Our team’s research began with Alison Calder’s “What Happened to Regionalism” and her ideas that “Postmodern conceptions of place suggest that it is composed of simultaneously intersecting complementary and competing forces that shift constantly depending on an individual’s relation to them” and that a variety of “factors combine uniquely in particular locations” (114). Our team has approached intervention by researching articles, videos, and images that not only bring awareness to the generalized and stereotyped images of Indigenous peoples, but that also present ideas of how to change these disrespectful images portrayed by literature and media. In order to replace negative images that erase specific identities of Indigenous peoples, individual voices need to be heard. A step towards making individual voices heard, is promoting education about Indigenous peoples in order to overcome ignorance. Through our exploration of literature and media we have discovered that understanding and emphasizing the relationship between place and identity within Indigenous culture is crucial because people, like places, are unique.
While many people like to believe we live in a time that is “post-colonization”, that notion is not completely accurate, because all over North American colonizing narratives have been shaping societies; subjugating, marginalizing and stealing Indigenous peoples identities, cultures, and voices. Through our conference, we discussed the perpetuation of Indigenous stereotypes and generalizations, and found that they not only dehumanize and belittled Indigenous culture and communities, but they also hinder Indigenous individuals from acknowledged participation in mainstream literature, academia and knowledge-making. Our reaction to these issues is that intervention is long overdue. And through our research and dialogue we have come up with an educational based intervention strategy that is targeted specifically at the issues of misrepresentation, generalization, and exclusion of Indigenous peoples in mainstream literature and media. Our intervention strategy calls for a range of action; from overt movements, such as, elementary curriculum renovation and deliberate epistemic change, to more subtle approaches, such as, the recontextualization of literature in its specificity of place. We hope that an inclusive education of future generations combined with a deliberate and comprehensive reeducation of current publics, will help create an atmosphere where all society is not just attentive to Indigenous voices, but is actively listening to what they have to say.
We can expand on our research thus far, by examining the specific ways of incorporating First Nations thinking into modern classrooms, and the ways in which we can include culturally different ways of thinking into our own understanding. The images of First Nations generalization is still seen throughout media and society; the NFL team “Washington Redskins,” the MLB team “Cleveland Indians,” and the “traditional ‘Cowboys and Indians’ film genre, to name a few, are still circulating through media and continue to provide a generalized and negative image of the First Nations people. Introducing education doesn’t necessarily change the generalization and misrepresentation that has already occurred, to further our research we would continue to discover ways in which we as a society can change these “traditions.” Furthermore, the best way for others to become involved in our research is to join the discussion; by creating avenues of discourse, the ideas of this conference have the ability to expand and develop. If you give a voice to those who have been generalized and marginalized, you give them the power to break stereotypes and alter perspectives.
One of the interventions discussed in our research was to expand the quality of education and curricula reform so students learn to value, appreciate, and respect First Nations knowledge and knowledge from a very young age. We concluded that curricula reform would potentially teach children that there are vast amounts of knowledge and cultures in Aboriginal communities. Therefore, children will grow up to understand this diversity in their cultures and not only think that there is one type of “indian”. There are many ways in which the current system could improve its incorporation of Indigenous knowledge. The first step is to listen and avoid confrontation because relationships between people are much more important. Listening to how other cultures interact with others and what they believe in is the first step to understanding where they are coming from. Further research could include finding specific ways in which this education can be reformed. We must ask ourselves the question of how Indigenous cultures could be incorporated seamlessly into our children’s education. We must instill in them from a young age that there are many different Aboriginal communities and staff of the institutions must understand this as well. Staff have to be welcoming and supportive of Indigenous studies and relationships. By further researching and implementing these methods for quality education, we can all expect an improvement in the integration of First Nations into our communities.
Summary of our research, dialogue and intervention strategy:
For Indigenous people “Land is deeply intertwined with identity” and “Concepts of territory, traditions, and customs are not divisible”, but Canadian literature has failed to reveal this as generalizations and stereotypes have continuously been emphasized. A connection between individual Indigenous people and their specific places that shapes their traditions, beliefs, values, identities, and stories because place is intertwined with identity. Alison Calder argues that postmodern places are composed of competing and complementary forces that change depending on an individual’s relationship with them.
Our team’s research has explored how place and identity are connected, how place has been neglected in Canadian literature and media, and how the importance of specific places, in regards to Indigenous identities, can be emphasized again. Additionally, we had found that Team Coyote’s examination compliments our own as they had been inquiring about on the significance of place as well.
Our team aimed to highlight ways in which the important connection between place and identity can be promoted in Canadian literature through our research and discussions. We desired to change the narrative of the First Nations of Canada. We wanted to moreover understand the connections that exist between place and identity, and the ways in which this connection can be utilized in modern understanding. Our aim was to focus on articles that promote the development of education and communication throughout all systems and demographics. Our team’s goal is that ultimately our discussion will create a ripple effect for the rest of society to be open in a change of perspective.
The issue with popularizing European narratives of First Nations people means that society is learning about these cultures from second hand, and potentially ignorant sources. In our intervention strategies, we highlighted the ways in which quality education on the First Nations people of Canada benefits everyone. Furthermore, Sarah brought up a good point about the difficult of changing western epistemological frameworks. The act of moving away from these western frameworks is not a sudden occurrence, but will take a lot of time to accomplish. Furthermore, another intervention strategy we explored was that Canadian literary analysis should be grounded in the specificity of place instead of relying on generalizations, which will result will regain its connection to the Indigenous cultures, traditions and stories that came before it. Ultimately, giving First Nations voices a more prominent position in mainstream literature, and subliminally reeducating the masses through exposure to Indigenous identities will benefit everybody.
Works Cited:
Buggey, Susan. An Approach to Aboriginal Cultural Landscapes. Ottawa: Historic Sitesand Monuments Board of Canada, Mar. 1999. PDF. Accessed 7 Dec. 2016.
Calder, Alison. “What Happened to Regionalism?” Canadian Literary Studies 204 (2010): 113-14. Web. Accessed 7 Dec. 2016.
Coleman, Daniel. “Epistemic Justice, CanLit, and the Politics of Respect.” Canadian Literature: A Quarterly Review and Criticism 204 (2010): 124-26. Canlit.ca. Web. Accessed 7 Dec. 2016.