Scott Rutherford
Scott Rutherford reading
P.9-10
Colonialism is still impacting Indigenous peoples globally, especially in White-settler nations like Canada.
Canada’s colonial legacy continues through policies such as the Indian Act, which determines ‘Indian’ status, affecting Indigenous identity.
Indigenous peoples face struggles with treaty rights, national citizenship, and the balancing act of life in cities and on reserves.
Historical colonial policies like residential schools forced Indigenous peoples to abandon their languages, customs, and family connections.
Bonita Lawrence, a Mi’kmaw scholar, has contributed significantly to understanding these struggles, focusing on urban, non-status, and Métis identities, and Indigenous justice.
Lawrence also explores the tensions between Indigenous struggles and the anti-racist movements of Black and other racialized groups in Canada.
A key issue today is the ongoing exploitation of Indigenous lands by resource companies, driven by capitalist greed and Western consumerism.
Citizenship is a major concern for Indigenous peoples, as their identity is often limited by colonial definitions, reducing it to racial identity.
Pg.11-12
Under the Indian Act, two generations of intermarriage result in the loss of Indigenous status, which is the primary form of recognition for Indigenous peoples in Canada.
Many Indigenous groups without status, such as the Algonquins or Lubicon Cree, continue to assert their cultural and land rights.
The Indian Act does not define Native identity but controls citizenship, and there’s a prediction that no status Indians will remain in four to seven generations.
Marrying non-Indigenous people under the Indian Act is seen as "diluting blood," leading to the loss of citizenship, which is unique to Indigenous peoples.
Bill C-31 (1985) is intensifying the loss of status despite being introduced to address gender discrimination.
Connection to land is crucial for Indigenous peoples; however, Western educational systems, with their rigid calendars, often clash with Indigenous cultural practices like geese hunting or wild rice harvesting.
The "churn pattern" refers to Indigenous peoples moving back and forth between urban and reserve life, developing hybrid identities.
Loss of status means not being able to return to live on reserve lands, creating permanent urban identities for some Indigenous peoples.
Urban Indigenous identities can differ from reserve-based identities, and urban Indigenous people may feel excluded or misunderstood by reserve communities.
In the 1960s-1970s, Indigenous and marginalized groups in Canada shared common anti-colonial struggles, but today, multiculturalism has co-opted anti-racist movements, often binding marginalized groups to the settler-state.
Some Black Canadian activists acknowledge colonialism, but their focus is often on challenging racial exclusion rather than fully confronting Canada’s colonialism.
Writers like Dionne Brand recognize Toronto as Indigenous land but suggest that acknowledging this would disrupt the desires of diasporic peoples to avoid further displacement.
Pg.13
The article "Decolonizing Anti-Racism," co-written by Bonita Lawrence and Enakshi Dua, critiques the erasure of Indigenous peoples in anti-racism discourse.
It argues that racialized people need to understand Indigenous concerns, and Indigenous people need to recognize that colonialism is a global issue, not just local to Canada.
The alliance between Indigenous peoples and people of color should be based on shared experiences of colonialism, not just racism.
Native studies often focus solely on Indigenous and settler (White) issues, while anti-racism and critical race studies mostly focus on people of color, neglecting Indigenous experiences.
To address this gap, Lawrence and Dua helped create the Race, Ethnicity, and Indigeneity (REI) program at York University, integrating Native decolonization with anti-racism work.
The REI program aims to bridge these disciplines, showing that anti-racism efforts cannot succeed without addressing Indigenous decolonization.
Native peoples need access to global colonialism theories to understand the wider impact of colonialism on their identities.
In urban settings like Toronto, Native peoples are often invisible, particularly due to the large presence of visible minorities and immigrants, making it difficult to recognize Indigenous issues in mainstream discourse.
Toronto's Native population, largely mixed-blood and urban, is often dismissed as "not real Indians" compared to more visible Native populations in western Canada or northern Ontario.
In contrast, cities like Winnipeg, where Native presence is more visible, highlight the persistence of settler colonialism and Indigenous segregation, making it harder for Canada to present itself as free of colonial stains.
