Native Presence and Sovereignty in College

I have watched some plays recently at Firehall Theatre. I saw Women of the Fur Trade and enjoyed it. I particularly enjoyed Eugina, and in particular, her portrayal of a woman who had freedom of mobility and who participated in the public sphere of the economy. It has a study guide as well. Even if I am not teaching a text, I like to look at study guides just to check out the pedagogy. 

If one wanted to extend their learning, they could read Daniel Voth's essay "Descendants of the Original Lords of Soil": Indignation, Disobedience, and Women Who Jig on Sundays in the book Indigenous Resurgence in an Age of Reconciliation. In the essay, he basically argues that Metis people are Indigenous through women. 

I also watched Inner Elder. I totally confess that I did not know much about the show before going. When she kept saying "alcoholic" again and again and again and again in the first ten minutes, I thought to myself "oh no, what have I gotten myself into?" The second half redeemed itself through comedy... although, as an Indigenous person I always get a little miffed when an Indigenous person on stage (whether it be pro-d or performing arts) does a direct address to the white audience. What am I - chopped liver? That being said, definitely an inspiring tale of how one person overcame a very challenging childhood in order to experience success in their field. I think the core concept within the show was that her challenging childhood was something that she tapped into in order to portray her character on Blackstone which led to her receiving a prestigious award. So, taking hardship and turning it into resilience. Without a doubt, the biggest strength of the show was the audience participation portion. I sat in the front row... and I am just really relieved that I was not part of the show, but, I also found it wildly entertaining that she brought people up to be part of the show. I also have to say that I am so impressed when someone can do a sixty minute show on their own. I can't imagine the sheer energy it must take to be the sole performer for an entire hour. 

All and all, very happy that I was able to see both shows, and gratitude to the iconic Firehall for supporting Indigenous theatre. 

Before going to the Firehall we went to Bao Bei for dinner. I love bao. There used to be a store in my neighborhood that sold delicious and affordable bao. It had brown paper on the window, no seats, and the only furniture was a counter where you could get 3 for $10. Sadly, due to gentrification, it is gone now. Bao Bei is a more upscale experience. Their bao, while delicious, are definitely not 3 for $10. They do have Sichuan fried chicken, which has a special oil on it that makes your mouth go numb. If you want to try something totally new, go try their chicken. Trust me - it's an experience. 

I recently read Native Presence and Sovereignty in College: Sustaining Indigenous Weapons to Defeat Systemic Monsters by Amanda R. Tachine. It's part of the Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy series by Teachers' College Press. I first heard of culturally sustaining pedagogy in the introduction to Indigenous and Decolonizing Studies in Education: Mapping the Long View by Linda Tuhiwai Smith, Eve Tuck, and K. Wayne Yang. I vaguely understand culturally sustaining pedagogies to be a close relative to culturally responsive pedagogy/culturally relevant pedagogy, with a key difference being that teachers of Indigenous students work in a context where sometimes they are teaching within the context of knowledge(s) which exist within their teaching communities and student body, but which are not brought into the curriculum and classroom due to explicit prohibitions around who can hold knowledge. Thus, while the educator delivers formal education, they also engage practices which respect and do not undermine knowledge systems which exist outside of formal education, and which resist being subsumed into formal education. I could be wrong about that. Maybe I should do a separate inquiry into the term to ensure that I am understanding it correctly. I should add the book "Culturally Sustaining Pedagogies" to my reading list. 

