Borders

“Borders”

• Genre: Fiction; short story
• Originally Published: 1993
• Reading Level/Interest: College/Adult
• Structure/Length: approx. 14 pages
• Protagonist and Central Conflict: An unnamed Blackfoot boy tells the story of visiting his sister in Salt Lake City and being unable to cross the border because he and his mother are neither American nor Canadian. Switching between two stories set five years apart, “Borders” explores themes of indigenous citizenship, identity, and pride.
• Potential Sensitivity Issues: Racial injustice and bias

Tomas King, Author

• Bio: Born 1943; Canadian writer and activist who primarily writes about First Nations; born in California; flunked out of Sacramento State University ; joined the US Navy; received a medical discharge from the Navy; completed a bachelor’s and master’s degree at Chico State University; completed a PhD in English at University of Utah; dissertation on oral storytelling was one of the earliest works to explore oral storytelling as literature; delivered the 2003 Massey Lectures as the first of aboriginal descent; activist for aboriginal rights in North America, criticizing Canadian and American political policies that harm First Nations
• Other Works: Medicine River (1990); Green Grass, Running Water (1993); Truth and Bright Water (1999); The Inconvenient Indian: A Curious account of Native People in North America (2012); Indians on Vacation (2020)
• Awards: Red Cedar Book Awards—Young Readers' Choice Book Awards of British Columbia (nominee for graphic novel adaptation; 2022)

CENTRAL THEMES connected and noted throughout this Teaching Unit:

• Citizenship and Identity
• Pride
• The Outside World

STUDY OBJECTIVES: In accomplishing the components of this Unit, students will:

• Develop an understanding of the cultural and historical contexts regarding the division of Indigenous communities in North America that impact the narrator and his mother’s journey.
• Analyze paired texts and other brief resources to make connections via the text’s themes of Citizenship and Identity and Pride.

Research and participate in a debate that demonstrates an understanding of the relevancy of borders in contemporary society based on textual details.