In my web searches, I discovered a book called Living on the Land that explores the knowledge of Indigenous women that has been largely overlooked by patriarchy-informed Western research. I have not yet had the time to read the book, but have added it to my reading list for the future. The podcast below discusses Living on the Land and the stories within.
Tag Archives: book
Module 3: Post 5 – Chelsea Vowel
Chelsea Vowel’s Indigenous Rights discusses five different interrelated themes:
- The terminology of relationships
- Culture and identity
- Myth-busting
- State violence
- Land, Learning, Law, and Treaties
This book is an excellent guide for addressing pre-conceived notions about Indigenous People. The book is primarily about the relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples. Throughout my studies of Indigenous education, I have realized that it is essential to reflect on what it means to be a settler and my role within my relationship with Indigenous people.
One of my favourite sections of Vowel’s book is “Myth-busting.” As I live in rural Saskatchewan, I have heard all the myths Vowel discusses in her book. Vowel provides factual information on how and why these myths are false and equips the reader with the knowledge to confront those myths. I found an online keynote that Chelsea Vowel gave titled Stories that Reveal, Stories that Conceal: Pushing back against Settler Myth-Making. In her keynote, Chelsea talks about the work that needs to be done with recognizing truth before we move forward with reconciliation.
Chelsea Vowel’s book and speech are relevant to my research topic because she discusses the inaccessibility of language. She discusses how many Indigenous languages are within Universities and how it is essential to return the languages to their home communities. Chelsea Vowel also shares how through social media and blogging was able to make her message more accessible to more people. Chelsea shares the myth in her keynote that many believe that the kinship that Indigenous people have that is beyond just with humans, that extends to animals, non-living, and spiritual beings is something that is based in the past. She discusses how that idea is false; it is current and relevant and that Indigenous people can carry this idea far into the future in a sustainable way.
The following link provides online access to part 1 of Chelsea Vowel’s book: https://www.portageandmainpress.com/content/download/17819/220849/version/1/file/9781553796800_IndigenousWrites_excerpt.pdf
module 3: post 3 – The Clay we are made of
I found this 2017 book: The Clay We Are Made Of: Haudenosaunee Land Tenure on the Grand River by Susan M. Hill on Canada Commons.
Although I haven’t read the entire book yet, it provides a great history of the Six Nations of the Grand River (the peoples I am focussing on for my final project). It doesn’t focus on education, but there is some info on education. For example, this thought-provoking passage:
The TRC’s call understandably emphasizes education and related institutions. For Six Nations, there is certainly a need to address the direct impacts of the residential school system on the community, especially for the remaining survivors and their direct descendants. However, as many Indigenous people across Canada (and beyond) suggest, the effects are much further-reaching, and the mentality that brought about residential schooling also altered fundamental ideas held by Indigenous people about education, particularly in how it relates to Indigenous Knowledge/Original Teachings. The primary conduits for traditional Native education are the Native languages of the people. The attack on Indigenous languages by the residential school system and related policy initiatives is the most measurable in terms of impact. Therefore, upon embarking on reconciliation, the most assessable area of improvement could be language revitalization (for those communities who deem it a key goal of reconciliation). Fewer than 1 percent of all Grand River Haudenosaunee are now fluent in any of their original languages, but there is a great desire to regain fluency.
Alongside clearly articulated goals for Haudenosaunee language revitalization are aspirations for community-controlled education for the Six Nations community as well as adequate financial support to access quality educational opportunities inside and outside the community; this is relevant for all levels of education, from pre-school through doctoral studies. Many community-based thinkers have suggested this could easily be financed through land claims resolution. [emphasis added]