“Jagged Worldviews Colliding” is an article written by veteran educator and renowned academic Leroy Little Bear, who was influential in contributing to the publications of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples in the area of criminal justice issues. “Jagged Worldviews Colliding” discusses the importance of the Aboriginal and Eurocentric worldviews, and “[n]o matter how dominant a worldview is, there are always other ways of interpreting the world” (77). Bear’s participation in the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples investigation on answering the question: What are the foundations of a fair and honorable relationship between the Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal people of Canada? is noted throughout his article, but first argued against by the cultures’ differences. Bear makes it clear that cultures work in opposition to each other in order to clarify their specific values, traditions and beliefs, which are influential in the teaching and learning of both cultures. Bear analyzes the two cultures: focusing on the wholeness, social organization, and sharing of the Aboriginal culture–and focusing on the linear, hierarchical and social control of the Eurocentric culture. By concentrating on these aspects Bear brings attention to the fact that both cultures values are greatly influenced by their location: North America and Europe, and raises the question on whether the values would change if the locations were switched. This article is useful for my group’s research in two ways: 1) for displaying the personal interpretation of the collective cultural code from worldviews based on the roots of its culture, cultures grounded on location. 2) for emphasizing how the locations of these two cultures ultimately influences the oppressing, narrow-mind set, colonialism that places one culture above the other, which is passed down through stories and beliefs.
Works Cited
Bear, Leroy Little. “Jagged worldviews colliding.” Reclaiming Indigenous voice and vision (2000): 77-85
“Indspire | Leroy Little Bear.” Indspire, Accessed 27 Nov 2016. indspire.ca/laureate/leroy-little-bear/
“Renewing the Relationship: Key Documents.” Government of Canada; Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada, Accessed 27 Nov 2016. www.aadnc-aandc.gc.ca/eng/1307458586498/1307458751962.
Greg Bechtel is a Writing Studies Instructor in the University of Alberta. He is also the author of Boundary Problems, a book of genre-bending stories where the characters struggle to make sense of the “events that overtake them.” Bechtel mentions in this interview that he values the “recognition and expansion” of the “uncertain nature of reality”–similar to what he coins as “syncretic fantasy” or John Clute’s concept, a fantasy that may involve many cultures and “blends multiple worldviews and perceptions of reality in a single narrative.”
It is in this retelling of Lionel’s narrative that we understand how he is trapped in his past mistakes via his First mistake of adapting John Wayne, the Western hero of Indian film, as his childhood role model (207). Similarly, Eli, Charlie, and Portland “find themselves trapped by the Stories that have come to dominate their worlds, defining themselves as either ‘Indian’ or ‘not-Indian’ in terms congruent with the popular imagination” (208). Bechtel argues that it is syncretic fantasy that depicts these struggles and where the characters eventually come to terms with a more complete version of ‘reality.’ Another case in point of the subversion of Western creation stories into myth-like narratives is ‘recolonized’ in the sense where “the story of a racially indeterminate female protagonist…is interrupted by a series of externally imposed Western-canonical stories and finally brought to a halt by the forceful redefinition of ‘woman’ to ‘Indian’ by armed colonial forces” (212-213). These examples may emphasize the constantly transforming meanings of what land, home, and other dominant concepts of Western cultures are to the GGRW characters, as more of a fluid concept that can be retold over and over until it is right, as something of a struggling battle for younger generations to maneuver through.
In the article, Bechtel analyzes the concepts of fantasy, reality and imaginations in terms of GGRW. Moreover, the intersections between fantasy in the narratives of the characters and their affected realities serve as a form of healing. As King says there are no truths, only stories, Bechtel argues that in the same sense: “the type of fantasy that Recognizes the world itself as a told tale and uses the Recognition as a strategy for directly re-telling (and liberating) the Story which is the World” (208). As GGRW readers we are equally regarding ourselves into the space of the characters and the Native traditions that are being reclaimed.
Works Cited
“Greg Bechtel.” Boundary Problems by Greg Bechtel, gregbechtel.ca/boundary-problems. “Greg Bechtel.” University of Alberta, http://www.writing.ualberta.ca/en/Writing%20Studies%20Instructors/GregB.aspx.
Biography.com Editors. “John Wayne Biography.” The Biography.com website, A&E Television Networks, 7 July 2014, http://www.biography.com/people/john-wayne-9525664.
King, Thomas. Green Grass Running Water. Toronto: Harper Collins, 1993. Print.
Samatar, Sofia. “Interview with Greg Bechtel.” CMW Journal, Vol. 7, No. 3, 20 July 2015, http://www.mennonitewriting.org/journal/7/3/interview-greg-bechtel/#all.
Dr. Klaus Benesch is a German, English and American studies professor whose focus is in areas such as urbanism, visual cultures, ethnic literature and diaspora studies. In his article titled “Space, Place, Narrative: Critical Regionalism and the idea of Home in a Global Age” Benesch explores the differing ideologies of cultures steeped in tradition versus those of more modernized cultures with globalizing agendas. His thesis- through my understanding- is that this concept of home (which is essential to humanity) is easily lost through modernization, in the sense that it promotes a lack of dwelling, which makes people feeling like strangers and outsiders (105). According to Benesch, regionalism takes on a special relationship between people and place, and emphasizes that places and territory are not an objective idea, but instead something that is created through imagination. This sentiment is very important to our area of research because it shows how place and location are something that we mentally develop and inherit. Our ideas of home and the places in which we call our homes are taught to us and passed down through generations. The spaces in which we grow up affect the way in which we understand this concept. One of the most interesting points that I understood from Benesch is the perception that more local cultures (Indigenous cultures) are progressive and are subject to “rejuvenation and renewal” (99). This type of renewal is important in order to create dynamic and impactful narratives. Narratives are the way in which we share our impressions of the spaces that we inhabit, so this supports our research that is rooted in the importance of our inherited native traditions and their long-term effect on our world-view. Benesch astutely shows that “the map is not the territory, and places do not exist for and on their own. And because both places and the idea of home are concepts, culled from the imagination, it is narratives “that tell us how to live properly, with and in them” (107).
