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Topic

Littératures autochtones contemporaines du Canada : réconciliation et résurgence dans Ourse bleue de Virginia Pesemapeo Bordeleau et Champion et Ooneemeetoo de Tomson Highway

School of Languages, Linguistics and Cultures

Date & location

• Friday, December 5, 2025
• 10:30 A.M.
• Clearihue Building, Room B017

Examining Committee

Supervisory Committee

• Dr. Pierre-Luc Landry, School of Languages, Linguistics and Cultures, ӣ��Ӱ�� (Supervisor)
• Dr. François Bastien, Gustavson School of Business, UVic (Outside Member)

External Examiner

• Dr. Zishad Lak, French and Francophone Studies, Trent University 

Chair of Oral Examination

• Dr. Gregory Rowe, Department of Greek and Roman Studies, UVic

Abstract

This thesis offers a comparative analysis of the novels Ourse bleue by Virginia Pesemapeo Bordeleau and Kiss of the Fur Queen by Tomson Highway, exploring themes of reconciliation, cultural resurgence, decolonization, and healing from colonial trauma. Through the study of the journeys of ӣ��Ӱ��, Jeremiah, and Gabriel, it examines the impact of residential schools, mixed heritage, Cree spirituality, and the land on contemporary Indigenous identity. In Kiss of the Fur Queen, the figures of the Wendigo and the Trickster serve as powerful metaphors for trauma, resistance, and transformation. In Ourse bleue, ӣ��Ӱ��’s shamanic journey across the land reflects her process of reconciling her dual heritage, named the “Red” and the “White”, through a (re)learning of Cree values and culture, culminating in a totem that honors her identity: the blue bear. Together, the two novels illustrate the contrasting experiences of their protagonists, between displacement and rootedness in the land, while highlighting shared struggles and paths. The thesis emphasizes storytelling, art, ritual, and intergenerational relationships as tools of resilience, while critiquing institutions and dominant social narratives that perpetuate colonial legacies. It calls for a reconciliation grounded in the recognition of harm, the valuing of Indigenous knowledge, and the creation of a decolonial model of coexistence, insisting on collective responsibility and openness to the complexity of Indigenous experiences.