be forced to starve for days. Boyden uses this example with Niska to highlight the very real problem of racism in the Indigenous community and how they were treated in residential schools. Second, it is known that indigenous women often leave their hair down to their waists to represent their culture. Unfortunately, during her time at residential schools, Niska's way of representing her culture and pride was taken away from her, all to show that white people are more superior than Cree Canadians. “They were going to remove my waist-length black hair, a symbol of wemistikoshiw authority.” In this quote, Niska explains how to show superiority to white people and how white people live. At the residential school she attends, she is stripped of anything that identifies her as a Cree Canadian. Everything except his skin color. Through this experience that Niska shares with us, it is easy to see that the goal of residential schools was to end Indigenous culture. Finally, “the old Crees are pagans and they make God angry,” she said. “The Cree are a backward people and God's displeasure is manifested in the fact that He makes your rivers flow backwards, towards the north rather than towards the south, as in the civilized world. » In this quote, one of the nuns who works at the residential school, Sister Magdalene, tells Xavier how the Cree Canadians make God angry. She claims that God hates Cree Canadians so much that he makes their rivers flow in the opposite direction they are supposed to, which is false. She claims that the Cree way of life is not civilized, like Cree Canadians, and that indigenous people are not human like the rest of society. This further proves that treatment at residential schools was cruel, unusual and overtly racist towards Cree Canadians. Finally, through the treatment that Niska, Elijah and Xavier received..