Anyhow, I loved the structure of this book. It used the Navajo concept of monsters to frame the challenges that Navajo students encounter in their pursuit of post-secondary education. The author interviewed first year Navajo students about their lives, and it was a student who initially engaged this cultural concept of a monster. The author then expanded on the concept, using monster to describe systemic barriers to Indigenous student success. Monsters include things like financial barriers and classroom practices which undermine Indigenous students' sense of belonging in post-secondary. There were a number of gripping anecdotes within the book. For example, one of the students recalls receiving letters about scholarships, and going to the park to open the letters with their friends who also got letters. The students who did receive scholarships had a bittersweet experience, because they were also comforting their friends who did not receive scholarships (p. 42). I think that the research had the perfect number of participants, because there were enough to provide a range of perspectives, but few enough that I felt like I got to know some of the participants through the author's descriptions of them and through the many interview excerpts included throughout the book. The monsters concept comes from the Navajo twin story, in which there are twins who fight monsters. So, the author talks about how Indigenous students use various weapons in order to succeed in post-secondary. The weapons are not violence. They are "action and processual oriented and involved remembering, repositioning, and resurging against systems of domination." (p. 13). I love this framing of the twin story and its concept of monsters in order to interpret and represent the participants' experiences in post-secondary. I think that it is a strengths based approach. Within this framing, the author spent a lot of time integrating concepts from Indigenous scholarship, such as resurgence and survivance, while also critically examining the legal and historical context of the education of Navajo students in the US. The book is an excellent example of the way that storytelling tradition is not just a recital of stories, rather, the storytelling tradition also involves bringing the stories to life by engaging them in such a way that they help us to make meaning of the world and find our way in contemporary life. 

The methodological choices were also interesting. Inspired in part by Jo-Ann Archibald, she used a story rug as her method (p. 15). In terms of ethics, she did reach out to the Navajo Nation to ask if they wanted to engage with her research, but they told her that "because this research would occur off of the juridical boundaries of the Navajo Nation, Tribal approval was not warranted." (p. 15). I also note that she writes the book to her children (p. xi) and several times directly addresses her children. I really appreciate that, because oftentimes Indigenous people are not the target audience. Often, books are written with a general audience in mind, or even in order to help non-Indigenous people better understand Indigenous people. I know that type of work is important, but it is also weird to be sidelined within an imaginary audience. So I notice and feel joy whenever a book is written in a way that centers Indigenous readers. 

I also like the way that the book ended - with youth offering some final words, hopes for the future, and prayers. Here are some examples: 

Sam: Strength, energy, and clarity of mind to pursue my dreams and continue on strong with my life. That my path will be cleared of any obstructions and my vision is clear, that I will see what I need to do, how I need to do it, just where the road leads. Really, the biggest prayers, what I need to do to become what I need to be. (p. 184). 

Sarah: Pray for us to be more humble and to remember who we are and where we come from... Help us in that way so we can also help others... Help us keep our minds right. Help us remember our main goals, help us be as leaders, and help us be thankful too and just look back, and this is what we've done and we need to pass it along. Bless us financially so it won't be a burden. Bless our academics. Bless our living situations while we are here. But most of all, like I said mentally, physically and emotionally, bless us in that way to be strong, to keep strong. (p. 182). 

I highly recommend this book for anyone who works with Indigenous students in any capacity. The author also did a book talk which is available on the University of Chicago's Center for the Study of Race, Politics and Culture's youtube channel. I listened to the book talk after reading the book. I think I would have actually benefitted from listening to it before reading the book, so that I could "hear" the book in the author's voice while reading it. She is a very engaging speaker, and I also like how she said that before she became a researcher, she was a teacher in K-12. 

Ways of Being in the World: An Introduction to Indigenous Philosophies of Turtle Island

 I recently went to Bill Reid Gallery for their new exhibit, Vital Signs. Here is a description of the exhibit from Bill Reid Gallery: 

We are currently living through a very critical time of recurring natural disasters caused by climate change. Indigenous people and communities are some of the most impacted by these disasters. Our traditional territories are being affected by flooding, fires, drought, and in many areas a decline of the species that we rely on for hunting and fishing. Indigenous people have been at the forefront of environmental activism for generations and continue to actively fight for our traditional lands. 

Vital Signs is a group exhibition that features artists who are discussing the impact of climate change through personal experiences and effects on their traditional territories in a variety of mediums. The title, Vital Signs, refers to the measurements of the body’s most basic functions, but is also a reference to how the land is essential to our being and is a living entity itself. 

The artists featured in this exhibition are Jade Baxter (Nlaka’pamux), Jasper Berehulke (Syilx/Okanagan), Kali Spitzer (Kaska Dena), Kwiis Hamilton (Hupačasath/Leq’a:mel), Rebecca Baker-Grenier (Kwakiuł, Dzawada’enuwx, and Sḵwx̱wú7mesh), and Sage Nowak (Tahltan). 

