Why is it difficult to find justice, particularly when two legal frameworks co-exist and overlap? Often regarded as a goal, justice can be achieved through maneuvering through such systems. Some of them may be simple such as traditions, while others may be complex such as the modern justice systems. Irrespective of the form of justice, the constitutions can be interpreted in any way as everyone has an opinion on how it should prevail. Irrespective of that, the law should be followed, which often becomes difficult where two or three confines dictate different approaches for the same situation. In the American Indian reservations, legal liminalities occur due to a collision of the state, tribal, and federal legal systems. Such clashes make it more difficult to prosecute criminals in the reservation while at the same time, protect the community and find justice. Louise Erdrich analyzed justice representation as well as the repercussions of pursuing justice within legal zones of liminalities in a trilogy that consisted of three books. The books considered elements of active literature are LaRose, The Round House, and The Plague of Doves . The Round House and The Plague of Doves will be focused more on this paper.
Literature can be an excellent way to analyze and interpret legal doctrines, and Louise Erdrich does an excellent job. As seen in her novels, she does not shy away from life's hardships. Erdrich draws inspiration from her own life, and the world she grew up in that was centered around the community. The writer portrays the harsh reality on the Indian reservations, illustrating problems like poverty and alcoholism, which she does by creating non-stereotypical characters. In doing so, Louise Erdrich not only brings serious issues affecting the Indian community into the foreground but also highlights the existent social problems. In both novels, the writer's main issues are legal liminalities brought by the tribal, federal, and state legal systems. The books, however, take a different approach. In The Plague of Doves , Erdrich brings out the theme of wild justice, which is centered around revenge. In The Round House , the themes are justice denial, tangled jurisdictions, and sexual violation. For both novels, focus on liminality zones is critical as it is reflective of contemporary society. This is because they demonstrate how liminality hinders the pursuit and achievement of justice from a society perspective, a norm still experienced until today. The writer focuses on justice denial, where the characters in the readings face scenarios of injustice. Consequently, the readers can relate to such issues as some of them are still happening. Erdrich further portrays some activist elements which presents a firm argument for the use of Engaged Literature theories. Since the theories cannot be used autonomously, Louise Erdrich's pieces of art complementarily connect the theories to the circumstances surrounding societies now.
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There are several scenarios of injustice in both novels. For instance, in The Plague of Doves , Mooshum, Evalina, and the Indian community in general witness a group of non-Indian men lynch three Indians but cannot do anything to help. Although the lynching happens years back, Evalina and the community do not forget the incident as it becomes part of their lives and dictates their interactions among themselves and the outsiders as well. In The Round House , Linden Park, who is white rapes an Indian woman named Geraldine. However, due to legal issues with the community, the rapist is neither apprehended nor convicted. Although her husband still believes and hopes that justice will be served, the case goes unattended, which prompts Geraldine's son Joe to find justice for her through other means. As noted above, the theme of wild justice is vastly covered in The Plague of Doves . Wild justice, which is also known as rough justice, involves the disregard of the present justice system in the pursuit of justice. Wild justice mostly happens in communities where they feel like the legal process is taking too long to act, and the criminal does not deserve the leniency given. Therefore, the community become lawmakers and act as the jury, judge, and executioner. In most cases, wild justice usually has a racial or class element, which creates a hierarchy in the justice system. For the community taking part in wild justice, there is the belief that the better and efficient method of determining who is guilty.
The combination of hierarchical justice and rejection of the set legal doctrines is visible in The Plague of Doves . As the novel describes, there is a killing of the three American Indians, and another one is almost killed in a similar manner, a feat that weaves the characters together. The magnitude of the lynching overshadows the other prior event. As a young man, Mooshum, who is a Metis man, was already presumably guilty of a murder he was not involved. The events unfold a while back, where a woman is mercilessly killed on a land close to Maude's farm. Coincidentally, the farm was near the land where Mooshum and Junesse were living. Junesse was his girlfriend during that period. Erdrich brings out the element of racism in that when the news about the murder spread, the community liked for the next available Indian to blame, which was unfortunately Mooshum. The blame was further justified by the sudden absence of the slain woman's husband. Consequently, the community thronged Maude's farm, ready to lynch Mooshum in the act of wild justice. Mooshum escaped death by a whisker because Maude stepped in and removed the angry neighbors from her farm. The actions of white conservatives did not shock Maude and her husband, in any case. Considering the murdered woman was white, the conservative neighbors could not believe that a white man would be responsible for her death, which is why the inclined towards looking for the next available Indian. The situation resonated with the belief that if two societies co-exist in an unfair balance characterized by classism and racial hierarchy, tensions are always high, with the upper class always blaming the lower class for social calamities. Mooshum was only saved because of Maude intervened. What this means is that the result of wild justice is death, should someone fail to intervene.
Louise Erdrich further expounds on the same in later scenes in the novel. However, in that scenario, the community succeeded in lynching in an episode where Mooshum barely survives. The conservative Indian mob removed the men from a church where they had taken refuge, but the priest does nothing to prevent them from being whisked without question. The priest, just like the mob, presumes guilt without question. The sheriff is also at the scene, but the community ignores him. The sheriff's pleas for the suspects to be driven to jail instead of prematurely hang them falls on deaf ears as the mob hunger for justice. Even when the sheriff points out that the police should handle such matters, the townsmen scoff and say that they are going to finish the job, and this leaves no room for misinterpretation. In doing so, the townsmen completely disregard the judicial system for them to acquire what they perceive as moral justice for the victims. Nonetheless, they are aware of the local judicial system as well as the federal branch of government that has power of the region. Instead of following the law of both confines, the townsmen of Pluto use it to find loopholes in the set rules and regulations. The liminalities have created legal mazes that the townsmen take advantage of, which is why they lynched the Indians on state land. Although they disregard state laws, they cannot be prosecuted and thus avoid the consequences of their actions due to the liminalities.
