scholarly journals Settler Colonial Pseudo-Solidarity: Indigenous Peoples and the Occupy Movement in Canada

2017 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 20-24
Author(s):  
Evan MacDonald
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Social Justice ◽  
Indigenous People ◽  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
Self Determination ◽  
Occupy Movement ◽  
Decision Making Processes ◽  
Indigenous Voices

As a reaction to neoliberalism, the Occupy movement in Canada presents a radical argument for a just economy. However, it does not engage in any meaningful way with decolonization. Through settler moves to innocence — equating the struggles of indigenous people within colonization with the plight of settlers — Occupy fails to support the cause of indigenous self-determination. Without both effectively centering decolonization within a social justice cause and including indigenous voices within decision-making processes, there can be no long-lasting solidarity created between progressive settlers and indigenous communities. Neoliberalism as a modern face of colonialism is a worthy target of social justice action, but the negation of settler history and treaties provide a roadblock to solidarity. The process of decolonization asks the settler to accept less, but the rhetoric of Occupy focuses on reclaiming wealth and resources that have been seized from their natural owners: working Canadians. The colonial attitudes of most Occupy camps in Canada have resulted in a breakdown in potential alliances, and provide a warning for the next universalizing social justice cause.

Indigenous Studies in the United States and Canada

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aubrey Jean Hanson ◽  
Sam McKegney
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Native American ◽  
First Nations ◽  
Indigenous People ◽  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Ways Of Knowing ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
The United States ◽  
Literary Studies ◽  
Indigenous Voices

Indigenous literary studies, as a field, is as diverse as Indigenous Peoples. Comprising study of texts by Indigenous authors, as well as literary study using Indigenous interpretive methods, Indigenous literary studies is centered on the significance of stories within Indigenous communities. Embodying continuity with traditional oral stories, expanding rapidly with growth in publishing, and traversing a wild range of generic innovation, Indigenous voices ring out powerfully across the literary landscape. Having always had a central place within Indigenous communities, where they are interwoven with the significance of people’s lives, Indigenous stories also gained more attention among non-Indigenous readers in the United States and Canada as the 20th century rolled into the 21st. As relationships between Indigenous Peoples (Native American, First Nations, Métis, and Inuit) and non-Indigenous people continue to be a social, political, and cultural focus in these two nation-states, and as Indigenous Peoples continue to work for self-determination amid colonial systems and structures, literary art plays an important role in representing Indigenous realities and inspiring continuity and change. An educational dimension also exists for Indigenous literatures, in that they offer opportunities for non-Indigenous readerships—and, indeed, for readers from within Indigenous nations—to learn about Indigenous people and perspectives. Texts are crucially tied to contexts; therefore, engaging with Indigenous literatures requires readers to pursue and step into that beauty and complexity. Indigenous literatures are also impressive in their artistry; in conveying the brilliance of Indigenous Peoples; in expressing Indigenous voices and stories; in connecting pasts, presents, and futures; and in imagining better ways to enact relationality with other people and with other-than-human relatives. Indigenous literatures span diverse nations across vast territories and materialize in every genre. While critics new to the field may find it an adjustment to step into the responsibility—for instance, to land, community, and Peoplehood—that these literatures call for, the returns are great, as engaging with Indigenous literatures opens up space for relationship, self-reflexivity, and appreciation for exceptional literary artistry. Indigenous literatures invite readers and critics to center in Indigeneity, to build good relations, to engage beyond the text, and to attend to Indigenous storyways—ways of knowing, being, and doing through story.

From Individual to Collective Consent: The Case of Indigenous Peoples and undrip

2019 ◽  
Vol 27 (2) ◽  
pp. 251-269
Author(s):  
Richard Healey
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Informed Consent ◽  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
The State ◽  
Self Determination ◽  
Sexual Ethics ◽  
The Third ◽  
Collective Decisions

Much of the debate around requirements for the free, prior, and informed consent of indigenous peoples has focused on enabling indigenous communities to participate in various forms of democratic decision-making alongside the state and other actors. Against this backdrop, this article sets out to defend three claims. The first two of these claims are conceptual in nature: (i) Giving (collective) consent and participating in the making of (collective) decisions are distinct activities; (ii) Despite some scepticism, there is a coherent conception of collective consent available to us, continuous with the notion of individual consent familiar from discussions in medical and sexual ethics. The third claim is normative: (iii) Participants in debates about free, prior, and informed consent must keep this distinction in view. That is because a group’s ability to give or withhold consent, and not only participate in making decisions, will play an important role in realising that collectives’ right to self-determination.

scholarly journals "Anishinaabe time": temporalities and impact assessment in pipeline reviews