Works Cited
Benesch, Klaus. “Space, Place, Narrative: Critical Regionalism and the Idea of Home in a Global Age.” Zeitschrift für Anglistik und Amerikanistik, vol. 64, no.1, 2016., pp. 93-108.
Hanson, Erin. “Oral Traditions.” First Nations & Indigenous Studies, indigenousfoundations.arts.ubc.ca/home/culture/oral-traditions.html. Accessed 27 Nov, 2016.
Obomsawin, Alanis. “No Address” National Film Board of Canada, Accessed 27, Nov, 2016. www.nfb.ca/film/no_address/
“Regionalism.” Historica Canada, Accessed 27 Nov, 2016, www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/regionalism/
Julia Christensen is part of the UBC Geography department doing her doctoral research in homelessness in the Northwest Territories. In “Telling Stories: Exploring Research Storytelling as a Meaningful Approach to Knowledge Mobilization with Indigenous Research Collaborators and Diverse Audiences in community‐based Participatory Research” Christensen focuses on the Indigenous homeless community and uses their traditional storytelling methods as a form of community-based participatory research. Being a non-Indigenous scholar, Christensen was required to take on new forms of narrative that she was not accustomed to, and use those tools as a way to understand new methods of research. Indigenous perspectives express that “knowledge is subjective and collaboratively produced through culturally significant modes of sharing and relationships” and that storytelling is the” central medium of knowledge transmission” (232). This ideology differs from other cultural perspectives in regards to the importance of community-based storytelling and helps us understand how different forms of narrative can elicit different experiences. Our research seeks to understand how a change in cultural perspective and habits can affect one’s original ideas; Christensen proves that through unique research methods- such as personal narratives- she is able to uncover a geography of homelessness that is “implicitly tied to the social and spatial legacy of colonialism” (234). While we can see the differences between Indigenous and non-Indigenous narrative traditions, we must also refrain from allowing colonialism to shape the narratives of the homelessness, and instead allow for these narratives to flourish through the agency of Indigenous storytelling. While Christensen does exemplify positive results of mixing cultural narrative traditions, she also clarifies that it is not necessarily possible to harmonize them completely- this she shows through the example of oral storytelling, and how much of its importance is lost through transcribing (240). This is problematic, as it has the capability to inhibit Indigenous scholars in the field of literature (240).
Works Cited
Christensen, Julia. “Telling Stories: Exploring Research Storytelling as a Meaningful Approach to Knowledge Mobilization with Indigenous Research Collaborators and Diverse Audiences in community‐based Participatory Research.” The Canadian Geographer / Le Géographe canadien, vol. 56, no. 2, 2012., pp. 231-242.
Falvo, Nick. “Homelessness in Yellowknife: An Emerging Social Challenge.” The Homeless Hub, Accessed 27 Nov 2016. homelesshub.ca/yellowknife
Obomsawin, Alanis. “The People of the Kattawapiskak River” National Film Board of Canada, Accessed 27, Nov 2016. www.nfb.ca/film/people_of_kattawapiskak_river/?docs-hp_en=feature_1
Styres, S., Zinga, D., Bennett, S., & Bomberry, M. (2010). Walking in two worlds: Engaging the space between indigenous community and academia. Canadian Journal of Education, 33(3), 617-648. search.proquest.com.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/docview/848717278/fulltextPDF/E064086337364054PQ/1?accountid=14656. Accessed 27 Nov 2016.
Marlene Goldman is an English professor at the University of Toronto. She is the author of books such as Rewriting Apocalypse in Canadian Fiction, which discusses how writers have diversified stories like that of the biblical narrative and how this overall emphasizes an unforeseen side of the traumas of the “non-elect”, otherwise known as marginalized individuals.
Similarly, Goldman’s article gives insight on how King provides subversions of colonial cartography, via the analysis on three topics: 1) Fort Marion Ledger Art and the Cartography of Exile, 2) Fixing a Direction, and 3) Mapping the Sun Dance. She argues more specifically that the Sun Dance allusions in “the novel inscribes an aboriginal conception of the world in which the individuals can locate themselves at the centre of a land-based, communal, and non-hierarchical spiritual practice that involves both body and soul” (20). Characters like Lionel feel dislocated in the sense that they do not openly communicate with their family, but the center point of the novel is at the Sun Dance: “their journey to the Sun Dance entails a move away from the predictable non-Native trajectory to a non-domesticated, vital path that virtually fuses with the natural world” (33).
The Sun Dance ceremony is a time where people celebrate the Tree of Life in all spiritual manners (loss, sacrifice, prayer, etc). The circle of the Sun Dance, which is a meeting point for many of the GGRW characters, also represents another aspect of the narrative as seen in the 4 symbols or the 4 Old Indians; while these Fort Marion escapees are conveyed in the Western perspective of Dr. Hovaugh as “lost”, it is through these “restrictions imposed by Western culture” where they are able to escape and find direction, and where we begin to learn the tribal ways of understanding–one that involves earthquaking the map (King, 410-411), which arise “in pre-novelistic, oral performance contexts more closely associated with land and community” (Gray cited in Goldman, 38). In this sense, GGRW draws “the circular map of Native ritual and tradition over the space of foreign calculations” (38).
Works Cited
Goldman, Marlene. Rewriting Apocalypse in Canadian Fiction. Montreal: McGill-Queen’s UP, 2005. Print.
Ojibwa. “The Fort Marion Prisoners.” Native American Netroots, WordPress, 24 February 2012, http://nativeamericannetroots.net/diary/1269.
Windspeaker, Jennifer. “Sundance is the Ceremony of Ceremonies.” Aboriginal Multi-Media Society, Volume: 30, Issue: 6, 2012, http://www.ammsa.com/publications/windspeaker/sundance-ceremony-ceremonies.
“Department of English.” Goldman, N.p., n.d. 28 Nov. 2016, http://www.english.utoronto.ca/facultystaff/facultyprofiles/goldman.htm.
“The Sundance.” Sundance ‘Wiwang Wacipi’ the Place Where the Journey Begins. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Nov. 2016, http://www.sundanceceremonies.com/Sundance/Sundance.html.
