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The choice that the mother in Thomas King’s “Borders” has to make, which citizenship to declare at the border between Canada and the United States, represents the internal struggle, which many minority populations face, between maintaining one’s heritage and accepting assimilation into a new culture. The border acts as a metaphor for the mother’s choice in that she is faced with having to choose between one identity, and its culture, and another.
Right from the beginning of the story the reader is aware the mother is a proud Blackfoot. Every time the daughter points out something new or something that might be interesting the mother quickly remarks how they have it right there in Blackfoot territory; such as, how they’ve “got a water tower on the reserve” (132) and telling her daughter how “[she] can still see the mountains” (133) where she is. Furthermore, the mother uses the Blackfoot language to try and dissuade her daughter on grounds of being able to see mountains (133). It can therein be seen how proud the mother is of being Blackfoot.
However, when the mother comes to the border she is challenged to declare if she is from the “Canadian side or American side” (136) with no option of identifying as Blackfoot. This represents the mother’s internal struggle to continue being Blackfoot or be assimilated into the other culture. This period of time, in which the mother had to debate how she should declare, allowed the mother to reinforce her identity as a Blackfoot. It gives her time to recall her childhood and all the stories about the stars her mother use to tell her. The narrator states how “[s]he [is] serious about it” (142). This indicates how strong the mother continues to feels about her identity despite being stuck in limbo between the borders and the fact that “[they] hadn’t eaten in a while” (142).
In this case, “[pride] is a good thing” (140). By overcoming the internal border the mother is able to draw enough attention to the situation that she is permitted to cross the physical border, as a Blackfoot. Furthermore, by sticking to her roots the mother is given an opportunity to share the stories of her childhood, her culture, and heritage with her son.
Right from the beginning of the story the reader is aware the mother is a proud Blackfoot. Every time the daughter points out something new or something that might be interesting the mother quickly remarks how they have it right there in Blackfoot territory; such as, how they’ve “got a water tower on the reserve” (132) and telling her daughter how “[she] can still see the mountains” (133) where she is. Furthermore, the mother uses the Blackfoot language to try and dissuade her daughter on grounds of being able to see mountains (133). It can therein be seen how proud the mother is of being Blackfoot.
However, when the mother comes to the border she is challenged to declare if she is from the “Canadian side or American side” (136) with no option of identifying as Blackfoot. This represents the mother’s internal struggle to continue being Blackfoot or be assimilated into the other culture. This period of time, in which the mother had to debate how she should declare, allowed the mother to reinforce her identity as a Blackfoot. It gives her time to recall her childhood and all the stories about the stars her mother use to tell her. The narrator states how “[s]he [is] serious about it” (142). This indicates how strong the mother continues to feels about her identity despite being stuck in limbo between the borders and the fact that “[they] hadn’t eaten in a while” (142).
In this case, “[pride] is a good thing” (140). By overcoming the internal border the mother is able to draw enough attention to the situation that she is permitted to cross the physical border, as a Blackfoot. Furthermore, by sticking to her roots the mother is given an opportunity to share the stories of her childhood, her culture, and heritage with her son.
