Preservation of Native American Culture: An Analysis of Louise Erdrich’s Tracks

Abstract

This paper examines Louise Erdrich’s practice of promoting the oral tradition and magical realism as a way of preserving Native American culture in Tracks. She writes stories in the novel to assimilate Native American culture in modern times and this ultimately helps the Native traditions to find their way to modern readers. She represents magical elements in a realistic manner totally opposed to western concepts of magical realism. This study argues that Erdrich uses stories and magical realism as a tool to not only promote Native American culture but also preserve it. It is qualitative research and Gerald Vizenor’s Theory of Resistance and Survivance has been used to analyze the text. The textual analysis reveals that oral tradition and magical realism have deep roots in Native American culture and Erdrich uses them to promote as well as preserve this culture.