Keahey, Deborah. Making It Home: Place in Canadian Prairie Literature. N.p.: U of Manitoba, 1998.
The Home Place in Canadian Literature is a book by Deborah Keahey that illuminates the significance of “the land” in literature as it attempts to make a place home. Keahey focuses on the work of Prairie literature authors such as Martha Ostenso and Robert Kroetsch to answer the question of whether “home” is created by “what you bring with you, or what you find when you arrive”. By asking this question Keahey asks the readers to evaluate their beliefs on the effect it has on understanding and interpreting “the land” and location in order to guide themselves to the term “home”. Keahey uses literature and the aspects of location within literature, in this case the Prairies, to acknowledge that “home” is a complicated concept. The importance of the individual view of “land” or “place”, through “their own history or cognitive structures” but understanding that “land” or “place” too is “unrestricted, and open to multiple and various readings”. Keahey highlights that culture should not replace the notion of place within literature, but instead place should be looked at through the “creations of the social, psychological and cultural relationships that people have to particular landscapes or physical spaces”. The previous quote helps my research group in focusing on the relationship between culture and literature through the aspect of location; a location that has created said cultures, and used as the center of many Canadian written stories as well as oral ones. It also puts forward the question as well as answering what the term “home” means in narratives, and most importantly what “home” means in Green Grass Running Water by Thomas King, as Eli saves his home and Lionel finds where his home is.
Works Cited
Keahey, Deborah. Making It Home: Place in Canadian Prairie Literature. N.p.: U of Manitoba, 1998.
“Martha Ostenso.” Canadian Writers, Athabasca University, Accessed 27 Nov 2016. canadian-writers.athabascau.ca/english/writers/mostenso/mostenso.php.
“Robertkroetsch.ca.” Robertkroetschca, Trans Canada Institute , Accessed 27 Nov 2016. robertkroetsch.ca/
Margaret Somers is a American sociologist and Professor of Sociology at the University of Michigan. Her scholarly work usually deals with the topics of political, economic, historical aspects of cultural sociology, as well as social theory. In her article The narrative constitution of identity: A relational and network approach Somers implores scholars to refocus their understanding of “the study of identity formation through the concept of narrative.” (605). This is due to the fact that this area of study is usually tackled through the two separate lens of identity: politics, and the concept of narrative. Thus, Somers advocates that these two separate lens should be combined in order to better understand this concept. She believes that doing this will prevent narrative identity to be assessed in purely black and white categories of race, sex, or gender, by better incorporating “dimensions of time, space, and relationality” into the subject as well. All in all, these changes have the effect of allowing scholars to better understand the social world around us by evaluating how our location affects the social narratives of our lives.
Works Cited:
“Margaret R. Somers.” Margaret R. Somers | U-M LSA Sociology. University of Michiga, n.d. Web. 08 Dec. 2016.
Rebecca Tsosie is a law professor from the University of Arizona. She is an acclaimed Indian Law and Human Rights scholar that specializes in tribal self determination as well as intellectual property rights to cultural resources. Her article Reclaiming Native Stories: An Essay on Cultural Appropriation and Cultural Rights deals with issues of cultural appropriation by the European descendants of the United States. She argues that despite the physical conflicts over land that took place between Europeans and Native Americans having ended hundreds of years ago, a conflict over this land is still taking place in the cultural realms of the country. In other words, the use of Native American stories, cultural objects, and tradition by non-Native Americans is still a way that the past conflicts of land rights come into play today. This conflict may no longer have a physical dimension, but cultural appropriation allows non Native Americans to alter stories based on their land for their own use.
Works Cited:
“Renowned Indian Law and Human Rights Scholar Rebecca Tsosie Joins Arizona Law.” UA Law. The University of Arizona, 01 June 2016. Web. 08 Dec. 2016.
BryonyRoseHeathwood
December 3, 2016 — 1:26 pm
Hi Team!
Great sources and information. I was looking at “Space, Place, Narrative: Critical Regionalism and the Idea of Home in a Global Age” and agreed with the thesis that home is so easily lost through modernization. As we wrote our own blogs on what home meant to us, it was apparent that for some us we were unable to pinpoint what home meant or that home did not mean as much as it did for others. This of course is affected by the writer and their situation but most importantly I believe through location. Our location geographically as well as mentally, emotionally, and physically alter our perspectives and understandings and it is these alterations that influence the stories we tell; the stories we tell about ourselves and where we come from.
I think it is important that we highlight the sense of “feeling like strangers and outsiders”(105) as we work with the other team and look into the stories of Residential school survivors (strangers). I agree with what has been said regarding that place and location are something that we mentally develop and inherit and that is why I want to focus greatly on the influence of the westernized thought compared to the Indigenous way of thinking. These different ways mentally alter our understanding of life. For myself, coming from the Europe, the home of the westernized culture, I have noticed how differently I view things in comparison to people in this country, especially Indigenous people. My previous location of living in England did not have access to the ways in which Indigenous people lived and believed ; this ultimately prevented me from understanding as well as passing down dynamic narratives.
BryonyRoseHeathwood
December 3, 2016 — 1:47 pm
Hi again,
“The Narrative Constitution of Identity: A Relational and Network Approach.” Discusses the narrative constitution of identity by advocates that the two separate lenses should be combined to understand the concept of narrative. I slightly disagree with this as I have learnt from an Indigenous student I study with that many Indigenous critics and thinkers do not want to be included in Canada’s multicultural nation but rather would like to see a nation-to-nation relationship between Canada and the First Nations. Would you agree with me, or disagree that if the two lenses discussed are Eurocentric and Indigenous, then should they not remain separate to understand the differences? And create the relationship that the First Nations want, rather than placing them as one? Should we not keep them separate so we can learn about what location is for Indigenous people rather than it being blended with the Eurocentric values and beliefs, whom have overpowered them in every sense for decades?
franeta94
December 5, 2016 — 9:22 am
Hi Bryony, you bring up a compelling argument regarding the differences between Eurocentric and Indigenous cultures, and why we should do our best to try and analyse them separately. In any case, I do agree that we should study these cultures as individual units. This is due to the fact that we often view the culture of First Nations people already under a Eurocentric lens, which prevents us from truly engaging and understanding who they are as a society without this more Westernized standpoint.
