The Transformative Power of Words: Subverting Traumatic Experiences in Tomson Highway’s Kiss of the Fur Queen and Lee Maracle’s “Goodbye Snauq”

In the past few decades Native Canadian literature has gained a large and wide audience and has been described as a new and exciting field by critics. While Native-authored texts cannot be reduced to protest writing any longer, the collective trauma, caused by oppression, cultural alienation, deterritorialization as well as persisting inequalities and racism, remains an important theme. Tomson Highway’s debut novel Kiss of the Fur Queen and Lee Maracle’s short story “Goodbye Snauq” both effectively communicate and subvert traumatic experiences. By using a plethora of strategies, these two narratives demonstrate that literature can function as a suitable space for the symbolic transformation and healing of pain and suffering.