Co-curated by Aliya Boubard and Amelia Rea

The entire exhibit is great, and worth checking out. And Bill Reid Gallery is a fabulous space. The work that spoke to me the most was Jade Baxter's film Why Would I Leave? The film featured audio of Jade reading a poem with footage of the devastating 2021 Lytton fire. You can read more about the exhibit in this IndigiNews article.

And here is the fancy dinner that I had after work and on my way to the art gallery. 

I recently read a book on Indigenous philosophies - Ways of Being in the World. It is an edited collection, created to support post-secondary faculty teaching about Indigenous philosophy. The editor, Andrea Sullivan-Clarke, is Muskogee and has three degrees in philosophy. The book contains an introductory essay. Then it is grouped into five parts and each part has its own brief introduction. And then each selection within the parts has its own blurb. There are seventeen selections, and the authors range from a Mexican American person writing about Aztecs to an Inuit person writing about contemporary life. Each selection also has a few discussion questions and also a QR code which readers can scan with their phones in order to go to webpages which contain videos as well as links to art and poetry. I like the way that it is a book, yes, but it is also a virtual space, allowing for a more dynamic reader experience. 

The essays feature a number of voices which were already familiar to me, such as Vine Deloria Jr. Winona LaDuke, Kyle Powys White, and Jo-Ann Archibald. And it also includes works by people that I am less familiar with, such as Peter Irniq and and Viola Cordova. One of the essays which I liked the most was by Joseph Len Miller, on living in harmony. I think that it would be great to use it as a discussion piece for Indigenous scholars in order to discuss how to navigate that ongoing tension between trying to fit into the academy (harmony with out world) and trying to transform the academy (harmony with one's own inner world). I found the book extremely accessible. I planned to sit down and read one essay at a time with my morning coffee. But I often found myself reading two or three essays per sitting. 

If I were to use it as a teaching resource, I would probably develop my own questions, because I have certain ways that I like to approach things. But the questions included in the book are good for those reading the book on their own, without an instructor. 

The word "philosophy" is laden with many colonial connotations, due to a history of what Marie Battiste calls cognitive imperialism. It would be easy for philosophy to eat up Indigenous philosophies, incorporating them into mainstream scholarly practices in such a way that they become consumed and lose the qualities that make them Indigenous. It is also the opposite of holistic and relational to assume that anyone can know anything about Indigenous philosophies without actually engaging with Indigenous people individually and collectively on their own terms (AKA not within the walls of a mainstream state institution). Can Indigenous philosophy be truly known without interacting with Indigenous people? Maybe not entirely, but I guess one could be introduced to ideas from Indigenous philosophies through a book, and the book title definitely says it is an introduction. Then comes the question, "how can one engage with Indigenous philosophical works without recreating colonial patterns of harm?" The editor of this book provides guidelines in the introduction for working respectfully with Indigenous philosophies. She uses the Muskogee saying "Cokv Kerretv Heret Os" (learning is good) as inspiration to create a list of tips for teaching Indigenous philosophy. I won't share them all, but here are my favourites:

• Focus on the philosophical thought instead of attempting to explain or practice the culture.
• Indigenous philosophical thought is not to be used as a tool to understand or support Western philosophy.
• While we refer to Indigenous philosophy in the general sense, the thought of each community remains distinct. Do not overgeneralize. 
• Acknowledge your sources and seek permission to use Indigenous materials and stories.

It stops here: Standing up for our lands, our waters, and our people by Rueben George with Michael Simpson

 Rueben George is Chief Dan George's grandson. In this book, which is basically a memoir, he talks about spending time with his grandfather, and how his grandfather nurtured hin when he was a child. 

He mentions the Chief Dan George prayer song (AKA Coast Salish anthem) so I listened to it while writing this post. Beautiful song. 

Overall, I thought this was a great book. Rueben is so present in Vancouver. I think last time that I saw him speak was at Vancouver Indigenous Fashion Week. I always love to listen to him. He is wise and shares great teachings, but he is also funny and makes people feel good even when discussing difficult things. One might even say that being funny and making people feel good is a teaching that he embodies and models. 