However, at the same time I do not believe that Somers is not trying to combine Eurocentric and Indigenous cultures in her study of the narrative identity. Rather she is trying to study each of these cultures on their own terms, by combining aspects of their identity politics with their concept of narrative. These two aspects can be combined and used to evaluate Eurocentric and Indigenous cultures separately, allowing us to view each of these societies as they are without one necessarily affecting the other.
mikauber
December 5, 2016 — 11:30 pm
Hi there,
Sorry to jump in but I found this discussion really interesting, especially when thinking about how best to find common ground between two distinct cultures. Completely merging an Indigenous perspective with a Eurocentric one seems problematic, given the history and oppressive relationship between the two groups. Yet, it also seems necessary in furthering cultural understanding. I like the idea put forth by Franco that Somers is attempting to “study each of these cultures on their own, by combining aspects of their identity politics with their concept of narrative.” I think this is a useful intersection to consider and explore further.
Thanks,
Mikayla
(Stories of Survival)
mikauber
December 6, 2016 — 12:01 am
P.S. Sorry for the name typo, Francisco!
Chloë Parkin
December 4, 2016 — 12:36 pm
Hello Team Coyote!
I enjoyed reading your annotated bibliography and the articles you have included, as you have been exploring place’s influence on identity and my team has as well. I was particularly drawn to your post on Leroy Little Bear’s “Jagged Worldviews Colliding.” I was drawn to your discussion about how “Bear analyzes the two cultures: focusing on the wholeness, social organization, and sharing of the Aboriginal culture–and focusing on the linear, hierarchical and social control of the Eurocentric culture.” I think these differences between Aboriginal and Eurocentric culture are essential in helping our understanding of how place has such a large role in forming identity. I was also drawn to your discussion about Bear’s question about values and whether or not they would change if locations were switched with each other. This question is intriguing because if values are only based on place then perhaps they would change. In my opinion, values are based on the place someone comes from, but they are also created by factors such as unique family traditions, individual experiences and group experiences. I have formed this opinion over the course of this semester by reading through classmates’ blog posts, especially those on Home, as Bryony-Rose discussed in her comment, and these posts have shown me that although we have different views of home and there is difference located in our writing styles, we all feel home physically as well as mentally. I think this feeling goes along with what Bear emphasizes in his article. He explains that “all colonial people, both the colonizer and the colonized, have shared or collective views of the world embedded in their languages, stories, or narratives,” portraying that although we have differences we have similarities as well (85). Bear also emphasizes that each person “attempts to understand these different ways of viewing the world” in order to “make choices about how to live his or her life” (85). I think this is important because it highlights that views of the world are going to be different because the world can be understood in a multitude of ways. “It is this clash of worldviews that is at the heart of many current difficulties” between cultures in North America (Bear 85). My hope is that if we become more aware of this, through reading articles such as Bear’s, this could promote more acceptance of diversity.
Literature is not the only outlet that can promote an acceptance of diversity, and my team has found that the media can also promote this. Chloe Lee found a video by Kayla Piehler that portrays misrepresentations of Aboriginal peoples. The video is compiled of slides including images of stereotypes, generalizations, and writing that explains why this is wrong. Through this video, I learned that there are organizations that are trying to end these stereotypical images, such as F.A.I.R (For Accurate Indigenous Representation). This organization emphasizes how Indigenous people would identify themselves rather than how the media has. Although much of the media today does continue to use stereotypes and generalizations to portray Indigenous peoples, hopefully these images can be changed through a promotion of awareness over ignorance.
Hannah Westerman
December 4, 2016 — 5:02 pm
I also found this question about values and whether or not they would change if locations were switched with each other. As Chloe has said above, in theory, “if values are only based on place then perhaps they would change.” I think that the ways in which societies and communities formed in both the Eurocentric and Indigenous ways of thinking really influenced their worldview and values. The Indigenous have a deep connection to the world around them, they respect natures’ power, natures’ other living creatures, and they aim to work in a collaborative network. I think that perhaps the fact that Canada and North America lay very much untouched helped to form this bond with nature. Because of this, they formed communities on collaboration and their cultures reflect this way of thinking as we have seen in various Indigenous stories. Whereas European cultures believe in dominion over the land, Indigenous cultures believe that humankind must live in accordance with the land.
I think what this question, of whether values change if the locations switch, boils down to, is history. Historically Europeans have had a different relationship and understanding of the land, and that has affected the ways in which their values and cultures have formed. For the Indigenous, land plays a role in symbolic identity and in creating the everyday interrelatedness that forms the basis of their values and beliefs. I think that location and surrounding is important in the formation of ones identity – and as many have already said, this class has brought to light the ways in which we all think about our own culture, values, and identity.
Jenny Bachynski
December 5, 2016 — 2:35 pm
Hi Chloe,
Thanks for spending the time to read through our research and engage in the topics that interest us. I think that one of the points that you made about generalizations and stereotypes of Indigenous peoples really made me explore an idea I had throughout my research. I have been wondering about the way in which people can change locations in order to change perspectives, but something I did not think as much about is how having someone come into your space can also change your perspective. Pre-colonization, when Indigenous people were living completely separately from European influence, the ideas they had about their own culture and traditions would have been pure. Living in a space where others come in (especially without invitation) would alter those initial untouched perspectives. I think that the way Leroy Little Bear explains his opinion on the “Jagged worldviews” helps us understand the irreversible effects of colonization. When I say irreversible, I mean that these acts of colonization can’t be erased from our historical memory- as they shouldn’t be.
