In The Last of the Siraya by Howard Goldblatt
I believe ingenious people not only in Asia have, for centuries, faced land injustices and unlawful sentences from settlers who have always come disguised as helpers. Reading these articles has made me correlate with other materials that I have randomly come across the Indian in the United States. The IP continues to face injustices and challenges from accessing their ancestral lands and space, which have been classified as national government lands. However, I think that there the law has been formulated to lock the indigenous people (IP) out of the lands by assuming that their traditions are uncivilized and outdated.
In The Last of the Siraya by Howard Goldblatt, we can see Yinhua, who comes from the indigenous community living in a settlement together with her MA (father) and NA (mother) with worries about meeting basic needs. However, the Japanese family where Second Young Master came from was well renown and possessed the land of the Siraya tribe, and in turn, they were taking rent from the people who are initially owners. It is a tricky situation because the Siraya are not only alienated from their land, but they were forcefully made to pay for staying in a limited space to the land that their ancestor occupied.
Religion is another factor that has played a significant role in both The Last of the Siraya and Last Hunter because we can see that the Bible has been used to enslave the indigenous people further. Biyari and Yinhua are Christians and strongly attended the church every Sunday, and that has made them think that their way customs and traditions are more outdated and stupid compared to those of the settlers. The reality is witnessed because soon, Yinhua realizes that the modern world is not so unique and beautiful as she previously thought, and that makes her want to go back to her traditional life. From my point of view, Yinhua depicts the bitter fact that the settlers did not come to “help” the indigenous people but were more concerned in their land and labor.
I think indigenous people have suffered in the hands of settlers who approached them with a religion that rules out their traditions ads evil and cursed. Religion was used as a tool to enslave the settlers both mentally and physically, which paved the way for the settlers to possess their land and turn the IP into beggars, thus forcing them to work for them to meet a basic need. The atrocities afflicted to the original owners in Asia and America is worrying factor when it comes to fundamental human rights and freedom. In conclusion, I think the only way that the indigenous people can fully be free is by the government, giving them back their ancestral land and formulating new laws that protect their rights and interests.