This is a Story Summary (Class 12 Opt. English)

This is a Story

- Jennette Christine Armstrong

Brief Summary:

"This is a Story” is a short story, which takes place in Okanagan, Canada. The story shows how the arrival of the colonizers ruined and killed the culture of the Okanagan people. The main character of this story is Kyoti (personification of the animal Coyote (Bwaso)/ He is animal, but he is speaking like humans in the story). In the story, the narrator is standing at a group of women and tells the story.

According to the story, Kyoti used to bring salmon fish to the Okangan people and made them happy, but after the arrival of the white colonizers (European colonizers), Kyoti found many things that were changed everywhere in Okangan. They built dams blocking the free flow of salmons, destroyed forests, defecated everywhere and polluted. The Okanagan people also followed their food habits due to which they became lean, thin, weak and deformed. New generation of the Okanagan people accepted the hegemony of the colonizers, and Kyoti found some people, who started speaking their language. In fact, they lost their Okangan culture, language and tradition. Native Okanagan people were suppressed and tempted by giving food and jobs. Kyoti met a few people, who were lamenting the loss of their culture. Finally, they formed a group of colonial resistance, and they decided to break their hegemony of the Swallow people and regain those old days of the native people.