Becoming White Otter: Constructing Whiteness between Canada and Czechoslovakia

ThisCanada article discusses theSchormová, Františka novel Bílá vydra (WhiteWhiteness OtterWhite Otter) (1977) by CzechCzech Republic author Josef KutíkKutík, Josef. It focuses on the construction of Whiteness in the novel and challenges the narrative of a special relationship between the Czechs and the Indigenous inhabitants of the North American continent. First, it lays out the context of the novel, especially the background of the “rodokapsRodokaps” genre and its tradition in the Czech Republic and Czechoslovakia, placing White Otter within the renewal of the genre, which started in the second half of the 1960s. After a brief summary of the plot, the paper examines the ecosystem of national, ethnic, and racialRace consciousness underlying the exchanges between characters in the novel. It argues that it is these characters’ speech—and their ability to learn English—that plays a significant part in determining their (non)Whiteness. Finally, the article looks at the connection between nature and the Indigenous inhabitants of the North American continent as it is depicted in the novel, especially in relation to the coming-of-ageComing-of-age journey of the protagonist, and maintains that White Otter reveals what the received narratives of Czechs and “Indians” leave out—the importance of the White/non-White divide at the heart of the Czech interest in Indigenous people.