Truganini

We discussed in class whether or not it is alright to put yourself in another person's or people's shoes and write about their culture. No one can really answer that, because it is a matter of opinion. The discussion was brought on by “Truganini”, a poem.
The poet puts herself in the shoes of an Aborigine, the last one to be specific. Should a Native American person, who did not live that life, put herself in those shoes? I think it's o.k.
This is because these people are no longer around, there could only be a limited amount of research done. She couldn't have lived among the people to get a better grasp on it, so I think she did what she could with what she had, and she ran with it.
I don't think it's a bad thing to get out your feelings, and obviously, she had some feelings about this people, or the poem wouldn't have been written. Maybe she related to them. You can't deny that there are certain similarities in the way they lived/were treated.
I stand on the “it's o.k.” side of this debate.