During the First World War, Canada's Indigenous and First Nations communities were consistently the targets of racism by European settlers. The novel Three Day Road, written by critically acclaimed author, Joseph Boyden, uses the literary lens of critical race theory to further focus on racism in the Indigenous community. Boyden uses three main focuses to emphasize racism in the novel; Indigenous alienation, treatment in residential schools, and treatment by the Hudson's Bay population. Through this, one can see how indigenous peoples were one of the main targets of racism by white European settlers. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay First, Boyden begins the novel with Niska, a Canadian Cree woman walking through a predominantly white town to reach the train station, where her beloved grandson, returning from the First World War, awaits her. As Niska walks through the city, she feels all eyes on her. She feels like she's the odd one out; alienated from the rest of society. Niska says, “They stare at [the wemistikoshiw], point at me, and talk about me as if they have never seen any of me before.” Here, it is blatantly obvious that Niska feels alienated from the rest of society, all because she doesn't share the same skin color and values ​​as the white people in the city. You can also see how the whites, or as Niska describes, the wemistikoshiw, make their pointing and staring obvious. So obvious that Niska notices. This is clear alienation and a clear intent to show Niska that she doesn't belong in the city. Niska continues walking through the city and says, "To them I must seem like a thin, wild old woman, an Indian animal out of the forest." In this quote, we see that Niska thinks that in the eyes of white people she looks like an animal that belongs in the wild and does not belong in a “civilized” white city. Once again, it is clear how alienated First Nations felt from the rest of society. Secondly, as the story progresses, we see an unfortunate interaction between Xavier, Elijah and “the man in uniform”. Elijah and Xavier are boarding a train with the rest of their troop when the man in uniform tells them “No Indians in this car. You belong four cars behind.” Here, the man in uniform denies Elijah and Xavier access to the regular train car just 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 is something that changes the fact that they are still human. Through this, it is obvious that Boyden was making readers see 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. He often ridicules them for being Cree Canadians; as if it were something they could control. Since Xavier and Elijah are appreciated by McCann for their warfare talent, and since McCann is impressed 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 is our Indian blood, that our blood is closer to that of an animal than that of a man.” Here, despite being two of the best snipers in the troop, Lieutenant Breech still can't 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 because despite theirefforts in the war. This is a clear example of how Xavier and Elijah feel alienated from the rest of the troop, just because they are of Canadian Cree descent. Overall, through the alienation that Niska, Elijah, and Xavier face throughout the book, we see how indigenous peoples and communities were a target of racism by white European settlers. They knew that the purpose of residential schools was to eliminate all aspects of Indigenous and First Nations culture. Boyden addresses the real issue of residential schools and how Indigenous children were treated in Three Day Road residential schools. First, we see this through Niska's time at residential school. For example, Niska's experience in residential schools is not at all pleasant. Niska describes part of it as: “The nuns would wake me up in the middle of the night and drag me into a well-lit room where they made me repeat the words over and over until I pronounced them correctly. When they caught me speaking my language, they forced lye soap and gave me nothing else to eat for days. Here it is clear that Niska's experience in residential schools was nothing but unpleasant. [The nuns] would wake her up in the middle of her sleep only to force her to learn a language she didn't want to learn. Instead of making it a choice for indigenous people, it became an obligation. The English language was so forced upon them that if Niska was caught speaking her native language, Cree, they would put soap in her mouth and she would be forced to starve for days. Boyden uses this example with Niska to point out the real problem of racism in the indigenous community and how they were treated in residential schools. Secondly, indigenous women are known to often let their hair grow to their waists as a way to represent their culture. Unfortunately, when she attended residential schools, Niska's way of representing her culture and her pride was taken away from her, all to prove that white people are more superior than Cree Canadians. “They would remove my waist-length black hair as a symbol of wemistikoshiw authority.” In this quote, Niska explains how to show superiority towards white people and how white people live. In the residential school she attends, everything that identifies her as a Cree Canadian is taken away from her. Anything apart from skin color. Through this experience that Niska shares with us, it is easy to see that the purpose of the residential schools was to end indigenous culture. Finally, “Old Cree people are pagans and they make God angry,” he says. 'The Cree are a backward people and God's displeasure is manifested in the fact that he makes your rivers flow in reverse, north instead of south as in the civilized world.' In this quote, one of the nuns working at the residential school, Sister Magdalene, is telling Xavier about how the Cree Canadians make God angry. She claims that God hates the Cree Canadians so much that he makes their rivers go in the opposite direction to what they should, which is wrong. He claims that the Cree way of life is uncivilized, as Cree Canadians and indigenous people are not human like the rest of society. This further demonstrates that the treatment in residential schools has been cruel, unusual and openly racist towards Cree Canadians. Ultimately, through the treatment that Niska, Elijah, and Xavier received during their time in residential schools, we see how indigenous people were a major target of racism by white European settlers. In Three Day Road, white European settlers are referenced in the role of the Hudson's Bay people. The people.