2020 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sakihitowin Awasis
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Political Ecology ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
Self Determination ◽  
Kinship Relations ◽  
Decision Making Processes ◽  
The Rich ◽  
Temporal Modes ◽  
Indigenous Geographies ◽  
And Function

Indigenous ways of living that embrace multiple temporalities have been largely supplanted by a single, linear colonial temporality. Drawing on theoretical insights from Indigenous geographies and political ecology, this article considers how pipeline reviews come into being through contested temporalities and how dominant modes of time dispossess Indigenous peoples of self-determination in energy decision-making. In particular, Anishinaabe clan governance – a form of kinship that provides both social identity and function based on relations to animal nations – is undermined in colonial decision-making processes. Through analysis of documents from Canada's National Energy Board and interviews with Anishinaabe pipeline opponents, I explore tensions between Anishinaabe and settler temporalities reflected in the 2012-2017 Line 9 pipeline dispute in the Great Lakes region. These include divergent understandings of periodicities, timeframes, kinship relations, and the role of nonhuman temporalities in decision-making. Colonial temporal modes that have been imposed on Indigenous communities foreshorten timescales, depoliticize kinship relations, and discount nonhumans in decision-making – resulting in narrower and more short-sighted project reviews than Anishinaabe temporalities would support. I argue that the rich concepts of kinship, queerness, continuity, and prophecy embedded in Anishinaabe temporalities can inform strategies for decolonizing energy review processes and open possibilities for Indigenous self-determination in energy decision-making.Keywords: Anishinaabe studies, Two-Spirit, Indigenous geographies, temporalities, Indigenous knowledge, energy governance, pipeline, National Energy Board

Indigenous Education in Canada

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jo-ann Archibald – Q’um Q’um Xiiem
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Indigenous Knowledge ◽  
Indigenous People ◽  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Indigenous Education ◽  
Self Determination ◽  
Educational Policies ◽  
Aboriginal Peoples ◽  
Royal Commission ◽  
Educational Systems

Canadian Indigenous education includes education for Indigenous learners at all levels and ages and learning about Indigenous peoples’ history, cultures/knowledges, and languages for all learners in educational systems. In Canada, the journey of Indigenous people toward self-determination for Indigenous education continues to be a key challenge for government, policy makers, and Indigenous organizations. Self-determination approaches are not new. They originated in traditional forms of education that were created by and for Indigenous peoples. These authentic Indigenous approaches were disrupted by colonial educational policies enacted by state (federal government) and church that separated Indigenous children from their families and communities through boarding and Indian residential schools for over 100 years. Generations of Indigenous people were negatively impacted by these colonial educational policies and legislation, which contributed to lower educational levels among Indigenous peoples compared to non-Indigenous peoples in Canada. In response, Indigenous peoples have resisted assimilationist attempts by organizing politically, engaging in national research and commissions, and developing educational organizations to regain and revitalize self-determining approaches to Indigenous education. Indigenous peoples have played significant decision-making roles through the following national policies, research, and commissions that created opportunities for educational change: the 1972 Indian Control of Indian Education Policy; the 1991–1996 Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples; and the 2008–2015 Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada. A prevalent discourse in Canadian education specifically and Canadian society generally is about reconciliation. For Indigenous peoples, reconciliation cannot happen until educational systems ensure that Indigenous peoples have a central role in making policy and programmatic decisions, and that Indigenous knowledge systems are placed respectfully and responsibly in education at all levels. Another common discourse is about Indigenizing the Academy or Indigenizing education, which also cannot occur without Indigenous people’s direct involvement in key decision-making approaches. The Indigenous educational landscape in Canada is showing signs of slow but steady growth through Indigenous self-determination and Indigenous knowledge approaches to teaching, learning, and research.

The Right to Self-Determination under the Ethiopian Constitution: A Legal Tool for Indigenous Peoples’ Protection against Land Alienation?

2019 ◽  
Vol 63 (3) ◽  
pp. 359-383
Author(s):  
Tilahun Weldie Hindeya
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
Self Determination ◽  
Land Resources ◽  
Discretionary Power ◽  
The People ◽  
Constitutional Right ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Right

AbstractSince 2008 the Ethiopian government has allocated vast tracts of land, particularly in the Gambella and Benishangul-Gumuz regions, to agricultural commercial actors with little or no participation from indigenous communities. The marginalization of indigenous peoples in this process primarily emerges from the government's very wide legislative discretionary power regarding decision-making in the exploitation of land. The government has invoked constitutional clauses relating to land ownership and its power to deploy land resources for the “common benefit” of the people, to assert the consistency of this discretionary power with the Ethiopian Constitution. This article posits that the legislative and practical measures taken by the government that marginalize these indigenous peoples in decisions affecting the utilization of land resources are incompatible with their constitutional right to self-determination. Further, it posits that the government's use of the constitution to justify its wide discretionary power in the decision-making process relating to land exploitation is based on a misreading of the constitution.

