The Game of Silence

In The Game of Silence, writing systems stand in opposition to oral traditions, and this dichotomy becomes symbolic of the differences between the white settlers and the Ojibwe community. White society systematizes language and uses it as both a record and a weapon. By locking the Ojibwe people into a written contract that uses unfamiliar language, white colonizers trick the Ojibwe people and rob them of their ancestral lands. Ultimately, the white government uses language as a trap. By contrast, the Ojibwe people rely on memory and oral storytelling to keep the legacy of their history alive, retelling “stories, songs, [and] the words to promises and treaties. Everyone memorized all that was important (20). Because “memory was Ojibwe writing” (20), it is clear that, unlike the white colonizers, the Ojibwe people trust each other to be honest and faithful to the integrity of the story.

The writing systems and oral traditions that Omakayas is learning are indicative of her role in a new life in which white people live alongside Indigenous communities—at least, until those white societies force the Indigenous communities from the land. Omakayas is of a newer generation of Ojibwe who are more accustomed to the influence of white society. Omakayas learns of her own culture from her tribe, but she also learns the white people’s language at school. This dynamic is symbolically important because it suggests that Omakayas stands between two worlds. Additionally, because the Ojibwe rely upon memory to pass down their most important stories, the white government will never be able to separate the Ojibwe people from their memory or from their culture. The power of Ojibwe resilience exists in the minds of the people, which cannot be touched or controlled.