A Land Remembered

In the book, A Land Remembered by Patrick Smith, I chose the character Solomon MacIvey.  This character is from the first chapter and takes place in Miami, Florida in 1968.  This character is an older man who is wealthy based on his empire-building career.  He built hotels and banks and other kinds of businesses.  He has a half brother who is Native American that lives on a reservation.  MacIvey's father was Native American and his mother was white.  He chose to make his career based on his mothers side to build on the land instead of preserving it.  Towards the end he knows that he was wrong by building all of the buildings that he created instead of preserving the land and the animals.  Towards his last few days he returns to this cabin that his father built.  On his way there he stops and visits his half brother Toby Cypress and makes peace with him.  MacIvey tells him that he made a mistake building his empire on the land and destroying it.  MacIvey's role in this novel is to make a point to people that building on a lot of land can hurt it and the animals that live on it.

http://nativeappropriations.com/2012/02/bon-ivers-towers-a-tribute-to-native-american-preservation-land.html 

The relationship between MacIvey and the environment is that he has a sensitive feeling towards it and cares about it.  He knows that in the end he made a mistake by building his empire on the land and how it affects people like his brother who is Native American.  His brother lives on a reservation because of all of the building that were created on their land.  MacIvey is sad in the end that he was a part of destroying the land that the Native Americans once lived on and the animals as well.  The relationship between MacIvey and the natural world is also a closed feeling.  This world has a lot of reservations now because of people like MacIvey creating more and more buildings on the land and basically took over the Native American lives.

http://www.loc.gov/teachers/classroommaterials/lessons/reservation/ 

The character MacIvey experiences his strong sense of place when he knows he only has a few days left to live.  When he knows he is going to pass soon, he realizes that his real sense of place is not in his mansion in Miami, but in his fathers cabin out near the reservation that his brother lives on.  There he feels most comfortable and at home.  The legacy that MacIvey left behind to others was that building these empires on the land of Native Americans isn't right.  Making them move and live on a reservation is just simply wrong and unfair.

http://www.glogster.com/mmacquarrie/indian-reservations-in-the-u-s-/g-6lg7nisunokv8mmf9ov1ua0 

I relate to the character MacIvey because  I also do not think it is fair or right to take the land of Native Americans and put them on reservations to live.  In the end we think about the land, the animals, the Native Americans and how it isn't fair to do what we have done to them now.  If they own a certain type of land then we should leave it be.  We can build on other sections of land because we need to live too.  But this doesn't mean to take all of the land away from the Native Americans and the animals and plants that live on it already.

http://foremostcanada.com/environment-responsibilities/