When you bring up an organization such as F.A.I.R (For Accurate Indigenous Representation), it makes me wonder how living in a space where stereotypes exist around your cultural identity, can change one’s identity just through sharing similar spaces. Even if you do not believe in the generalizations made about your own culture, if must still affect the ways in which you understand your own and other cultures. I also think it changes the way in which you tell stories. Colonization and the marginalization of Indigenous groups have forced this group of people to create new narratives within their culture to fight against images of themselves that are false. Due to the close proximity that Indigenous people live to these injustices, means that their livelihoods and traditions are threatened. It is definitely worth thinking about how sharing space with others can force new narratives to be created. This really reminds me of some of the residential school memoirs and survivor accounts that I have read. It is so tragic that these narratives have to exist, but they are proof that storytelling has continued to remain such a useful and important tool in Indigenous culture.
– Jenny Bachynski
Work Cited
Bear, Leroy Little. “Jagged worldviews colliding.” Reclaiming Indigenous voice and vision (2000): 77-85
Chloë Parkin
December 4, 2016 — 12:58 pm
Hello again Team Coyote,
I wanted to add that I agree with you that Bear’s article displays a personal interpretation of the differences between Aboriginal and Eurocentric culture as well as how this is based on location. I think this is extremely important and I also think that the differences between Indigenous cultures are significant.
In my own research, I have found that there are many unique Indigenous cultures so they should not be generalized and stereotyped through writing and media into one ultimate culture. In the article I explored: “Native storytellers Connect the Past and the Future,” I discovered that Indigenous people begin talking about themselves in regards to the place they come from. I have also discovered this through Matika Wilbur’s TedTalk called “Surviving Disappearance, Re-Imagining & Humanizing Native People’s,” as she highlights how the images of Native American people in the media neglect to show individual differences between people and tribes. Wilbur emphasizes that we all came from the same place and then we moved into different places. This movement into different places has influenced our individual views of the world, but we are all human beings who started off in the world the same way.
In your team’s research, it is to my understanding that you have also been trying to show how to promote similarities over differences between cultures. Your discussion on Margaret Somers and her article “The narrative constitution of identity: A relational and network approach,” highlights this promotion of similarity by explaining that two separate lenses often control peoples’ views of narratives. In your post you discuss how Somers argues that these two separate lens need to become one in order to better understand narratives and destroy categories of interpreting identity, such as race, sex and gender. I agree with you that combining separate lenses into one “has the effect of allowing scholars to better understand the social world around us by evaluating how our location affects the social narratives of our lives.” Perhaps if we remember our similarity, and avoid viewing identity as something based on categories of difference, then Canadian literature and other media can help destroy stereotypes and generalizations of Indigenous cultures.
Jenny Bachynski
December 4, 2016 — 3:25 pm
Turning our attention to the importance of regionalism and location- in relation to storytelling- really emphasizes the cultural differences that can exist in the same physical spaces. While authors such as Klaus Benesch help us understand that the spaces in which we grow up, helps form our interpretation on many different concepts, it is interesting to question what happens to these concepts when cultural ideologies clash. We must now take a step back and realize that in this day and age, a specific location is most likely made up of a diverse group of people. In Leroy Little Bear’s article “Jagged Worldviews Colliding” it becomes very clear how narrative form is not only influenced by tradition, but by ethics as well. The differences between Indigenous and European world views are tremendous and I am interested in continuing discussing how easily we can change these world views based on our location, or if (like Leroy Little Bear suggests) it is always confusing and struggle-filled.
I think that one of the most telling differences between Indigenous and European cultures (according to Leroy Little Bear) is the belief that life is cyclical versus linear. Indigenous tradition emphasizes that life, education, the physical world, are all related and constantly in flux (78). Do you think that because of these views, Indigenous are more open-minded and willing to try and incorporate different world views that they encounter? Perhaps this linear and inflexible Eurocentric worldview has made it more difficult for colonizers to understand how ineffective and damaging colonialism truly is.
-Jenny Bachynski (Team Coyote)
Work Cited
Bear, Leroy Little. “Jagged worldviews colliding.” Reclaiming Indigenous voice and vision (2000): 77-85
Benesch, Klaus. “Space, Place, Narrative: Critical Regionalism and the Idea of Home in a Global Age.” Zeitschrift für Anglistik und Amerikanistik, vol. 64, no.1, 2016., pp. 93-108.
Hannah Westerman
December 4, 2016 — 5:34 pm
Hi Team Coyote,
I have enjoyed reading your annotated bibliography, and particularly liked the article titled “Space, Place, Narrative: Critical Regionalism and the idea of Home in a Global Age.” I found the thought that “places and territory are not an objective idea, but instead something that is created through imagination” very interesting. The world isn’t ordered into territories naturally in the sense of borders, but rather places are first imagined by physical space (mountains, rivers, etc). There are natural boarders, but the world did not come carved up into pieces. So do surroundings affect culture? Is culture formed through regionalism? For the First Nations the environment has had a major impact in the formation of their culture and social systems. For them, land has stories to tell, and these stories teach one how to be human – nature teaches about interconnectivity and the importance of collaboration.
I also enjoyed and agree that the concept of home is mental, and that the factors that shape this concept are individually dependant. This article also brings up this importance of narratives “that tell us how to live properly, with and in [these spaces].” This brings us back to importance of story-telling in First Nations cultures. Perhaps story-telling and narratives alongside regionalism, form culture? Perhaps these concepts and factors are all intertwined – much like the way the First Nations culture is based on interconnectivity? I think these are interesting areas for further discovery and discussion.
HannahWagner
December 4, 2016 — 8:31 pm
Hey Team Coyote,
Great site, sources and topic of discussion! I really enjoyed checking out all your exciting information, and I was especially interested in the ideas presented in Klaus Benesch’s article, “Space, Place, Narrative: Critical Regionalism and the Idea of Home in a Global Age.”
I am planning to join in the more relevant discussion by replying to some of the comments in the already ongoing dialogue, but while reading Benesch’s article, I found my mind wandering to technology, and the idea of virtual existence, or being; how does virtual “reality” (VR) fit into our sense of being-in-the-world? VR is becoming an increasingly common medium for everything, from gaming, to 3D building/modelling, to everyday communication.