Because I work in education, I'm always interested to see what people say about education. In his memoir, he talks about how his mom went to residential school. 

"Even after the children left residential schools, they were still shamed and looked down upon by wider society. My grandma tried moving my mom out of residential school and into Burrard Inlet Elementary in Deep Cove. The parents at that school held a community meeting because they were outraged at the idea of a First Nations kid going to school with their children. The parents and communities members all said that there was no way this could happen, and they demanded that the Native kids stay in the residential schools where all these horrible things were happening. My grandma went down to that meeting and heard the other parents say terrible things about how her kids were dirty and ugly. She stook up and said, "My kids are clean and healthy." Only one other parent stood up to defend our family. She said that she knew our family and that my mom and her siblings were clean, good kids, Eventually my mom did get out of residential school and went to high school, but there she was picked on almost daily. The Government of Canada was treating us as if we were lesser than people of European descent, and some of the people of Canada treated us that way too." (George & Simpson, 2024, p. 22). 

In a subsequent section, Rueben talks about his own experience and how his family had difficulty registering him in elementary school. "My mom took me to register at Plymouth Elementary School in North Vancouver, but the principal there said that he didn't want me at his school because there were no other Native kids there. He told my mom to send me to Sherwood Park Elementary because that's where the Natives went. The principal said that straight out and my mom was shocked." (George & Simpson, 2024, p. 29). 

Land acknowledgements are common place in Vancouver. I think that it's important to spend time learning about the perspectives of the people who are Indigenous to the place on which you are doing an acknowledgement. And so I'm glad that Rueben took the time to write this book and share his perspective with the world in an easy to access way. 

Indigenous thought / anarchy venn diagram

In a previous post, I mentioned that I am reading chaotically right now. This means that I am just reading whatever on whatever subject, for no reason. After five years of carefully reading everything through the lens of "does this help my dissertation? If so, how?" - it is incredibly liberating to read and react without having to connect everything to a larger project. I actually feel like I could theoretically go back and read everything I have read over the last five years and see it with fresh eyes, because I am no longer reading with an end in mind. 

Generally speaking, I do try to ready broadly. I try not to limit myself to reading books written by people that I know I will agree with. I do this so that I can broaden my horizons and avoid the dreaded "living in an echo chamber." So, I was keen to read this book on anarchy even though I am most defenitely not an anarchist. 

Once I started reading it, though, I remembered why I don't read a lot of anarchist books. I am not a Marxist, but I do find Marx useful and I am a fan of looking at things through a historical materialism lens, systemic change, and critical theory. I would also place myself in the political left, and I consider myself to be progressive. the book openly frowned on these things in a few places (see pages 14-17 as an example). In spite of the fact that the book took issue with some core elements of my identity, I found it an interesting read. The format was really accessible, with FAQs at the end of each chapter, addressing questions such as: "Do I have to be polyamorous?" The answer is no because a good anarchist would not prescribe anything. Or, "Is it better to have a job I don't care about or a job I do care about?" The answer is that having a job that you don't care about makes it easier to to not identify with your work, but if you must have a good job, just don't identify with your work. 

There are a lot of things I disagree with in this book, like the discussion around looting and stealing. Or the claim that there is no such thing as ethical work. But while I read, I tried to look for things that I did agree with, in order to try to understand the author's perspective and anarchy. I think that one of the things that I did appreciate about the book was the idea that we don't have to just passively accept all social structures in society. There is a lot of room to negotiate, and to try to find ways that celebrate our ability to exercise freedom and choice, and to try to imagine and re-imagine how we might interact with each other. Freedon already exists in many areas of our life, we just have to act upon it by making and re-making our social world every day. 

Meme - horse and lawnchair

Something that I did find disorienting while reading was the claims that anarchy is compatible with Indigenous though and decolonial theory. I found that the way that the author included Indigenous thought was similar to the way that clastic rocks bring in various rocks, they are included but they are not actually incorporated. A bringing together of differences substances, but not actually true integration or transformation. The author references Leanne Betasamosake Simpson a few times, but I found it difficult to see where the connections lie. 

