3] In order to address this question you will need to refer to Sparke’s article, “A Map that Roared and an Original Atlas: Canada, Cartography, and the Narration of Nation.” You can easily find this article online. Read the section titled: “Contrapuntal Cartographies” (468 – 470). Write a blog that explains Sparke’s analysis of what Judge McEachern might have meant by this statement: “We’ll call this the map that roared.”
Sparke’s analysis of Judge McEachern’s comment works to provide insight into how he perceived Indigenous peoples and their rights. More broadly, it provides insight into the ways that settler-colonial structures reinforce ideologies that end up manifesting themselves in the Canadian government and its courts. Sparke’s analysis begins by considering references the McEachern may have been making.
“In the immediate context of trying to open up a huge paper reproduction of the First Nations’ map” McEachern’s comment may have been perceived as alluding to the idea of a “paper tiger”, a Chinese idiom (Sparke, 468). A paper tiger refers to “something that appears threatening or scary but is unable to threaten anyone” (Youtube, 0:15). This is similar to the English expression of ‘the bark being worse than the bite’. This interpretation of Judge McEachern’s statement that “We’ll call this the map that roared” would suggest that he perceived the reproduction of the First Nations map as a sort of empty threat to colonial practices of land division and ultimately, to settler-colonial structures.
A second reference that Judge McEachern may have been making is to the 1959 Peter Sellers movie, “The Mouse that Roared”. This satirical movie tells the story of a small, impoverished country declaring war on the United States in the hopes that they will receive financial aid after surrendering. However, the US ends up surrendering after being attacked with bows and arrows and under the threat of a bomb (which turns out to have been defective the entire time). This was seen to be “a derisory scripting of the plaintiffs as a ramshackled anachronistic nation” (Sparke, 468). Understanding McEachern’s comment as a reference to this movie sheds light on his belief of the superiority of the colonial state and, in turn, of the inferiority of the First Nations.
Sparke’s analysis of Judge McEachern’s statement reveals that it appeared to “betray, albeit unconsciously, a real recognition of Gitxsan and Wet’suwet’en agency and territorial survival” (Sparke, 470). Although McEachern implied that the so-called bark of the First Nations was worse than their bite, he was still acknowledging that there was a chance that he might indeed be bitten. And in “The Mouse that Roared” it was the United States that surrendered to the small, impoverished country that wielded bows and arrows.
Ultimately, the comment made by Judge McEachern exemplifies how settler-colonial structures enforce ideologies that support a derogatory and condescending view of the rights and claims of First Nations peoples in Canada. His comment reveals that this kind of intolerance is very present in Canada (especially in the context of land claims) and significantly, within Canada’s judiciary system. This raises questions about how existing settler-colonial structures influence attitudes within today’s judicial system and about how these attitudes manifest themselves, now in subtler ways.
Works Cited:
Matthew Sparke (1998) A Map that Roared and an Original Atlas: Canada, Cartography, and the Narration of Nation, Annals of the Association of American Geographers, 88:3, 468-470, DOI: 10.1111/0004-5608.00109
“The Mouse That Roared.” CTV, 2018, www.ctv.ca/movie/The-Mouse-That-Roared-vid1494992.
“What Does Paper Tiger Mean and Its Origin.” Youtube, 20 Nov. 2016, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S4Q1Z_eYz_g.
Hi Eva!
Thanks for posting the trailer for that movie! Gives the article better context I feel. I think understanding the tone of it also implies more about Judge McEachern’s character. I think you summed it up pretty well in the last line of your third paragraph. It’s crazy to think that these sort of actions are even “subtle”. I wonder have you seen/heard other “subtle” prejudiced attitudes as of late? I often wonder if the speaker hears or understands how even ‘subtle’ comments have a tell on their attitudes or if they are in some ways un-privy to the ‘subtlety’.
Hi Lisa,
I think the news is full of stories about prejudiced acts and attitudes against Canadian Indigenous people. Beyond that, there are every-day examples of the assumptions that are made about First Nations peoples. The elementary school I attended was the main school for the Musqueam community (about 40% of the school was made up of Indigenous students). The school community was a safe environment but field trips, sporting events, and other various outings made me aware of the many different types of prejudices that exist against Indigenous peoples. (I can recall a parent from another school teasing a boy in my class for having long braided hair and him crying then coming to school with it cut short days later.)
You ask a really interesting question about the ability of the speaker of such comments to interpret their own words. I often think ignorance and misinformation is a big factor in such prejudice and discrimination. I think that is why courses like this one are so important! Educating ourselves on the truth of Canada’s history and on Indigenous culture prevents such ignorance and thus, (hopefully) such discrimination.
I feel that it is really sad that despite being able to map out the positions of the native people before arrival of the French and English people (Sparke, 468) the indigenous people are still having issues when it comes to claiming back their land. When I was reading the article by Sparke I was actually kind of surprised to hear that the judge dismissed the Gitxsan and Wet’swuet’en’s claims despite then being able to provide maps that prove that their people have been on the land before, but I guess this must not be the only case where this has happened. I feel that it would be really difficult for the Indigenous people to have to try and claim their land from a court and a government that is most likely majority caucasian background and may not have much empathy for their cause. I feel like no matter how much evidence they may have they may still struggle to claim their land. I know this is a pretty big question and it is totally okay if you don’t know but I was wondering if you knew of any Indigenous groups that have successfully claimed back their land and how they ended up managing to do this despite all of the challenges?