The rapid growth and reliance on technology has been swiftly changing our perspectives, interpretations and perceptions of the world we live in. But I would posit that our sense of ‘home’ and being-in-the-world is not the only thing changing – and that the world is actually changing as well. I think what Benesch writes about local cultures, is true for the world – and reality itself – it must be like an “organism that grows and continuously alters its shape,” it must also subject itself “to rejuvenation and renewal” (99). With virtual realities people are able to communicate, build and exist in ever changing, ever growing, ever developing narratives and expressions of the world; this virtual inevitability is constantly challenging our understanding of home, of the world, of reality and even existence itself.
I thought that your team could offer some interesting perspectives on this idea in light of your research focus on location and space, and how narratives are influenced and generated. What are your thoughts on how technology and virtual reality are changing the perception of location and space? In what ways do you think these changes are influencing contemporary narratives? Is the world, like Benesch mentions, conforming to “an unbridled regime of technology and its corollary” and becoming “a rapidly shrinking, globally interconnected and, at the same time, socially and culturally divided world” (106)? Are there any significant positives that are also coming out of this technological shift; perhaps is it like Levinas’ message suggests, and is the entire world becoming our (everyone’s) home (Benesch 104)?
HannahWagner
December 4, 2016 — 9:26 pm
Hello again team Coyote!
After checking out Julia Christensen’s article, “Telling Stories: Exploring Research Storytelling as a Meaningful Approach to Knowledge Mobilization with Indigenous Research Collaborators and Diverse Audiences in community‐based Participatory Research,” and reading your annotation, I was reminded of Daniel Coleman’s argument in “Epistemic Justice, CanLit, and the Politics of Respect.” In this article Coleman talks about the epistemological issues with westernized thinking, and way of evaluating literature and knowledge of non-western cultures, specifically in the study of Canadian literature.
Coleman stresses the idea that when looking to nonwestern literature, and knowledge, it is important to move away from western, post-enlightenment frameworks. I think this concept is applied by Christensen when she decided to use a research method that utilized traditional indigenous storytelling. As you mentioned, in doing this “Christensen was required to take on new forms of narrative that she was not accustomed to, and use those tools as a way to understand new methods of research.” This type of expanding methodological practices and challenging commonly accepted forms of research, is very much in line with Coleman’s argument that in order to accurately understand and learn from non-western and Indigenous literature, western research “need[s] to move from a politics of recognition that assumes we already know the value of what we see to a concept that is ubiquitous in Indigenous thinking: a politics of respect” (125).
I think Coleman’s point also speaks to the above mentioned problem of harmonizing western research and Indigenous traditions – as you mention this harmonization problem “has the capability to inhibit Indigenous scholars in the field of literature,” however, if those participating in the field of literature would take Coleman’s advice there would not be a need to make indigenous practices conform to western research ideals. It is high time we begin to move away from the western frameworks that dictate what is relevant, appropriate and valuable. In moving away from western contextualization of literature we will not only broaden our horizons for understanding, but we will also broaden the field of literature itself; by “de-colonizing” the epistemology of literary study we can increase the diversity of knowledge available from scholars of all cultures, traditions and practices.
Works Cited
Coleman, Daniel. “Epistemic Justice, CanLit, and the Politics of Respect.” Canadian Literature: A Quarterly Review and Criticism 204 (2010): 124-26. Canlit.ca. Web.
ColleenFish
December 5, 2016 — 11:48 pm
I really like how you say we need to broaden literature to be beyond Western frameworks. However, how likely is that to be given the majority of consumers are non-Indigenous people and unfortunately in my view, neoliberalism has had incredibly detrimental effects on the types of books that are written. Without success, writers are poor, and often unable to pay for basic essentials and have to therefore, work many long hours really preventing any sort of real chance to write the next great novel in Canadian Literature.
I don’t think is very respectful or reflects justice in any way.
🙂
mikauber
December 4, 2016 — 9:47 pm
Hi Team Coyote!
I really enjoyed reading through your bibliography and was impressed by the wide scope of your research. I was particularly drawn to the Benesch article “Space, Place, Narrative: Critical Regionalism and the Idea of Home in a Global Age” and the idea that the concept of home is somehow lost through the process of modernity. While I think Benesch seems a bit critical of technology and its potential for inflicting harm on our world, I agree with his portrayal of place and location as “carriers of cultural narratives.”
In applying this to my team’s research on the Residential School System, I found that there were many interesting parallels to be made. Residential Schools began as part of an effort to “modernize” First Nations children, as it was thought that their traditional culture “was unable to adept to a rapidly modernizing society.” (CBC) In order to modernize their culture, children were not only removed from their physical homes, but also from the stories and narratives that would have allowed the home within their imaginations to take root. I found the Benesch article to be particularly helpful in reflecting upon our research topic and am learning looking forward to discussing this more with you! Thank you for the great post!
-Mikayla Uber
Work Cited
“A history of Residential Schools in Canada.” CBC, 16 May 2008, http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/a-history-of-residential-schools-in-canada-1.702280. Accessed 4 Dec. 2016.
jamie
December 5, 2016 — 10:38 pm
Hi Coyote Team,
I just wanted to add a little on Benesch’s article. Since Erika had asked us to write a post on home, I found that home is not necessarily a location or a person. In fact, people seem to throw the term around with little thought to it. But as I work on my conference project’s topic of residential schools, I recognize that locations that we call home affect our actions. Being torn away from their home, the survivors of residential schools were left with little stability and more fear and trauma. As you have mentioned, “ideas of home and the places in which we call our homes are taught to us and passed down through generations,” but since the survivors were taken away, they lost their traditional way and became strangers and outsiders. Perhaps people begin with a stable understanding of what home is and then they can stray from it and decide on their own idea of home. How might stories affect these developments if having a stable home is not an option?
Thank you for your article!
