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Borders: A Journey of Identity

1) The story describes a memory of the narrator's sister Leatitia leaving home to move to Salt Lake City, with their mother driving her to the Canada-US border. 2) At the border, their mother stubbornly declares their nationality as "Blackfoot" despite belonging to a tribe that spans both sides of the border, causing difficulties crossing. 3) After spending a night in their car, they are finally able to pass through the next day when the mother again states their nationality as "Blackfoot".

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91 views2 pages

Borders: A Journey of Identity

1) The story describes a memory of the narrator's sister Leatitia leaving home to move to Salt Lake City, with their mother driving her to the Canada-US border. 2) At the border, their mother stubbornly declares their nationality as "Blackfoot" despite belonging to a tribe that spans both sides of the border, causing difficulties crossing. 3) After spending a night in their car, they are finally able to pass through the next day when the mother again states their nationality as "Blackfoot".

Uploaded by

matthais396
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd

Borders.

Pg 46. Monday Sept 21 2010.


ブライアン　マシュー
Matthew Bryan

The story starts by saying that a while ago Leatitia left home for Salt
Lake City. The story then goes into the memory of when she was driven
to the border by her mom. The narrator explains that they drove to
Coutts and immediately stopped for beverages.
Leatitia has a slight, silent confrontation with her mother. After which
she rejects her native heritage. The narrator doesn’t quite pick up on the
subtlety at the time.
The narrator gives info as to why the mom is in opposition of visiting
Salt Lake City. The setting for the rest of the story is described.
At the border the two of them are asked to declare their nationality. The
mother –having a complex about her roots– simply replies “Blackfoot.”
The issue with this is that there are Blackfoot people on both sides of
the border. After many hours, they go attempt to go home through the
Canadian border.
The narrator now describes a memory of when Leatitia was still at
home. Leatitia and her boyfriend –Lester– would spread out maps of the
town he used to live in, and discuss it together. Leatitia’s mom would
always equalize it to Canada.
Back to the present, at the Canadian border control, the mother remains
stubborn and again declares her nationality as Blackfoot.
After Leatitia and Lester break up, she starts investigating the
attractions of the town. She discovers the capital of Utah is an amazing
place with a lot of fun things to do. Her mom thought Salt Lake City was
overrated and that towns in Alberta were just as nice.
The narrator talks about being trapped between Canada and the United
States, and how neither country will let them in. At one point he seems
again excited that they may soon be at Leatitia’s home.
Once, the narrator and Leatitia we talking on the couch and she said she
would be moving to Utah. The narrator told his mother. And that was
the week Leatitia left after snapping and her little brother.
In the present, the narrator and his mom head to the convenience store
where they meet Mel, the owner and find him a weird man. That night,
they slept in the car again. The next morning the TV crews show up and
beg interviews of them. The narrator gets in the car with his mother and
they go to the American border again. They go through the usual
questions. This time, when the mother says her nationality is
“Blackfoot” they’re allowed to pass. After a week in Salt Lake City the
two of them go home.
The story concludes by them going to the convenience store where Mel
says they’re inspirations to all.

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