FEASTS, FAMINE, AND FLESH: EXAMINING THE EROTICS AND POLITICS OF FOOD IN THE BIRCHBARK HOUSE SERIES

Abstract

This paper explores the complex roles of food in the first three novels of Louise Erdrich’s The Birchbark House series. By analyzing the dual lenses of politics and erotics, the study delves into how food operates both as a tool of survival and as a symbol of cultural resistance, identity, and intimacy. The political dimensions focus on the struggles for autonomy over resources and traditional foodways in the face of colonial disruption, revealing food as a site of power dynamics, community resilience, and environmental stewardship. The erotics of food, on the other hand, investigates the sensual, emotional, and intimate connections fostered through the processes of preparing, sharing and consuming food, underscoring its role in enforcing familial and communal bonds. Through a close examination of feasts, famine, and the metaphorical role of flesh, this paper argues that food is central to both the physical and emotional survival of the Ojibwe people. By interweaving the politics and erotics of food, Erdrich highlights the vital relationship between sustenance, power, and intimacy in indigenous life, portraying food as a nexus of both resistance and continuity for the Ojibwe people.