The Beaver Poem Analysis

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The poem "The Beaver" is written by Duke Redbird, A Ojibway Shaman Elder from the Bruce Peninsula in Ontario. The poem is about a father who tells his son not to become a beaver. The reason to this is because the beaver causes many problems for the wildlife around him. Focusing all the animals around to leave and find a new home which is the same thing the “white man,” did to the natives. Where the people once lived off the land that was once theirs In the beginning of the poem, the beaver comes and starts to build a dam with limbs, branches, mud and sand. Higher, stronger, greater dam, he works all day and night not knowing the consequences this will bring. The next day the once bubbling stream becomes a pond and later a stagnant lake. It is then filled with unwanted creepy crawlies, frogs, snakes and turtles. There is no longer fresh water for the other animals to drink. The animals around were unaware what problems were going to arise from the beaver creating a damn. Stopping a once luscious lake and turning it into a stagnant body of water. Where there is no longer fresh water to drink. The animals were forced to venture and find another place where the land is not bothered by the beaver. Where everything is crisp and fresh and the water is free flowing and glistening. Where life's dreams begin. Further on the…show more content…
The animals no longer having any choice are forced to leave to find themselves a more suitable habitat. At the end the father explains to his son about the “white man”, and what they did to the natives. This poem is a perfect example to show how the “white man” had wronged the natives by moving in and focusing them to leave and building their cities and roads, just as the animals had to because of the beaver building his

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