Hi Sidney! I answered the same question as Eva so I thought I’d chime in here. The Gitxsan and Wet’swuet’en claims, although not granted in this trial, were actually granted in 1997 in a Supreme Court of Canada ruling (https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/delgamuukw-case), previously, the rulings had all been provincial. The trial also established criteria for future Aboriginal land claim trials, and what conditions must be met for land title to be granted.
Thanks for this addition, Katarina. That link is a great resource. It outlines the trial very clearly! I look forward to reading your post on this topic!
Eva
Hi Sidney,
As Katarina describes in her comment, although McEachern did try to dismiss the Wet’swuet’en and Gitxsan land claims, the Supreme court ended up overturning Judge McEachern’s ruling in this case!
I have to admit that I’m not very well-versed in cases of land claims but I do remember one local case here in Vancouver. The Musqueam people were able to have the City of Vancouver return a section of land to them that held great cultural significance, as it was known to have been the site of one of Musqueam’s largest villages.
(https://www.musqueam.bc.ca/portion-of-c%CC%93%C9%99sna%CA%94%C9%99m-village-and-burial-site-returned-to-musqueam-indian-band/)
Thanks for your thoughtful insights!
Eva
Hi Eva! Thank you for answering this question, I was really curious as to what “the map that roared” could mean. I see it now that a map as a piece of paper has little ability to give voice … unless it is in the hands and written upon by the colonizer. What do you think of the parallel of the map and the stolen paper by the white twin? Is there one?
Hi Sarah,
I hadn’t made a connection between these pieces of paper but I am so glad you asked this question because I think it’s very significant!
I think that the stolen paper in the story of the twin coyotes represents a sort of interruption of settler-colonialism into Indigeneity. While the reader is never told the exact contents of the paper, we see the ways in which it changes the white twin and the effect that this has on the black twin. On the other hand, I see the map in this trial as an Indigenous interruption into enforced settler-colonial structures (specifically, settler-colonial cartographical practices). These two papers almost seem to be two sides of the same coin (although I am hesitant to say that because the intentions of these papers seem to be very different).
I love this question!
Thank you
Eva
Hi Eva,
Thank you for sharing your blog. I answered the same question about the Map that Roared so I found it rather interesting asI took a similar approach. It seems that you developed a stronger understanding of Judge McEachern’s words faster than I did. It took me some time to develop an understanding.
I appreciated that you shared the movie trailer from the Mouse that Roared. It really is somewhat sad and disappointing that Judge MccEachern compared the First Nation people to a small and impoverished country, as you said. He did not speak of them as an equal. I am curious if you think that if this court trial occurred today, how it would have been handled differently? And if McEachern’s words would have been less accepted?
I hope you have a great week!
Alex
Hi Eva!
Great blog post, we wrote about the same question and it was great hearing someone speak about some of the references I mentioned myself! I really enjoyed your specific parallels to the movie “The Mouse that Roared.”
My question for you is sort of relevant to your mention of settler-colonial structures in relation to some of the political turmoil going on right now in BC. Do you believe that these structures, sentiments, and biases have anything to do with the protests from Indigenous people all over the country lately? Furthermore, I have seen some nasty posts on social media from people who don’t believe in the protests and don’t seem open to understanding why they are taking place. Do you believe that the structures you mention in your post regarding the Canadian judicial system acted as the building blocks to the ignorant sentiments that many Canadians feel today?
Sorry if this is off-track, but I felt it was relevant to your end paragraph and I’m excited to get your thoughts!
Hey Chase!
I had read your blog post earlier and I also noticed the ways in which our posts were similar. Reading yours helped to reinforce and grow some of my ideas but you also touched on some different things that I hadn’t which was great. Those are lots of good questions which I have found myself asking a lot recently too. I feel that I am most able to answer the one about whether structures within the Canadian judicial system act as the building blocks to prejudice and discrimination.
I think that the presence of prejudice within the judicial system, and more broadly, the government, is what has allowed for decades of systematic discrimination. It was the government that legalized (and in fact, endorsed) “killing the Indian within the child” with residential schools. Such policies were enforced by the judicial and legislative systems and I think that has left scars that continue to influence the ways that our courts and legislature approach Indigenous issues (including protests, land claims, etc).
Thanks for sharing your thoughts and your questions!
Eva
Hi Eva, thank you for sharing the video the mouse that roared. I wrote the same topic as you so I did the research about the reading days ago. however, I think the video that you posted had makes the article more interesting. I think you have make the reading really clear and organizing, with the movie that you shared it gave the readers pictures and stories to think and observe about the less heard voices. As a reader who had read the article before I think you have done an amazing work.
Hi Pin,
Thank you so much! I am excited to go read your post to see how our points are similar and different. I think the trailer helped me too because I found it hard to find many resources on the movie and I wanted to understand its plot better.
Thank you again!
Eva
Hi Eva,
I really liked how you put in a movie trailer to further emphasize your points and ideas, I never thought of doing something like that. While reading your blog post, for some reason I kept thinking about something that happened to me in highschool. To give you some context I am only a second generation Canadian as my Grandma immigrated here from Germany. While discussing heritage I had a used to be friend of mine make a comment saying something along the lines of ” well you technically don’t belong here because your people stole our land, Canada isn’t yours”. I think what made me think of this is when you were talking about land claims towards your last paragraph. I understand the history behind immigration and the rights that Indigenous people have, I guess my question in this round about way of explaining is, do you think that because I do not have any Indigenous heritage that Canada is any less “mine”? – I understand this is a very open ended question LOL