Anti-racist discourse in Toronto erases the visibility and concerns of Indigenous peoples, reflecting the broader invisibility of Native communities in urban areas.
Pg. 14
The REI program aimed to address the realities of Native people in urban settings like southern Ontario and Vancouver, which differ from those living in more remote areas affected by resource development.
Unlike many Native studies programs in eastern Canada, where White faculty and students dominate, the REI program forces White faculty to recognize their positionality and engage with people of color, as it’s focused on addressing colonialism.
The program speaks primarily to Native people affected by urbanization and multiculturalism, rather than those in isolated communities, who require different survival tools.
There have been struggles within the program, particularly from faculty of color, who sometimes feel that incorporating colonialism into anti-racism makes the focus uncomfortable or incompatible with their views.
These struggles can manifest in a lack of support for the program, especially from faculty who are not fully committed to anti-colonialism.
Tensions arise in hiring decisions when Native faculty are prioritized over other faculty of color, causing competition over limited resources and highlighting the difficult dynamics between Native peoples and other marginalized groups.
Multiculturalism discourse complicates these issues, promoting the idea that all struggles are equally valid and preventing the confrontation of contradictions between different communities’ claims.
This pluralistic view of resistance makes it challenging to address specific Indigenous issues, as it fails to consider the historical and ongoing impacts of settler colonialism.
In Toronto, the multiculturalism policy often leads to Indigenous issues being invisible or ignored, with many people unaware that Native communities even exist.
The article “Decolonizing Anti-Racism” sought to challenge the pluralistic, multicultural approach and push for more nuanced, anti-colonial understandings of resistance.
Pg.15-16
The chapter with Zainab Amadahy built upon the ideas in "Decolonizing Anti-Racism" and aimed to address Black-Indigenous relations, particularly in Canada and the US.
The chapter stemmed from a discussion with African heritage peoples, where an African-American theorist raised concerns about reparations and the implications of addressing Indigenous land claims without appropriating them.
The piece highlighted the long history of intermarriage between Black and Native peoples, emphasizing that no other people of color share this particular history.
It also noted that most of Africa has not been fully decolonized, and that even though African nations are recognized, they remain among the poorest globally, while Indigenous nations lack recognized sovereignty.
The authors encouraged Black and Indigenous individuals, especially Black Mi’kmaws, to conduct research and document their histories, which remain largely invisible.
The article also addressed the continued silence of Black and Indigenous communities in Canada, primarily due to settler-racism faced by both groups.
Lorraine Le Camp’s PhD research explored how minstrel shows in Canada, while reinforcing anti-Black racism, also served to bond White settlers against Indigenous peoples, particularly on the prairies.
Minstrel shows helped create a common sense of White racial superiority, as settlers, divided by European hierarchies, united in consuming degrading portrayals of Black people.
The article also examined the impact of global empire history on local issues in Canada, particularly how identity legislation in Canada was shaped by British colonial practices in India.
India served as a testing ground for British colonial ideas that later influenced Canadian identity laws and race categories.
Additionally, it pointed out that Indigenous nationhood is conceptualized differently in the US and Canada: in the US, Native peoples were legally defined as "domestic dependent nations," whereas in Canada, Indigenous peoples have never been recognized as nations by the British or Canadian state.
This lack of recognition continues to be a major struggle for Indigenous peoples in Canada, as their nationhood is still denied in legal and political frameworks.
Pg.17-18
Decisions seen as positive are influenced by the denial of Indigenous nationhood at the core of Canadian society.
Globalization today often involves Indigenous land being signed away by corrupt leaders, who are validated by outside interests.
These leaders are often manipulated into allowing resource exploitation on their lands, as seen with the Olympics and community resistance.
Taiaiake Alfred’s book Wasáse discusses how Indigenous leaders across Canada are compromised by these modern globalized forces.
In Canada, the "land claims" industry, tied to globalization, often elevates corrupt leaders, undermining traditional leadership, with imprisonment used as a tool of control.
The Canadian mining industry, along with other resource sectors like logging and fishing, frequently opposes Indigenous resistance to land exploitation.