scholarly journals Gender Inequality and Land Rights: The Situation of Indigenous Women in Cameroon

2019 ◽  
Vol 22 ◽  
pp. 1-33
Author(s):  
Esther Effundem Njieassam
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
Indigenous Women ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Economic Class ◽  
The World ◽  
Decision Making Processes ◽  
Essential Resource ◽  
Gender Based

Land is an essential resource that serves as a means of subsistence for millions of people in the world and indigenous communities and women in particular. Most indigenous societies' survival is closely tied to land. In Cameroon, indigenous women are the backbone of food production in their communities. That makes access to land important, as it is a significant source of wealth and power for indigenous peoples in general and indigenous women in particular. While women all over the world encounter gender-based discrimination in relation to the control and ownership of land, indigenous women face triple discrimination on the basis of their gender (as women), their ethnicity (as indigenous peoples) and their economic class (economically poor). They are often dehumanised, degraded and subjected to treatment as second-class human beings despite the existence of national legislation that discourages such practices. This paper interrogates the possibility of including indigenous women in government and decision-making processes in Cameroon in the hope that they may be involved in key decision-making processes that affect them, thereby reducing their economic and social vulnerability. It concludes with some thoughtful recommendations on policy reform aimed at ensuring access to land for indigenous women as well as socio-economic justice in its broadest sense.    

scholarly journals Elevating and Recognising Knowledge of Indigenous Peoples to Improve Forest Biosecurity

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rose Kuru ◽  
Alby Marsh ◽  
Beccy Ganley
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Knowledge Base ◽  
Indigenous People ◽  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Native Plant ◽  
Native Plant Species ◽  
Inclusive Approach ◽  
Decision Making Processes ◽  
Innovation Approach

Current forest biosecurity systems and processes employed in many countries are, in large, constructs of Western principles, values and science knowledge that have been introduced and integrated internationally. They are often devoid of knowledge, and of the values and principles, held by indigenous people, even those who have an intimate and enduring relationship with their forests. Indigenous people are also often overlooked in policy and decision-making processes, yet are often most affected by biosecurity pests and pathogens that impact native plant species that they may rely on for sustenance, cultural or spiritual purposes. By adopting an inclusive approach, scientists and indigenous people can achieve more comprehensive and robust biosecurity outcomes through a shared diversity of knowledge and at the same time serves to elevate and recognise the importance of indigenous knowledge. A co-innovation approach can also result in more widespread adoption of tools or practices by end-users including indigenous people. Understanding New Zealand Māori and their unique knowledge base can help improve forest biosecurity systems and practices, as can discussions of barriers that can and have prevented adoption of inclusiveness. Here we outline key principles behind indigenous engagement, specifically the need to develop enduring relationships.

scholarly journals Us Mob Online: The Perils of Identifying as Indigenous on Social Media

Genealogy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 52
Author(s):  
Bronwyn Carlson ◽  
Tristan Kennedy
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Indigenous People ◽  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Mixed Methods Research ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
Digital Environment ◽  
Collective Identities ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
Insight Into

Social media is a highly valuable site for Indigenous people to express their identities and to engage with other Indigenous people, events, conversations, and debates. While the role of social media for Indigenous peoples is highly valued for public articulations of identity, it is not without peril. Drawing on the authors’ recent mixed-methods research in Australian Indigenous communities, this paper presents an insight into Indigenous peoples’ experiences of cultivating individual and collective identities on social media platforms. The findings suggest that Indigenous peoples are well aware of the intricacies of navigating a digital environment that exhibits persistent colonial attempts at the subjugation of Indigenous identities. We conclude that, while social media remains perilous, Indigenous people are harnessing online platforms for their own ends, for the reinforcement of selfhood, for identifying and being identified and, as a vehicle for humour and subversion.

scholarly journals The Duty to Consult the Sámi in Norwegian Law

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (0) ◽  
pp. 233
Author(s):  
Øyvind Ravna
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Informed Consent ◽  
International Law ◽  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
General Review ◽  
Decision Making Processes

This article deals with the duty to consult indigenous peoples and the obligation to involve these peoples in decision-making processes in matters that concern them. After a general review of international legislation and obligations, particularly the ILO Convention no. 169 on Indigenous and Tribal Peoples, the article focuses on how these obligations are implemented towards the indigenous Sámi in Norwegian law. Here, the consultation agreement from 2005 and the Sámi Rights Committee’s 2007 draft are still central. The review includes an analysis of the extent to which these duties meet international law requirements, and a deliberation on the concept of free, prior and informed consent.

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