Na Viro and Colonization

Liliana Norris

Dr. Ellis

EN 376

18 September 2023

Na Viro Reflection

            In this final third of the story, Cole examines several themes and conflicts in the text. As we discussed earlier in class, Cole provokingly presents an indigenous person as the main perpetrator or colonial violence in Dani’s character. While the story focuses on Tia, I found myself more drawn to her mother. What were Dani’s motivations? Although raised in touch with her culture (I assume since Bubu Keleni raised Tia and Leilani this way), Dani stands firmly with The Academy. After Tia imprisons her, Leilani comes to speak with her mother. Here we see Dani’s pathetic attempt at manipulation, her pleading to her daughters that “‘there are some things you don’t know’” (258). But what, exactly?

            It seems easy to write off Dani as an evil villain, an instrument of the strangely omnipotent Academy. But why does Dani do what she does? She maintains that the exo-ore is essential to life on Earth, and thus they must retrieve it. If this were true, here lies a parallel between the modern day and this futuristic world. Both in past eras of colonialism and the present, colonial powers have sought oil to fuel our privileged lives on Earth. While oil might not be sacred to those in those countries, the land or life surrounding these deposits often holds significance. And, just as in Na Viro, the colonizers refuse to do the work in either treating these countries and peoples that hold these reserves or investing in their own countries and communities.

            Dani commits herself to this mission at the cost of her closest relationships. In fact, all of her family works actively against her. Did she perhaps feel lost in her own culture? Did she find comfort in the straightforward yet ambitious goals of the Academy? Perhaps the past atrocities on Earth, such as the Water Wars or the effects of climate change traumatized Dani. From this, she rejected her culture as a source of weakness and vulnerability. The Academy offered her a way to exert control over her own life—and others. Finally, she could feel secure with no invulnerabilities like a family or a culture. Although she made this choice, it clearly still haunts her as seen in when her fantasies. At one point, Tia observes another one of Dani’s imaginings where she’s not only connected to the water, but to Tia as well: “Small waves lapped over her large stomach. She floated on the water, her heartbeat at one with the gentle swells…” (222). I desperately want to know: what changed? Instead of closure, we see Dani killed by her own daughter as the book concludes. Tia barely processes this before we skip forward in time, back to a thriving Earth. But I still want to know: why? 

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