{"id":25,"date":"2021-01-25T19:11:13","date_gmt":"2021-01-26T03:11:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/rockstreeswater\/?p=25"},"modified":"2021-03-07T16:38:20","modified_gmt":"2021-03-08T00:38:20","slug":"whats-in-a-name","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.ubc.ca\/rockstreeswater\/2021\/01\/25\/whats-in-a-name\/","title":{"rendered":"What’s In A Name?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

When considering J. Edward Chamberlin\u2019s question of “why should underlying title be vested in the storyline of the settler society? […] Why not change underlying title back to aboriginal title<\/a>?\u201d (loc 3032-3041 of 3425), the power of a name is what first comes to mind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This theme – the power of a word – is found throughout many eras of literature. Is a name simply a name, as William Shakespeare debates in Romeo and Juliet<\/em>? Or is there power in a name<\/a>, as Christopher Paolini explores in his Eragon<\/em> series? Chamberlin makes the argument for both. He writes that:<\/p>\n\n\n

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Nothing would change if underlying title were aboriginal title. It would be a fiction. The facts of life would remain the same. Yet of course they would not remain the same, because this new title would constitute a new story and a new society. Our understanding of the land would change. Our understanding of aboriginal peoples would change. Our understanding of ourselves would change. Our sense of the origin and purpose of our nations would change. (loc 3051 – 3060 of 3425)<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n

Nothing would change, yet everything would change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

When we name something – whether that is the self or other – we give it a purpose, a starting point for comprehending it. The name – the title – shapes our perspective, and if we aren’t careful we may create a confirmation bias. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The ‘underlying title’ that Chamberlin discusses is the narrative that the settlers began when they started to arrive. By keeping the settler title(s), we neglect the first peoples whose land we dwell on. We fail to see anything other than what we expect to see.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The \u201ctheatres of desecration\u201d (Chamberlin loc 3013 of 3425) – residential schools, relocations, loss of ceremony – have in large part helped to form this underlying title, the dominant narrative in Canada. These theatres have claimed the land in the name of settlers. These acts have created “a fiction – a story” (Chamberlin loc 3013 of 3425) of who owns the land. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So what would happen if we changed the underlying title – the idea of ownership? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The underlying aboriginal title – First Peoples, Metis, Inuti title – rather than the settler title would open many new possibilities for finding what Chamberlin calls the “common gound” (loc 2957 of 3425), or in other words, the common stories that connect both settlers and First Peoples<\/a>. We must be synergistic to move forward. Changing the underlying title from European to aboriginal is Chamberlin’s recommendation for making this shift in ownership narrative. It would remind all of the vast history of the land, would provide deeper reconciliation, and a path to co-existance with all peoples who call the land known as Canada<\/a> home. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

So why is this justified? We come back to the questions of “what’s in a name?” (Shakepeare 2.1.85). By changing the underlying title, the rivers would not shift, nor would the laws of the land change. The basic structure of how we all live day-to-day will remain the same. Thus, there is no physical power within the name. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

By changing the underlying title, what would change is our perspective – how we see our land, our history. In this, the power of the name is found within the validation it would bring to First Peoples stories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Chamberlin argues is that everything would change for the better. At least, eventually we can hope everyone would see that this is better. We could be the new exemplar: we confronted our past, acknowledged our losses. We made space for a new, inclusive country. It would help to balance the dominant narrative. We – the second largest titled land area in the world – could be the example for other countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We can set the stage for addressing not only the holocaust of slavery and the horror of continuing racism […] to rest the atrocity represented by the indiginous dead, those who to this day are forbidden to return to dust, but are scribbled in it. And we can move beyond the archetypal antagonism between the barbaric and the civilized that sustains so many conflicts around the world. We can replace the theatre of desecration with the theatre of a decent burial (Chamberlin loc 3079 of 3425).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Within the world of education, British Columbia is moving towards an era of decolonized teaching. Educators are learning new pedagogies that are more inclusive and tell a more authentic story of Canada. We are bringing First Peoples ways of knowing into the K-12 classrooms, and are actively working to . It is here that we see the change for the better; we see that how we understand something has power of us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Ammendment (March 7 2021)<\/strong>
Early in February, Dr. Paterson provided feedback on blog posts to date. She highlighted a element of ‘what’s in a name’ that I had not previously considered: capitalization. We use caplitalization for proper nouns – “specific people, places, things, or ideas” (O’Brian). When Chamberlin talks about the ‘aboriginal title’ it is not capitalized; he is categorizing this group as a common noun – as something generic, unspecific. In this act, Chamberlin is not calling attention to any particular aboriginal group, leaving the question: what title should we choose from? This adds another element of complexity to changing the title. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Additional Notes:
Citations for Chamberlin are based off of Kindle for iPad. Location approximations are the following:
3032 – 3041 is approximately page 229
3051 – 3060 is approximately page 230
3013 is approximately page 228
2957 is approximately page 225
3079 is approximately page 231<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Works Cited<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n

\u201cCertainty: Canada’s Struggle To Extinguish Aboriginal Title\u201d. <\/span>UBCIC<\/span><\/i>. N.d. <\/span>
<\/span>
<\/span>\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 <\/span>https:\/\/www.ubcic.bc.ca\/certainty_canada_s_struggle_to_extinguish_ab<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>original_title<\/span>. Accessed January 24, 2021.<\/span><\/p>\n

Chamberlin, J. Edward. “Eleven – Ceremonies”. If This Is Your Land,\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Where Are Your Stories? Finding Common Ground<\/em>. Kindle ed. Toronto:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Vintage Canada, 2004, loc. 2882 – 3193 of 3425.<\/span><\/p>\n

Harvey, Megan. “Story People: : St\u00f3:l\u014d-State Relations and Indigenous<\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Literacies in British Columbia, 1864\u20131874″. Journal of the Canadian <\/em><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 Historical Association<\/em>, vol. 24, no. 1, 2013, pp. 51-88. DOI: https:\/\/doi.<\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 org\/10.7202\/1024997ar.<\/p>\n

O’Brian, Elizabeth. “Common & Proper Nouns”.\u00a0Grammar Revolution<\/em>. n.d. <\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.english-grammar-revolution.com\/proper-nouns.html. <\/p>\n

Accessed on 7 March 2021.<\/p>\n

“Origin Of The Name Canada”. <\/span>Government of Canada<\/span><\/i>. 2020.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>https:\/\/www.canada.ca\/en\/canadian-heritage\/services\/origin-name-<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>canada.html<\/span>. Accessed January 24, 2021<\/span><\/p>\n

Shakespeare, William. “Romeo and Juliet”. The Norton Shakespeare.<\/em> 3rd\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0edition, edited by Stephen Greenblatt, et al., Norton & Norton Inc.,\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a02016, pp. 957-1035\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

“True Name”. Fandom<\/em>. N.d. https:\/\/inheritance.fandom.com\/wiki\/True_\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0name#:~:text=Because%20the%20Ancient%20Language%20allows,\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0be%20able%20to%20control%20him. Accessed January 23, 2021.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n

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