Analyzing the Mythical Character in 'An Athabasca Story' by Cariou

This essay provides an in-depth analysis of the mythical character, Elder Brother, in Warren Cariou's 'An Athabasca Story'. The essay explores the Elder Brother's role as a resistance figure against colonial oppression and the destructive exploitation of the environment, particularly the Athabasca tar sands. The narrative highlights the clash between indigenous communities and external forces, illustrating the devastating impact of resource extraction and the importance of environmental awareness. The essay examines the Elder Brother's symbolic representation of nature's voice and the consequences of disregarding the land's warnings. Furthermore, it discusses the historical context of colonization, tracing the evolution of trade and the lasting ecological damage. The essay concludes by emphasizing the need for systemic change and a re-evaluation of the relationship between humanity and the natural world, echoing the plea of the Elder Brother and Mother Nature for compassion and sustainability.

Running Head : ENGLISH ESSAY

Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

A mythical entity that is a resistance figure in “An Athabasca Story” against the colonial
oppression.
In Warren Cariou’ “An Athabasca Story”, there is a plethora of questions on the role the
elder brother plays and it is quite obvious that the brother’ figure is the most important one. The
narrator through this story tries to depict that man is excessively using the resources of the earth
that can end up in something outrageous. The primary aim of the story is to narrate that the earth
has already started heating and man should be aware of it as soon as possible limiting their ways
of activities of extracting resources. In this essay, the mythical character portrayed in the story
will be outlined and examined that was against the colonial oppression and destruction of the
earth.
The story revolves around a cold day, when the protagonist (elder brother) walks through
the jungle alone, looking for food and shelter. The protagonist, is of indigenous origin, unaware
of the advancements in the outer world. He walks quiet for some time until he smells some
smoke nearby. He meets a man there, who convinces him that he’s been using a special type of
fuel for the fire that he had found on the land where they stand : “It was smoke, almost certainly,
though a kind of smoke he’d never encountered before. And though it was not a pleasant odour
at all….. he knew that it meant warmth”.(Cariou, 70). He says they’ll burn enough of the fuel so
that the winter never ever comes back again and so they’d have less suffering. Naïve elder
brother believes in the words of this man.
A “company” from the outer world had found Athabasca tar dirt in their land, the land
where his ancestors lived, and the land which they worshipped. The outsiders were taking away
what is rightfully theirs. With this thought, the main character fights for the “magical dirt” even

after being threatened to be thrown out by security guards. Clearly, Athabasca was colonized for
profit by the outsider companies. However, elder brother only wanted to take enough of the fuel
to survive the winter and “wanted to stay far away from the beats themselves because they didn’t
look the least bit hospitable…… he could see each of them giving off its own smaller stream of
smoke” (Cariou, 71). Taking his life into his palm, he went for a comparatively remote area to
carry as much as he could of the tar. There, he heard a voice. The voice of Mother Nature, asking
him to stop.
The voice must have appealed to the people of the company too, screaming for
compassion but no one listened. Colonization is not only a torture on the tribal people but on
nature, the most. The elder brother depicts a naïve character in the story, which is quite natural of
the indigenous tribal people : “His stomach was like the shrunken dried crop of a partridge. It
rattled around inside him as he walked, and with each step he took the sound made him shiver
even more” (Cariou, 70). He raises a voice against the colonizers stripping off his land of the
natural resources. In fact, he also plays a mythical role as it is seen in the last portion of the story.
He lives in the fuel man uses from day to day. He shouts for help. To be let out. To be not burnt.
But none ever listens to his cry. His soul has been trapped inside ever since he was succumbed
by Mother Nature. Though his mortal body is dead, his soul still begs for mercy.
In this story, warren speaks of the trade of tar tracing back to the Russian fur traders, the
British traders to the American trader. The colossal damage those traders caused to the
ecological system there is beyond repair, at least for the near future. They claimed their business
to be sustainable, but the results were not even close to the word mentioned. Colonization only
brings destruction and the elder brother remains an epitome of the protest “you might hear a
knocking, rattling sound down deep in the bowels of the machine. Thats Elder Brother, trying to

get your attention, begging you to let him out” (Cariou, 75). The profit of some powerful
humans ultimately leads to the loss of everyone else in the long-run. The chaos it brings is often
death, of people like elder brother. It is the hearts of the colonizers which has fossilized over the
years. The damage elder brother intended to do to Mother Nature, wasn’t even close to what the
colonizers did. Still, it was him who paid off his life while the outsiders get to enjoy their lives
off the money they made from selling the fuel. It has always been this way. The ones who should
pay the penalty don’t do so. The ones who suffer are the innocent ones.
They used human beings as resource to fulfill their needs. As in the case of Athabasca,
where this particular story is based, the companies extracted the tar dirt beneficially, not
worrying about the damages caused to nature that the brother protested “ Don’t worry, I’ll move
aside, But before I go, I just want to know one thing: what are you doing with all that
earth?”(Cariou, 72) They used the Athabasca tribal people, which provided cheap labor. The
labors weren’t provided with education and proper clothing. Their livelihood remained difficult
even after being in touch with the modern world, however little it might be. Numerous people
died due to the exposure to contaminants. They run pipes that cut through the tribal settlements
across many parts of the country, resulting to various troubles for the Indigenous people living
there.
Colonizing these areas uproots the people from their homeland, leaving them homeless
and foodless as well. The contaminants are disposed of into the water bodies, thus poisoning the
water along with the organisms in it. The fight is not just for nature, it is a fight for humanity, for
the rights of those people who are closest to nature. The fight is also not just against a particular
section of the modern society, it is against the whole system. The system that allows the

destruction even after knowing all the outcomes of it. The system that kills humans before their
time. The system that has lost humanity.
In short, it can be said that the mythical character, which is the soul of Elder brother, a
native of the Athabasca delta region, demands the same parts for his motherland. He wants his
home to be free from these outsiders. Not only this, he also wants the reckless industrialization to
stop, wherever it might be. The exploitation of nature and its resources has to stop. The system
has to change for the better. This is what the voice demanded. The voice of elder brother in
resonance with the voice of Mother Nature. Everything has pros and cons but the cons of
colonization exceed the pros of it by far. The powerful people holding high positions in the
modern system need to understand the issues and see beyond the profits of the ongoing
processes.

Reference
Cariou, Warren. "An Athabasca Story." Lake-Journal of Arts and Environment 7 (2012): 70-75.