Authenticity is defined by the Oxford English dictionary as the quality of being real or true. Authentic voices come from people who are well educated in their respective fields, those that have the capacity to be real and true. When looking for authenticity in authors, I wonder if they have extensive knowledge of their text’s topic. Personally I believe authentic Indigenous writers are writers who have connections with Indigenous communities, these include authors who grew up in these communities and those who have connected with their heritage later in life. Eden Robinson is an authentic voice because she knows what she's writing about. All the work I have read from her is set in Vancouver or around Vancouver. I trust her to describe BC to…show more content… In Traplines, specifically “Queen of the North” she writes Haisla characters. This demonstrates Eden Robinsons authenticity as an Indigenous author, she almost always writes about Haisla people, using her experience growing up in a Haisla community and as a Haisla woman to write accurate and complex characters. In the novel I read, Blood Sports, is tough to define as an Indigenous piece of literature. It is a novel that originated as a short story, a part of a collection called Traplines. It is implied throughout Traplines that the stories are about Indigenous families and their issues caused by generational trauma and abuse. Because of this, I can infer that the main character of Blood Sports, Tom, and his family are indigenous. Though, I do not feel confident doing this, assuming they are indigenous. Their last name is German in origin, Bauer, and there are no clues or indications in the original short story or the novel that point to their heritage. I also feel that making this assumption is unfair and could generalize First Nations people. This story is very violent and many of the characters are drug and alcohol abusers, I would go as far as to say the story is extremely