Perhaps, if I were in conversation with the author, they would tell me that my disorientation is because I am reading Simpson, wrong. Perhaps they would tell me that I am so deeply immersed in so many institutions that my ability to see the anarchist threads in Indigenous works may be clouded. And maybe that is a little true, as we all read texts through our own interests any experiences. Nonetheless, in an attempt to orient myself, I made a little Venn diagram with pen and paper in order to try to keep track of my own thoughts. And then I tried to reproduce it in Canva, in order to further my ongoing goal to become more proficient at knowledge mobilitation. But I am not yet a Canva expert, so I had to make two venns - the compare venn and the contrast venn. 

If someone wanted to criticize my venns, it would be easy. First, the stuff in the Indigneous column was done from memory based on books by Indigenous people published in North America, as well as my lived experience as an Indigneous person. One might say that I am making broad generalizations, and that is true, this is a quick and dirty diagram. Another criticism is that Indigenous people are not a monolith, and so it's impossible to capture Indigenous thought in a venn diagram. That's true. This chart glosses over diversity within Indigenous thought, and merely captures themes that come up often and/or stand out to me in books that I have read. So, this chart is by no means an authoritative chart. It's just a form of self-expression in response to a book that I read, and it was fun to make this chart. 

As you can see, while there are a number of similarities, the ares of mutual incompatibility are extremely significant. One of the biggest differences for me is identity. It is very meaningful to me to belong to the Tsilhqot'in Nation. I enjoy learning about our history and learning about/ participating in the ways that we are continuing to exist as a collective now and into the future. I think Branson's claim that identity is just a marker of oppression is extremely incompatible with my experience of Tsilhqot'in identity. Some might even say it is a deficiency take on my Indigneous identity. So, I am not convinced by Branson's book that Indigneous thought can be easily incorporated into anarchy. 

I am definitely not going to become an anarchist after reading the book. I remain deeply committed to family, supporting Indigenous traditions, participation in political life, progressive politics, and also participation in various institutions/organizations that I believe in. I did not find many of the proposed activities in the book very appealing. However, after I read the book, I was discussing this with a family member, and they said that anarchy is not easily theorized because people who are actually doing anarchy are not theorizing it, they are just doing it, and that's what anarchy is. That comment shifted my perspective a little, and maybe having read the book, I will begin to notice little acts of anarchy in the world around me, and gain a better understanding of it by noticing what it looks like in practice. 

In other news, Reservation Dogs is on CBC Gem and I am watching it now. It is so good. One of my favourite scenes so far is when a Dallas Goldtooth's character tries to convince Gary Farmer's character that Crazy Horse had a man moon. Sooooo funny. 

Reservation Dogs is definitely my new favourite beading show. 

Indigenous Resurgence in an age of Reconciliation

I recently visited the Musée national des beaux-arts du Québec. One of this pieces was this work by Michael Patten. The caption hanging beside it says "The bloody-looking end of this baseball bat highlights its potential for being used for violent acts. By covering the bat with seed beads, Patten affirms a strong identity associated with a traditional Indigenous practice: beading. Although he covers the object as if to camouflage it, at the same time he reveals part of Canada's history: the blood stain is not some unshaped blob but a map of the country." I think Quebec City is a good place for this work to hang because the city definitely celebrates violence through its use of cannons as decorative objects. I noticed that a lot of the plaques and other public educational displays talk about early settlement and the use of military might within the context of competing colonial powers. However, I think its always important to keep in mind that even though these technologies of violence were not places there specifically for use against Indigenous people (according to the various displays), surely their mere existence surely impacted relationships with Indigenous people at the time. 

I recently read this book, Indigenous Resurgence in an Era of Reconciliation. 

Overall, I found it a great read. There were a few chapters in particular where I paused and thought to myself "I love the way that this chapter has been intentionally structured." A lot of analytical thinkers here. It is an edited collection of essays. The book was the product of a symposium at University of Victoria in 2017, which I am presuming that some or all of the authors attended. There are some books where they are outward looking, as in, they are speaking directly to a non-Indigenous audience or in a way to educate people who may be unfamiliar with Indigenous issues. What I loved about this book is that it felt like Indigenous people talking to other Indigenous people with the assumption that everyone in the conversation is well versed in the basics, and thus capable of engaging in the nuances of various ongoing debates. In my mind, the book stands out as special and unique in that respect. 

