Connected to the Land: Nature and Spirit in the Novels of Louis Owens

Abstract

Many authors who have contributed significantly to Native American writing are mixed bloods, because such individuals are invariably the ones who will initially engage the dominant culture. The mixed cultural experiences and traditions of these individuals predispose them to working in art forms that do not arise from tribal cultural traditions. Louis Owens, a Choctaw-Cherokee and Irish writer and scholar was especially effective in presenting clear images of what it means to be of mixed blood. Owens evoked a sense of Indigenous tradition and identity as a means of coping with events taking place outside of tribal culture. One of his strengths was his ability to incorporate the physical landscape and the non-human elements of the community as vital presences into his writing. Owens also integrated the spirit world very effectively into his writing. To the Indigenous reader this means that elements that are important to Indigenous identity, but often ignored by most writers, including other Indian writers, are allowed to become important elements of the story. These concepts are explored with examples drawn from the five novels Owens published during his life.