Observation
The poem tells the story of European
colonization of North America and how it has
impacted the Indigenous. The author, Jeanette
Armstrong has an Indigenous background. Her
nationality is Sylix-Canadian. The poem is
written in the third person.
“Pioneers and traders
bring gifts
Smallpox, Seagrams”
“and rice krispies”
“Between the snap crackle pop”
Poem is written in chronological order
No punctuation used
Interpretation
The story in the poem is written through the
author’s perspective, through a third person
point of view. This gives a narrative effect to the
poem, like a story.
This quote uses irony. Smallpox certainly is not
a gift. This device was used for dramatic effect
in the poem.
The cereal, Rice Krispies, was used as some kind
of a metaphor in the poem to represent and
lighten the disturbing battle between the
Europeans and the Indians. “snap crackle pop”
is the brand’s slogan.
The “story” in the poem follows a chronological
order, from when the Europeans first arrived in
North America, to the destruction and battle
they started. This gives the effect of
experiencing the scene as if you were there.
With no punctuation, the sentences never end,
which could signify the effect of colonization
and how it never stopped.
“Out of the belly of Christopher’s ship This refers to the explorer, Christopher
A mob bursts Columbus. This quote also suggests that the
Running in all directions” “mob” of European colonizers that invaded the
Indian land seemed chaotic and alarming.
“Shooting buffalo This gives context to what the scene of the
Shooting each other colonization resembled. Chaotic, frightening.
left and right”
“green paper faces of a smiling English lady” This depicts exactly who the poem talks about.
This quote refers to the $20 bill, which signifies
that the poem is talking about the British
Monarchy.
“glimpsed in a garden This refers to the Indigenous lands before the
forever closed European settlers arrived. The land was once
forever lost” beautiful, before it was stolen and destroyed.

“Father mean well There is a religious take on this poem. “Father”

waves his makeshift wand
forgives saucer-eyed Indians”
represents a priest of a church. This poem
refers to the social power of the Europeans and
how they believed the Indigenous were wrong.
From my perspective, I believe that the
Europeans offered forgiveness as a “favour” in
return for stealing their land.

“The colossi “Colossi” means “a person or thing of immense

in which they trust
while burying
breathing forests and fields
beneath concrete and steel
stand shaking fists
waiting to mutilate
whole civilizations
ten generations at a blow”
“Red coated knights
gallop across the prairie
to get their men
and to build a new world”
Short and sarcastic lines
size or power” (Colossi definition & meaning).
In this case, I think it refers to God or religion.
The narrator questions how their religion would
guide the Europeans to create so much
destruction and kill innocent people. The
Europeans have destroyed generations of land,
nature and civilization. The word “mutilate”
generally means inflict violence or serious
damage on someone, which is what the
Europeans have done to the Indigenous.
This refers to the Royal Canadian Mounted
Police (RCMP). They colonized North America
and forced Indigenous people to flee their lands
and live on reserves.
This emphasizes the mood and tone of the
poem. The narrator expresses a bitter,
resentful, tired tone. What happened to the
Indigenous was tragic and disastrous, which is
what the author wanted to convey.
 Works Cited

“Colossi Definition & Meaning.” Merriam-Webster, www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/colossi.