Jamie
Jenny Lu
December 5, 2016 — 12:40 am
Hi team! I appreciated skimming through some of the sections of Keahey’s Making it Home: Place in Canadian Prairie Literature. I think through the examples that Keahey analyzes we see a representation of struggles could be related today, as well as a notion of progress in the characters through the ways they perceive their said homes. I strongly admired the abstract, metaphor-esque journeys that were described as well and that reminded me of how in GGRW, The Sun Dance was a place of coming together for all the characters–but to each their own different aspects, as a regards to how they related to their cultural heritage/traditions while ‘battling’ their Western influences. Their thoughts and development were reflected from the location itself. I agree with Keahey’s concept of redefining home “as a dynamic noun, a process, an experience, the flux and flow of matter turned into energy” (126) and thus self, into motion. Adding on, our minds are moulded by preconceptions and social learning so that while locations may never change, our interpretations of them will, as long as we are open-minded and flexible with change.
Robert Scholes’s argument on the dislocation of communication acts can similarly be applied to how subtle conversations can be with certain characters in revealing their obvious flaws by how they dismiss certain factors and further reinforce their preconceptions as a whole, like Hovaugh’s attitude toward John Wayne/the Mystic Warrior (127).
I also think Keahey’s analysis on Uma Parameswaran’s “multi-voiced” book, Trishanku, can be applied to the general concept of location: Trishanku “suggests that when a literal ‘journey home’ is impossible, a symbolic social or psychological return through a metonymic merging of landscapes–a symbolic replacing of displacement–may be nearly as effective” (96). Relating this to GGRW, The 4 Indians leave their captive ‘homes’ to embark on this journey through the intertextuality of creation stories and the current story of fixing their mistakes. As a symbol I feel that they represent the intentions of the modern world in terms of reconciliation, in the sense that they are trying to make things right by remembering past stories and attempting to fix current ones. It reminds me of a quote one of my history teachers had in her classroom: “If you want to know the future, understand the past.” Unfortunately, people have constantly misinterpreted the 4 Indians (Hovaugh as dangerous, past characters as famous icons) – perhaps another indication of how difficult it is to change someone’s mind.
Somewhat related, but one of my favorite images Keahey refers to in regards to how Robert Kroetsch’s poems are described: “…sometimes alternating, sometimes simultaneous, fear and desire contained in the longing for love and home is horrifically mirrored in a subsequent nightmare vision (on pg 120): ‘In my dream I’m running / toward the bear. I have no choice’” (138). This only serves as a further example of how these identity issues prevail today and should be acknowledged and respected.
TillieStainsbyAnderson
December 5, 2016 — 1:44 pm
Hello Team Coyote!
Your topic of research is very interesting!
This post is in reference to the Dr. Klaus Benesch’s article on home. I found the quotation, “And because both places and the idea of home are concepts culled from the imagination, it is narratives that tell us how to live properly, with and in them”particularly interesting (107).
My team’s research revolves around the topic of residential schools. We are focused on the stories of the survivors. This article, and your team’s focus, addresses a topic that aides us in our research as well, which is the intangibility of home.
As Benesch discusses, “it’s the creation of a shared life world inhabited by human beings that matters” (106). Arguably, the loss of this shared world contributes the most severely to the loss of identity. As demonstrated through our own research, as well as your team’s hyperlinked documentary by Alanis Obomsawin, the involvement of modern, western culture is hindering the ability of First Nations peoples to hold this sense of home.
As mentioned above, our group is focused on the role of residential schools. So, in terms of your research topic, what do you think the impact of residential schools had on subtracting “home” from First Nations youths?
Many thanks,
Tillie
Jenny Lu
December 5, 2016 — 5:04 pm
Hello again!
Tsosie brings up a good point where in the rapidly growing society today (thanks to technology and globalization), “to some extent, demands for cultural ‘authenticity’ play into stereotypes about the ‘vanishing redman’, and the misguided belief that Indians who adopt Western culture ‘lose’ their status as Indians” (350). In terms of controlling cultural expression, maneuvering with collaboration and a respectful approach is needed though it’s interesting to understand the steps we must take to allow for authentic expressions to happen, since defining such can be varied.
Yet who is to blame for the misrepresentations and the cycle of cultural appropriation that happens and allows for displacement issues to naturally occur? It seems like Charlie and his father in GGRW can be considered as examples of this cycle in which they play the expected acting roles for financial means. However, as in the quote above states, some people may regard this as inauthentic because they are adopting into Western culture, even though in the perspective of being worldly citizens/general empathetic human beings, I suppose one should be more open to the struggles that cultural assimilation can bring, just as the whole liminal space concept provides.
If there is proper representation through mediums of expression, how authentic should they be in terms of representation? What is exactly considered an authentic expression? I would think that as long as it isn’t appropriating a culture intentionally and/or playing into the stereotypical notions of past conceptions (Mystic Warrior), etc… then it would pass the ‘test.’ Then again, Tsosie brings up a good question: “What is the line between ‘truth’ and ‘fiction’ in non-documentary films?” (350).
King was supposedly criticized for his authenticity as an author of GGRW as well; he blended truths and stories to emphasize how they can coexist despite differences. In terms of literature, these questions provide a base to consider but do not encompass how authors like King can make complex intertextualities come to life.
franeta94
December 5, 2016 — 9:41 pm
I think that in todays day and age it is extremely difficult to have a purely authentic representation of another culture. As Tsosie points out that globalization and technology have made this goal of authenticity even more difficult for us than ever before. This is because as we continually connect with people of different backgrounds the cultures that surround us tend to get blended as well, making it harder to determine which culture is native to our own heritage.
Thus I believe that the best way to achieve proper representation is to really do your research before embarking in any sort of creative endeavor. That way you can truly respect and better understand the value of certain norms, symbols, and traditions bring to the people of a certain culture, and thereby be able to better respect it as well
ColleenFish
December 5, 2016 — 11:42 pm
I would agree that it is difficult, if not impossible, to create an authentic representation of another culture. I think we must accept that sometimes, if we are attempting to understand another culture we will make mistakes but we learn from them. I am often offended by things I read in the news or see on TV but there is little I can do about it and only time will change but I have hope it will get better and cultural beliefs will change and the Government of Canada will stop funding putting people like myself in jail for a non-violent crime. I just hope that for Indigenous people, there is similar hope that they might feel that they are living lives they feel are authentic again, rather than having stories of trauma and violence but that these stories after likely many more generations become stories about healing and reconciliation.
