Comparing Mythologies

In Comparing Mythologies, Tomson Highway addresses a theme that is central to many of his critically acclaimed plays and novels: the ways in which contemporary Canadian culture is shaped by a mixture of Aboriginal and Western mythologies. Like many Native writers, Highway is fascinated by the resilience and vitality of North American Aboriginal cultures, many of which are grounded in a matriarchal tradition. What interests him is not merely the differences between these cultures, but the ways that inherited beliefs enable Native communities to cope with the cultural and social challenges facing them today. Highway explores these themes with great poetic eloquence.