Representation of Identity and Land in Waubgeshig Rice’s Legacy

Abstract

This research study attempts to explicate the aspiration of returning to pristine nature in Waubgeshig Rice’s novel Legacy by applying the theory of eco-criticism. As Indigenous texts represent the symbiotic relationship between culture and nature, which serves as an essential feature of the Indigenous people being their attempt to reconnect to nature through land. The purpose of this is gaining Indigenous identity, which has its origins in peace among all living things. This writing has been analyzed based on nature-centered concepts, traditional and cultural practices, environmental respect and knowledge, and dependency on nature and its resources as portrayed in certain important excerpts.  The study will demonstrate how Rice conveyed nature awareness by a simple depiction of the character’s harmony with their surroundings and how they find healing through nature. He demonstrates how the human’s connection with nature sheds light on postmodern themes such as identity and ethical decline. Rice promotes the idea that the environment plays a significant role as well as being a central factor in the Indigenous existence and how it has a direct influence on them. Discussing discrete characters and their various attributes, as well as the parts these characters are assigned in connection to the world around them through nature, is crucial to understanding the notion of man-environment interaction.