An audience or public implies the participation of many in a unified, observant group that in LAST303, may be Indigenous or non-Indigenous. However, individuals can be also be appreciated as part of a larger audience. “Sometimes audiences represent a problem to be criticized, and sometimes they are a force to be celebrated” (Hills 17). As Tuhiwai Smith et al. explain, it has proven to be challenging for settlers to read Indigenous work: many times, upon encountering Indigenous literature on decolonization, settlers wonder what decolonization will look like for themselves, effectively rejecting their role as audience and speaking over Indigenous peoples. The “produsage” (Hills 18) of settler literature on Indigenous knowledges has negatively affected the way whitestream academia perceives the work of Indigenous authors, possibly undermining the validity of Indigenous knowledge and denigrating their cultural identity, reducing their voice as being part of the audience instead of the speakers.
Our definition of an audience can be applied broadly to not only the students of LAST303, but also to those who have found an interest in Indigenous foodways and first foods somatically or symbolically. These people may engage with any topic related to Indigenous peoples and their nutrition, be that food insecurity, the ongoing change in food traditions, etc. Here, we include those that interact with Indigenous bands, organizations, and individuals. Indigenous peoples working with one another may themselves be considered part of an audience. As Tuhiwai Smith asserts: “I warn audiences away from asking self-serving questions or questions that make Indigenous scholars create honey-do lists for settlers” (Tuhiwai Smith et al. 14). From this we can conclude that the type of audience has its own significant role, especially in the spheres where Indigenous peoples enter. Moving forward in the course, we non-Indigenous scholars must adopt the position of an attentive public, speaking not over those who seek to teach their lessons, but instead listening to Indigenous knowledge systems and foodways from Indigenous points of view before offering an opinion.
Works cited
Matt Hills. “Audience”. Keywords for Media Studies, edited by Ouellette, Laurie, and Jonathan Gray. New York University Press, New York, 2017, pp. 17-21.
Smith, Linda T., et al. Indigenous and Decolonizing Studies in Education: Mapping the Long View. Routledge, an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, New York, NY, 2019;2018;.
Authors
Geneviève Lalonde