English Challenging Colonialism

Colonial Policies (Legacies of colonialism)

Policies, like the Doctrine of Discovery, created in Europe that dictated that Europeans could claim and settle "vacant land."

Vacant land = non Christian people inhabiting the land. The belief was that if the "pagan inhabitants" living there could be colonized, they could be spared (i.e. they were allowed to live).

Colonial Policies (Techniques to combat colonialism)

Pieces/events that educate us about colonial policies and acknowledge the legacy of these policies.

Assimilation Policies (Legacies of colonialism)

Creation of assimilative policies like the Indian Act & the Sixties Scoop.

Some things included in the Indian Act:

• Creation of reserves (usually on sub-par land) and only allowing people to leave the reserve with permission from the government
  Banning of cultural practices (like throat singing, powwows, speaking Indigenous languages etc.)

• Creation of residential schools

The Sixties Scoop:

• Foster Care system took Indigenous children away from their families.

Assimilation Policies (Techniques to combat colonialism)

Pieces/events that reveal truths about assimilation policies and acknowledge the impacts - like intergenerational trauma - from the Indian Act, residential schools, Sixties Scoop etc.

Privileging Eurocentric History (Legacies of colonialism)

Up until very recently, Indigenous history and the history of colonialism in Canada was not predominantly taught in schools.

For example, even in the late 2000s, residential schools were not taught about.

European, settler versions of Canadian history were prioritized.

Stories and history about Indigenous peoples were also told by settlers.

Privileging Eurocentric History (Techniques to combat colonialism)

Pieces/events that spotlight Indigenous history and uncovering truths about Canada's colonial history.

Land taken away (Legacies of colonialism)

Creation of unfair treaties by the British & Canadian government that manipulated Indigenous people and often resulted in them losing land, as well as their right to hunting/fishing/trapping on that land.

Relocating Indigenous peoples, like in the High Arctic Relocation of Inuit people.

Land taken away (Techniques to combat colonialism)

Pieces/events that show Indigenous peoples taking up space, being on the Land that is traditionally theirs in a modern context etc.

Destruction of Indigenous Languages (Legacies of colonialism)

Giving Indigenous people European names for "tracking" the population of Indigenous peoples.

Forbidding Indigenous peoples from speaking their language, like at residential schools.

Destruction of Indigenous Languages (Techniques to combat colonialism)

Voicing & reclaiming Indigenous languages, for example, pieces or events that feature Indigenous languages being spoken and/or raising awareness on the need to strengthen Indigenous languages.

Dominance of Eurocentric cultural forms (Legacies of colonialism)

Colonialism also includes privileging Eurocentric cultural forms, like European painting and European literature.

For example, until recently European literature, like Shakespeare, was what was exclusively taught in high school English classes.

We are exposed to and know many European musicians, artists, and writers, but we do not have the same knowledge of Indigenous musicians, artists and writers.

Dominance of Eurocentric cultural forms (Techniques to combat colonialism)

Pieces/events that feature Indigenous culture forms like beading, throat singing, jingle dress dancing and normalizing/celebrating Indigenous cultural norms, like seal hunting.

Binary gender system & patriarchy (Legacies of colonialism)

The notion of there being two strict, opposing genders (male & female) is a colonial idea.

Indigenous cultures have a much more fluid understanding of gender, and Two Spirit people (those who move between masculine and feminine gender identity/expression) were highly regarded and valued.

The notion of men being superior and more powerful than women was not the norm in many Indigenous cultures. Women are highly regarded and valued, and were often leaders, for example, in the form of clan mothers.

Binary gender system & patriarchy (Techniques to combat colonialism)

Pieces/events that show representation of two spirit identities.

Pieces that celebrate the social & political power of Indigenous women.

Government Neglect (Legacies of colonialism)

Neglecting to improve conditions on reserves, like clean drinking water, access to affordable food, access to adequate health care, access to adequate mental health care, access to cultural learning

Environmental racism, like placing a mercury plant right beside a river on Grassy Narrows First Nation.

Epidemic of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and Two Spirit People and lack of adequate government response.

Government Neglect (Techniques to combat colonialism)

Pieces that reveal past and current governmental neglect for issues affecting Indigenous peoples, like the epidemic of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women, Girls and Two Spirit People, over-incarceration of Indigenous peoples, poor reserve conditions etc.

Excluding Indigenous Voices (Legacies of colonialism)

Indigenous voices have been excluded from many spaces including politics/government, business, education, fashion etc.

For example, it wasn't until 1960 that Indigenous people could vote in Canada.

The Indian Act also stated that First Nations people could not go to university unless they gave up their First Nations status.

Excluding Indigenous Voices (Techniques to combat colonialism)

Pieces/events that centre Indigenous voices in different realms - education, business, government/politics, fashion, etc.

Stereotyped Representations of Indigenous Peoples (Legacies of colonialism)

Colonialism is also ongoing racist representation of Indigenous peoples in media, or, the lack of representation.

Stereotypes that are often perpetuated about Indigenous Peoples in the media include:

• That they are a dying race, only existing in the past.

• Indigenous women as over-sexualized

• The "noble savage" stereotype

• Pan Indigeneity (All Indigenous Peoples are the same)

Stereotyped Representations of Indigenous Peoples (Techniques to combat colonialism)

Pieces/events that humanize Indigenous people, convey the diversity of Indigenous peoples, are non-stereotypical and that represent them as modern people who exist both in the present and the future, etc.