Although Louise Erdrich brings out the racial element in The Plague of Doves scenes, she also shows that it is not Indian versus Whites violence that prompts wild justice. Such an observation is substantiated in The Round House . The difference between the two books is that in The Plague of Doves , the lynching mob disregard all the laws, which is why they fearlessly lynch the Indian men. On the other hand, in The Roundhouse , wild justice only prevails when the community feels that the state, tribal, and federal law have failed them. Consequently, they are more patient in letting the legal systems do their work and only chip in when they detect something fishy going on in the system. For instance, Linden Lark is freed even though all the people involved in the case know beyond a reasonable doubt that he is guilty of the crime against Geraldine. For this reason, his first appearance at the grocery store leads to an attack by Joe, who had vowed to get revenge on Geraldine. Even though Lark's release pushes Joe's limits, he does not throw caution out of the window. It is only after waiting for a long time that he resorts to taking matters into his own hands, as he believes it is the only way to get justice for the rape ( Erdrich, 2013 ). When he finally murders Linden Lark after getting help from his friend Cappy, his friends, family, community, and even the tribal police assist him to cover it up. In as much as it is murder, they cumulatively agree that it was a necessary move for avenging the unlawful act of rape that the justice system was reluctant to let justice prevail.
When it comes to the justice denial concept, the focus shifts to how legal liminalities halt the present justice systems. Instead of creating justice possibilities, legal liminalities hinder the law from taking its cause. Subsequently, citizens are stranded with an incompetent legal system. The main causes are the failure to coordinate between where the crime is committed, the identity of people involved, as well as the government agencies that have jurisdiction in the matter. Literature serves as an eye-opener for people to familiarize themselves with such issues. For example, in Louise Erdrich's literature, characters had to deal with the immediate consequences of the denial justice as well as past injustices which still influenced them. Justice denied can be viewed in two ways. The first one is where the focus shifts to a moral injustice that coincides with the legal and historical treatment of American Indians. The second view is the mazes and loopholes created by overlapping legal systems and their repercussions, even now. The theme of moral injustice can be seen in Mooshum stories, as they link the past and present. The Mooshum stories are a clear indication that there is no separation between ancient times and the present. The Plague of Doves portrays the dynamics of cyclical moral injustice through Louis Riel's presence. Louis Riel is significant in the story, as his sentencing caused a shift in the dynamics of the story. Having been a political leader of the Metis, Riel attempted to resist the government but failed miserably. Therefore, he was sentenced to death, a fate which caused many of the Metis community to migrate. As Mooshum proclaimed, if Riel had been successful in the resistance, justice would have been served as Indians would have been safer ( Erdrich, 2009 ). What this means is that Louis Riel was on a quest to find justice and safety for American Indians, which is why his failure and death led to their migration. As Mooshum said, things would be different if Riel had won, and this exemplifies how laws from the past and present still have a tremendous negative impact on the present communities.
As opposed to revenge and violence associated with wild justice and justice denial, natural justice focuses on the healing and letting go of the need for violence and trauma to repair injustice. Natural justice involves shifting from the offender's passive responsibility to the citizens' collective and active responsibility in rectifying things for future reference. As noted in the essay, literature plays an integral part in portraying the themes, and natural justice is no different. In The Plague of Doves , natural justice comes into play when Bazil Coutts brings an Indian boy named Corwin Peace back into the community through court hearings. There is a system in place to deal with the matter of theft. Regardless of that, Bazil Coutts takes a different approach where he lets his and Corwin's history inspire him. By placing experience and traditions at the center of law practice, Bazil gains the upper hand and uses tradition-based sentencing to set a precedent ( Erdrich, 2009 ). Instead of going to prison or paying fines, Bazil makes Corwin learn to play fiddle. Coincidentally, the fiddle belonged to the man that he orders Corwin to play with. The move not only teaches Corwin to respect the instrument and the teacher but also brings him back to the community. Healing is critical in such moments. For instance, Bazil could have resorted to the stipulated methods and send the boy to jail. In as much as justice would have been served, and the fiddle returned to the owner, the method would have left emotional scars, particularly on the boy's side. For this reason, taking the natural justice approach provides healing for both the offender and the victim. Instead of segregating him from the community, natural justice brought Corwin back. Bazil Coutts further relates the sentencing as a historical justice that had ticked down generations. As the writer describes, one of Corwin's ancestors had saved Bazil's ancestor back in the day, which is why Bazil believed that he was meant to save Corwin. It was the classic case of returning the favor, and these complications, as Erdrich puts it, are simply parts of the complex tribal justice system.
Conclusively, a writer’s sole responsibility is to deliver a clear message for the readers to comprehend. Literature, therefore, is not autonomous and cannot firmly stand on its own. Without societal interactions, literature ceases to exist. For this reason, literature is often woven into the social-political fabrics of the society, which shapes ideologies and social structures. In law, literature is as crucial as the law doctrines themselves. Many writers portray a variety of legal topics in which readers can relate to the occurrences of today. One of those writers is Louise Erdrich. In her work of The Round House and The Plague of Doves , the writer uses characters to explore different topics revolving around justice. Some of the significant legal themes are wild justice, justice denial, and natural justice. From the scenarios of Mooshum, Louis Riel, Linden Lark, and Bazil, Louise Erdrich portrays the themes as well as, how legal liminalities occur due to a collision of the tribal, state, and federal legal systems.
References
Erdrich, L. (2009). The Plague of Doves . HarperCollins.
Erdrich, L. (2013). The Round House . London, England: Hachette UK.
