Canada's history in a large part is the history of the colonization of aboriginal peoples. Female artists during this time were struggling to find their own identity in a society where artistic topics and styles are mainly determined by their male counter parts. Emily Carr was an artist that was deeply influenced by aboriginal populations in the Pacific Northwest, Canada. Her transformation into accepting the aboriginal way of life is depicted in Klee Wych. Emily Carr's rebellion against the male dominated Victorian society is initiated by the unwelcoming environment of the missionaries in Ucluelet, leading to her self-identification with the aboriginals and appropriation of their culture. .
The uninviting missionaries and the repressing environment she encountered in Ucluelet, drives Carr's identification with the aboriginal people. When she first arrived at Ucluelet she encounters the mission house, which is named "Toxis " (31). "The house was of wood, unpainted. There were no blinds or curtains. It looked, as we paddled up to it, as if it were stuffed with black " (31). The name itself lends the reader to believe that it is a poisonous place. The fact that the house is unpainted and stuffed with black indicates individuality is not fostered here. When Carr meets the children attending the school, the scene is described, as "there was full attendance at the school because visitors were rare. After the Lord's Prayer the Missionaries duetted a hymn while the children stared at me. When the Missionary put A, B, C on the board the children began squirming out of their desks and pattering down to the drinking bucket. The dipper registered each drink with a clank when they threw it back " (34). The children staring, indicates they don't have much contact with outside world. Children running to the water bucket symbolizes that they hate what is being taught and they need to wash out their mouths of the poison they are being fed by the missionaries.
