Identity is defined as being yourself and not acting or being anything else. The identity that one forms throughout one's life is a slow and tedious process, each event in life, whether on a larger or smaller scale, has an effect on the development of one's overall identity . In the play Only Drunks and Children Tell the Truth by Drew Hayden Taylor, Janice is caught between two identities and struggles to find a happy medium. Having been adopted at a young age by a white family, Janice became accustomed to many white traditions and ways. Janice's Aboriginal family recently made contact with her and put a lot of pressure on her to return to some of the Aboriginal culture she was born into. With the pressure mounting, Janice begins to question her identity and begins to show signs that she wants nothing to do with her native roots. Drew Hayden Taylor does a great job in this piece showing how stereotypes and preconceptions affect identity and relationships within society. Each character in the play shows how their identity has been shaped through the relationships they have acquired throughout their life; Tonto's identity is heavily influenced by her father and best friend Rodney, Barb is influenced by her mother's traditional customs and methods, and Janice, after being adopted at a young age, has formed an identity revolving around that of her adoptive parents, but she faces a lot of pressure from her biological family. Janice was separated from her mother, Anne, at a young age as part of the '60s scoop and was placed in the care of a white family shortly afterward. The event happened at such a young age that Janice doesn't remember anything that happened that day. Like many other chi...... middle of paper...... struggled to discover who they really were. The majority of adoption records were kept sealed, making it nearly impossible for these now-Native adults to discover who their real families were. This left many Indigenous children and adults feeling like they did not belong in this community. These children were not able to form their own true identities, but rather were forced to live the lives they had been adopted into and create identities based on what their new parents wanted. Identity is defined as being oneself, and ultimately these indigenous men and women were not allowed to be themselves and therefore were never entitled to a true identity. Works Cited Philp, Margaret. "The Land of Lost Children". The land of lost children. The Globe and Mail, December 21, 2002. Web. March 3, 2014.Taylor, Drew Hayden. Only drunkards and children tell the truth. Burnaby, British Columbia: Talon, 1998. Print.