TillieStainsbyAnderson
December 5, 2016 — 9:42 pm
Hi again!
My comment is in reference to Julia Christensen’s writing on homelessness.
In particular, I am responding to the following lines:
“While we can see the differences between Indigenous and non-Indigenous narrative traditions, we must also refrain from allowing colonialism to shape the narratives of the homelessness, and instead allow for these narratives to flourish through the agency of Indigenous storytelling.”
I find this quite interesting. I was wondering how your group’s research reconciles the contrasting ways in which Indigenous and non-Indigenous share stories? Additionally, if these contrasts affect how we each view our home?
Many thanks,
Tillie
jamie
December 5, 2016 — 10:17 pm
Hi Coyote Team,
I really enjoyed Bear’s “Jagged Worldviews Colliding.” As I was reading it, I wondered if Eurocentric theology are the only one that does not describe a holistic understanding of the world. As an Asian, I have some background in Taoism and Buddhism. Both of which promote a holistic view of life that mentions having a balance with nature. I wonder how North America, Europe and Asia’s locations affect the cultural values. Is it the materials available to the people in those locations that affect their thinking? From what I understand, Europe was the first to industrialize because they are rich in resources. Would that bet hat affects the growth of cultures?
Why might Eurocentric theology be centered around one authority? How did they learn that? Was it because it was easier for one to have more than others in Europe while in North America, they were more likely to band together because there was so little? What do you think?
Jamie
ColleenFish
December 5, 2016 — 11:34 pm
Post for the Team Coyote
Some very interesting information provided but what struck me as most
interesting related to the the article by Somers discussing the narrative constitution of identity as it can be applied to consider how the stories of survival relate to policies of identity and otherness. Why did the TRC begin? Looking beyond simply the Government of Canada wanting to educate the nation of residential school as an answer, when attempting to explain social action, the theories explored in the article in relation to identities and solidarity was certainly connected to why the TRC began. Given the article mentions that the “universal social actor – white, male and western,” I think this also reflects the TRC. Although it involved the stories of survivors, the organization was still done by the Government of Canada. As the representation of Indigenous peoples in positions of power within this governmental structure is minimal, in many ways the TRC still is influenced by politics of identity.
If stories of survival of residential schools are related to how narrative is conceptualized, it makes sense that differences between the European and Indigenous stories would arise. It is impossible to remove the narrative of residential schools and colonialism from the world that an Indigenous person lives in, just as it is not possible to illuminate our own cultural background influencing the way we listen to and understand stories or narratives. In addition, it changes the way these stores and narratives are told.
In addition, shame, guilt, and other emotions commonly associated with childhood trauma would not only alter the story told but also if it was told at all. We mustn’t forget the number of stories that will never be heard given the number of missing Indigenous children. It is troublesome for myself to see that for most Canadians, the only stories of Indigenous people they may be familiar with all have the legacy of residential schools embedded. The politics of identity may have had an influence in that. The Indigenous people continue to be stereotyped in my view. Perhaps, Canadian literature can begin to introduce First Nations members by non-Indigenous writers into the novels as members of Canada, in fact, they were the first members of this nation.
ChloeLee
December 8, 2016 — 11:37 pm
Hi Team Coyote!
I loved reading your bibliography because your research is very extensive and intriguing!
I especially admired the parts where your team discussed Bear’s interpretation of the world. Your team stated, ““Jagged Worldviews Colliding” discusses the importance of the Aboriginal and Eurocentric worldviews, and “[n]o matter how dominant a worldview is, there are always other ways of interpreting the world” (77).”
A worldview is defined by specific sets of beliefs and values which are witheld by a certain number of people. This definitely means that there are immensively different ways to interpret the world. For continuity, world views are passed along to younger generations. The Indigenous often focus on their holistic, spiritual existence and pass on their culture by story-telling.
Your team argues, “Bear makes it clear that cultures work in opposition to each other in order to clarify their specific values, traditions and beliefs, which are influential in the teaching and learning of both cultures.” It is fascinating to think that we define ourselves through our opposition to the “other”. An example of a specific value of the Indigenous compared to Western culture is that they believe “feeling comfortable is measured by the quality of of your relationships with people and not feeling successful in the accomplishment of worldly goals” (http://www.ictinc.ca/blog/indigenous-peoples-worldviews-vs-western-worldviews).
What do you think of this distinction between the Indigenous people’s opposition to conflict and the Western views of what success encompasses?
Cheers,
Chloe Lee
Joseph, Bob. “Indigenous Peoples Worldviews vs Western Worldviews.” Indigenous Peoples Worldviews vs Western Worldviews. N.p., 26 Jan. 2016. Web. 05 Dec. 2016.
ChloeLee
December 8, 2016 — 11:53 pm
Hi again Team Coyote!
Your team discusses Keahey’s research,“By asking this question Keahey asks the readers to evaluate their beliefs on the effect it has on understanding and interpreting “the land” and location in order to guide themselves to the term “home”.” Comparatively, my team discussed Alison Calder’s research in “What Happened to Regionalism?” and she emphasized that the act of analyzing specific places and territories contain power and should be used when speaking or discussing First Nations territories. In literature and oral studies, specificity in location is extremely significant.
Furthermore, your team stated, “The importance of the individual view of “land” or “place”, through “their own history or cognitive structures” but understanding that “land” or “place” too is “unrestricted, and open to multiple and various readings”. Keahey highlights that culture should not replace the notion of place within literature, but instead place should be looked at through the “creations of the social, psychological and cultural relationships that people have to particular landscapes or physical spaces”.” My 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. Place is important in our research too because generalizations do not add to the real discussion of how to solve these issues in our interpretations.
What does your team think about how mentioning specific places impact our way of thinking of Indigenous peoples?
Thanks for the read,
Chloe Lee
ChloeLee
December 8, 2016 — 11:55 pm
I have to add in the citation for my second comment:
Calder, Alison. “What Happened to Regionalism?” Canadian Literary Studies 204 (2010): 113-14. Web.
Thanks!