Many Indigenous youth in Canada are forming global connections, especially with Pacific Rim nations and South American Indigenous communities, strengthening pan-Indigenous identity and resistance.
Grassroots Indigenous resistance emphasizes re-empowering communities through traditional cultural values, language, and relationships to the land.
Reclaiming traditional ways of life is seen as crucial to survival, with a focus on restoring trust and communication within communities, especially after the trauma caused by the residential school system.
Many communities are struggling with isolation and internal violence due to the residential school legacy, which has fractured relationships.
Traditional Indigenous teachings, which emphasized peace and respect, need to be restored to heal communities.
Rebuilding communities is seen as the first step toward resistance; it is not about large-scale confrontations, but reconstituting cultural practices.
Unfortunately, even basic cultural practices are criminalized by the state, as seen in historical events like Oka, Gustafson Lake, and Ipperwash.
Scott Rutherford summary:
Abstract
Interview with Bonita Lawrence, focused on crucial issues facing Native people in Canada.
Discusses the denial of citizenship from the Indian Act’s definition of ‘Indianness’ reducing cultural identity to racial identity.
Explores common ground between Indigenous struggles and anti-racist struggles of Black people and other racialized groups.
Critiques superficial multiculturalism.
Colonialism's Continued Impact
Colonialism did not end with decolonization; its legacies are evident in the lives of Indigenous peoples.
Past policies aimed at cultural eradication, e.g., residential schools, still haunt Indigenous generations.
Contemporary state policies like the Indian Act dictate who has ‘Indian’ status, affecting treatment and rights.
Contemporary Issues for Indigenous Peoples
Many Indigenous peoples navigate treaty rights, national citizenship, and urban life.
Corporations and the Canadian state vie for control over Indigenous land, complicating identity and citizenship issues.
Bonita Lawrence’s Background
Associate professor at York University specializing in Indigenous studies.
Founding member of Indigenous thought programs.
Research focuses on urban, non-status, and Métis identities, and Indigenous justice.
Publications include works addressing mixed-blood identities and Indigenous community resilience.
Actively involved in community service and traditional singing.
Key Issues Discussed
Colonialism in Everyday Life
Resource companies pose significant threats to Indigenous lands, equating exploitation with progress.
Diminishing ‘Indian status’ raises concerns about cultural and legal recognition.
Registration and Citizenship
The Indian Act restricts citizenship through intermarriage, questioning identity preservation.
Non-status Indigenous groups fight for rights and recognition, complicating identity politics.
Loss of status leads to loss of treaty rights and connects to urban displacement.
Identity Dislocation
Urban Native peoples experience a disconnect from cultural practices and traditional identities.
The experience of being an ‘urban Indian’ complicates perceptions and relationships between reserve and urban identities.
Anti-Colonial and Anti-Racism Frameworks
Multi-layered Struggles
Intersections of Indigenous and Black struggles complicate social movements in Canada.
Multiculturalism can dilute anti-racist efforts and obscure Indigenous issues.
Activism from marginalized groups may invoke colonialism but often fails to align with Indigenous struggles.
Anti-Racist Discourse
There is a critical need for Indigenous peoples to be recognized within anti-racism frameworks.
Programs like Race, Ethnicity, and Indigeneity aim to bridge gaps and encourage inclusive dialogues.
Addressing Historical Erasure
Emphasizes the need for solidarity among diverse racialized groups to confront colonialism collectively.
Discusses the implications of recognizing Black-Indian relationships in Canada for anti-colonial efforts.
Global and Local Interconnections
Colonial policies in Canada reflect historical practices from British colonialism in India.
Comparisons are drawn between definitions of Indigenous nations in the US vs Canada, emphasizing different legal standings.
Grassroots Resistance and Cultural Reclamation
Resistance includes grassroots movements focused on cultural renewal and reclaiming traditional practices.
Importance of rebuilding community trust and fostering dialogue among Indigenous peoples.
Colonial legacies significantly impact Indigenous rights and social structures.
Conclusion
Emphasizes the importance of understanding and reclaiming Indigenous cultural identities.
Asserts that collaborative efforts among marginalized groups must acknowledge the root of colonial injustices.