Tracking ungulate woman: adaptations of being in balance and survivance in the face of MMIWG2S
-
Moffett, Raven [1]
-
[1] University of Arizona
University of Arizona
Estados Unidos
-
- Localización: REDEN [Nueva época]: Revista Española de Estudios Norteamericanos, ISSN-e 2695-4168, Vol. 7, Nº. 2, 2026, págs. 36-56
- Idioma: inglés
- Enlaces
-
Resumen
This paper examines contemporary adaptations of Elk Woman/Deer Woman stories across multiple Indigenous nations as acts of survivance, confronting the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls, and Two-Spirit people (MMIWG2S) crisis. Analysis of Paula Gunn Allen's 1991 short story "Deer Woman," the 2017 comic anthology Deer Woman: An Anthology, and select episodes from Reservation Dogs (2021-2023), demonstrates how traditional cautionary tales are adapted into urgent narratives of Indigenous resistance and healing. The study applies Linda Hutcheon's adaptation theory to Indigenous oral storytelling contexts, arguing that these dispersed narratives transcend conventional medium categories through their emphasis on deep listening, community responsibility, and audience participation. Contemporary adaptations invert traditional story structures—rather than spiriting away unbalanced individuals, Deer Woman now protects Indigenous women by eliminating perpetrators of violence. These works visualize Indigenous agency and sovereignty while addressing historical trauma from boarding schools and ongoing colonial violence. Analysis of the above-mentioned sources emphasizes that adaptation itself functions as survivance, keeping traditional stories alive through contemporary forms and addressing current crises. Through collaborative creation, accessible distribution, and formal structures mirroring oral tradition's participatory nature, these comic and TV series adaptations activate both individual healing and cultural continuity, demonstrating how traditional knowledge systems inform contemporary Indigenous responses to systemic violence.
