“Strong communities are critical because they are often an important source of social connection and a sense of belonging. Participating in a community bonded by attitudes, values, and goals is an essential ingredient to enjoying a fulfilling life.” (Woll). Community means a society of people, having common rights and privileges, or common interests, civil, political, or ecclesiastical; or living under the same laws and regulations (Webster). In the book I Heard the Owl Call My Name, the Kwakiutl Indian tribe are an exemplary example of a strong, well-knit community. “Kwakiutl, self-name Kwakwaka’wakw, North American Indians who traditionally lived in what is now British Columbia, Canada, along the shores of the waterways between Vancouver Island and the mainland. Their name means ‘those who speak Kwakwala.’”(Britannica) Margaret Craven, the author of I Heard the Owl Call My Name, describes in great detail the community and lifestyle of this Indian tribe. At the start of the book there was a death of a young boy, and from this tragic event the reader is able to glimpse the closeness of the tribe. “The faces of the tribe, which all looked alike, lifted and waiting in the brooding woods.” (Craven, 28). Despite the sadness of this scene, one can observe the beauty of Kwakitul’s coming together to mourn the death of a fellow member. Community is of great value, for it provides connection and belonging, while providing support and safety.
All humans enjoy the feeling of belonging and being able to connect with others. “Communities can be a source of joy! Coming together physically or virtually, finding points of connection with others, and enjoying moments of celebration and camaraderie can leave us feeling engaged and refreshed.” (Wooll). Connection defined is the act of joining or state of being joined, a state of being knit or fastened together (Webster). For example, when one joins a community, he is fastened together with the other members creating a sense of belonging. The Kwakiutl tribe used to hold potlatches, where their community would come together to connect with each other and pass along their traditions to the next generation. “The potlatch, a ceremonial distribution of property and gifts unique to Northwest Coast peoples, was elaborately developed by the southern Kwakiutl. Their potlatches were often combined with performances by dancing societies, each society having a series of dances that dramatized ancestral interactions with supernatural beings.”(Britannica). In the novel, I Heard the Owl Call My Name, an example of a potlatch is given for one of Mark Brian’s Indian friends, Jim Wallace. “ I am giving a dance-potlatch for Jim, my grand-nephew, to pass to him the rights, the ceremonies of my family. All our tribe is invited and our relatives in other villages, and there will be feasts and gifts for all.” (Craven, 141). The reader also notices how closely knit all of the Kwakitul tribe members are together and how they welcomed a foreign man. When Mark Brian, the young vicar, arrives at their village, he feels alone. “Often in the first weeks, Mark was beset by a sense of futility, and always he was lonely.” (Craven, 43). Mark’s loneliness, however, eventually fades as he becomes connected with the Kwakiutl tribal members.
He relied on Jim as he had never relied on anyone, yet their friendship was forged in the long hours on the boat in which neither spoke an unnecessary word. And always there was the trip in the little open boat up the cold river, and the vicarage waiting with warm food on the back of the stove that Marta had placed there, the clothes that Keeta had washed and ironed, the wood old Peter had cut and stacked, the piece of fish or game set aside from each and every hunt. And there were the Indians who dropped by in the evening to offer help or ask it, and the children who entered without knocking to stand, motionless, watching him from their big, soft eyes, smiling shyly. (Craven, 120).
The kindness of the Kwakiutl community supplied a great peace to Mark Brian, as he became like family to them.
As a member of a community one is able to receive support and a sense of safety from fellow community members. In the story I Heard the Owl Call My Name, the reader is able to see how the members of the Kwakiutl tribe support each other by sharing in times of need and coming together during times of sadness. Marta Stephens is a respected, wise elder of the tribe who takes the young vicar, Mark Brian under her wing. She notices his health is declining and the nearness of death, so she writes to Mark’s Bishop asking him to come to the tribe, keeping her promise to write when death is near to Mark. “Marta returned to her house and slowly, and with much care she wrote a letter to the Bishop: ‘My lord, it is your friend, Marta Stephens, who keeps her promise now. When T.P., the elder, gives a potlatch for Jim Wallace, you come. It is time you come then. God bless you.’” (Craven, 141-142) This simple act of reaching out to the Bishop to come visit Mark before he dies is a great act of kindness. “As a member of a community, you have access to a support network of peers.” (Wooll) Communities are incredibly valuable because they provide support and safety during uncertain times.
In conclusion, one is able to see the importance of community from the Kwakuitl tribe. Throughout the novel the reader is able to perceive how the community connects with each other, while also providing support and safety for each member. Even though the main character of the story, Mark Brian, passes away, he was surrounded by a loving community that filled him with the gift of peace during his last days. Community is important to all because it is where people come together to feel the love of others.
Bibliography
Kuiper, Kathleen. "Kwakiutl". Encyclopedia Britannica, 28 May. 2019, https://www.britannica.com/topic/Kwakiutl.
Craven, Margaret. I Heard the Owl Call My Name. Bantam Doubleday Dell, 1980
Wooll, Maggie. “Importance of Community - How Collective Solutions Help Individual Problems .” Importance of Community - How Collective Solutions Help, Better Up, 3 Nov. 2021,www.betterup.com/blog/importance-of-community#:~:text=for%20one%20another.-,Why%20are%20communities%20so%20important%3F,to%20enjoying%20a%20fulfilling%20life.
“Community” American Dictionary of the English Language. Original addition. 1828.
“Connection” American Dictionary of the English Language. Original addition. 1828.
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