there are many holes in the most well known narratives of canadian identity, many voices that are not being heard because they have been stifled through violence and barriers of poverty, genocide and trauma that most people in canada have not had to face to such staggering degrees. amnesty international reports that there are hundreds of first nation women missing. cbc news and reports for the canadian government reveal that there are people living in extreme poverty, hunger and daily danger, suggesting that their voices have been disregarded and treated with contempt. in both canada and the states we persecute first people who attempt to use their voices, as highlighted by lawrence o’donnell in this news story on the standing rock protests against the pipeline in dakota.
my name is stephanie lines and i am a white english-canadian 30year old mental health worker who has spent the last ten years exploring inclusivity and human rights for vulnerable populations in the unceded first nation territories called british columbia. i am a part-time creative writing and psychology student.
this blog is a personal exploration and study into canadian peoples whose voices have been silenced. it is also a commentary on erika paterson’s ubc course canadian literary genres: an interactive online study of canadian literature made up of four units over a four month period. rather than simply studying prevalent canadian literature, it is a critical study into the missing voices of the first people of canada through the general western-centric understanding of what canadian history and literature is.
one key part of voice is the oral traditions that have been overlooked for centuries due to the empirical colonial powers that value written documents and white voice over other alternative methods, styles and voices of story-telling and documentation, as noted in the essay “listening for change: the courts and oral tradition” by john burrows.
i expect that this course will require immense self reflection as well as thoughtful consideration into the material we engage with. neo-colonial racism is ingrained within us all. we white forget and take for granted the comforts that we are afforded. the safety that we expect out of our lives.
i want to in this first post acknowledge the racism that i am a part of by being a white english-canadian. i am privileged to be able to write a blog on canadian literature studies, and i acknowledge fully that i am a white voice. my voice has value, but truly we are at a time when we need to grow quieter and stand behind our canadian first nations and people of color and listen better to their voices that have been silenced for far too long.
works cited
Amnesty International. “Missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls: Understanding the numbers”. Amnesty International Canada. n.d. www.amnesty.ca/blog/missing-and-murdered-indigenous-women-and-girls-understanding-the-numbers. Accessed 12 Sept. 2016.
Borrows, John. “Listening for Change: The Courts and Oral Tradition”. Centre For First Nations Governance. n.d. fngovernance.org/ncfng_research/oralhistory.pdf. Accessed 12 Sept. 2016.
Canada. Department of Justice. Victims of Crime Research Digest No.3. By Kathie Scrim. Ottawa: Department of Justice. Apr. 2010. www.justice.gc.ca/eng/rp-pr/cj-jp/victim/rd3-rr3/p3.html. Accessed 12 Sept. 2016.
Kirkup, Kristy. “60% of First Nation children on reserve live in poverty, institute says”. CBC News: Aboriginal. CBC News, 17 May. 2016. www.cbc.ca/news/indigenous/institute-says-60-percent-fn-children-on-reserve-live-in-poverty-1.3585105. Accessed 12 Sept. 2016.
Metta, John. “I, Racist”. Huffington Post: USA. Huffington Post, 10 July. 2015. www.huffingtonpost.com/john-metta/i-racist_b_7770652.html. Accessed 12 Sept. 2016.
Paterson, Erika. “Welcome”. ENGL 4710 Canadian Literary Genres: Canadian Studies. University of British Columbia. Nov. 2013. blogs.ubc.ca/courseblogsis_ubc_engl_470a_99c_2014wc_44216-sis_ubc_engl_470a_99c_2014wc_44216_2517104_1/welcome/. Accessed 12 Sept. 2016.
Stefanovich, Olivia. “‘How can people afford this?’ James Bay communities struggle to eat healthily”. CBC News: Sudbury. CBC News, 12 Sept. 2016. www.cbc.ca/news/canada/sudbury/james-bay-coast-high-food-prices-study-1.3756824?cmp=rss. Accessed 12 Sept. 2016.
“Rewrite: The Protests At Standing Rock”. by Lawrence O’Donnell. MSNBC. Aug. 25.2016. Youtube. www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5uNRqtjdrM. Accessed 12 Sept. 2016.
Yuxweluptun, Lawrence Paul. Indian World My Home And Native Land. 2012. Mcauley and Co. Fine Art. mfineart.ca/macaulay-co-fine-art/artists/lawrence-paul-yuxweluptun. Accessed 12 Sept. 2016.
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