LAND, IDENTITY & SOLUTIONS
Land in Monkey Beach represents this core idea.
What is identity and belonging?
The protagonist of Monkey Beach
Who is Lisamarie Hill?
The Indigenous community where the novel is set.
What is Kitamaat Village?
A system that caused trauma to Indigenous families for generations.
What are residential schools?
Jimmy’s disappearance reflects this real-world crisis.
What are missing Indigenous people?
Less than this percentage of Canadian land is recognized as Indigenous-owned.
What is 0.2%?
Lisa’s missing brother whose disappearance drives the plot.
Who is Jimmy Hill?
The symbolic location that connects life, death, and memory.
What is Monkey Beach?
One effect of residential schools shown in Lisa’s family.
What is emotional distance?
More than this many unmarked graves have been discovered in Canada.
What is over 4,000?
The United Nations criticizes Canada for violating this.
What are Indigenous land rights?
Lisa’s grandmother who teaches her Haisla culture and spirituality.
Who is Ma-ma-oo?
The time period in which most of the novel takes place.
What is the 1990s?
Cultural teachings mainly survive through this character.
Who is Ma-ma-oo?
Indigenous youth suicide rates are this much higher than the Canadian average.
What is 3–5 times higher?
Loss of land often leads to increased levels of this.
What are stress and depression?
Lisa’s internal struggle with grief and identity represents this type of conflict.
What is person vs. self?
This feature of the environment often mirrors Lisa’s emotions.
What is weather and nature?
This was lost or weakened due to colonial education systems.
What is Indigenous language and cultural indentity ?
Indigenous people are disproportionately represented in this system.
What are missing persons cases?
One real-life solution suggested by the novel.
What is respecting Indigenous knowledge, land rights, and healing from trauma?
Lisa’s family represents this idea passed down through generations.
What is intergenerational trauma?
The ocean in the novel symbolizes this dual idea.
What are danger and spiritual power?
Indigenous adults with a parent who attended residential school are this much more likely to report poor mental health.
What is 1.5 times more likely?
Over this percentage of families report being denied support when a loved one disappears.
What is 75%?