I particularly enjoyed Dian Million's essay,  "Spirit as matter: Resurgence as rising and (re)creation." Effect of urbanization, industrialization, and criminalization of Indigenous lifeways on Indigenous people, with a focus on the Pacific Northwest, and, more specifically, the damage done to the Columbia River. Here are some notes on that chapter:

• "The Colombia River's loss cannot be measured. Their loss was a spiritual blow to the lives of Native peoples in the Pacific Northwest and to all of us who contemplated the silencing of these places." (Million, 2023, p. 46). 
• "I claim that anywhere we are is already an Indigenous place first. An Indigenous ethos rises when we take responsibility for where we are, in the power and depth of our relations and responsibility to the Indigenous people of the places we are - to know and honour their ancient relations in that place. We have a responsibility to know the languages of these places and recognize them in the land, in their names for food and kinship. We need to honour and uphold these relations first, and to know that our Indigenous spirit reconnects any lands we are on, even - and especially when - these lands appear to be encased in concrete." (Million, 2023, p. 49). 
• "I met Jeannette Armstrong when we were much younger, in Portland, and I was still in what I felt was a life lived in strife, but I became impressed by her spirit and movement. As a Sylix person, Jeannette believes strongly in our ability to connect to spirit, the life forces that are always part of us, and part of all our places. She states, 'Indigeneity is a viable tool toward transformation of the people-to-be into being part of the social order as tmixw and to be a life-force place rather than being part of the social order of depletion and destruction.'" (Million, 2023, p. 51). 

I also enjoyed Gina Starblanket's chapter on treaties and resurgence. I like the idea of beginning with aspirations and thinking about what we might dream about if we could proceed on our own terms. "An oppositional treaty politic may distract from the need to build an alternative treaty politic instead, as oppositional approaches can run the risk of limiting movement and self-transformation and can contain our ability to engage in alternative theorizations that might break free from, instead of just being differently configured by, colonial relations. When we Indigenous peoples constitute ourselves through oppositional politics rather than what we aspire to be, we inadvertently allow our own political projects to be shaped by external sources rather than our own philosophical traditions." (Starblanket, 2023, p. 90). 

I also liked Darcy Lindberg's chapter, Nehiyaw hunting pedagogies and revitalizing Indigenous laws. The chapter beings by introducing nehiyaw hunting practices as illustrative of law, points out comparative deficiencies in Albertan law (including Canadian law), and then goes on to discuss how traditional Indigenous laws can inform court and law schools. As a teacher, the third item was of most interest to me because I'm always interested in conversations around pedagogical strategies. Lindberg notes "the use of origin or creation stories by many Indigenous societies to set out constitutional or legal principles." (2023, p. 116) and then begins a discussion on their interpretation. "The ability to access legal resources from Indigenous social practices remains a challenge in the academic study of Indigenous law. Hadley Friedland identifies three general categories of legal resources according to their accessibility and availability: '(1) resources that require deep knowledge and full cultural immersion; (2) resources that require some community connection; and (3) resources that are publicly available.' Resources that require deep knowledge and full cultural immersion include laws embedded withing a 'language, dreams, dances, art, beadwork, pots, petroglyphs, scrolls, songs, natural landscapes, ceremonies, feasts, formal customs and protocols.' Resources that require some community connection include laws embedded in 'stories, communally owned oral traditions, information from knowledgeable community and family members, as well as personal knowledge and memories.' Resources that are publicly available include 'published resources' such as 'academic work by outsiders... published court cases, [and] trial transcripts.' Thus, 'the most ideal resources' - those intertwined with ceremony, songs, and language - 'are likely the least available at this time, while the least ideal resources,' such as stories and published resources, 'are the most available.'" (Lindberg, 2023, 116-117). 

The article that she is summarizing in this section is freely available online. It looks like a very interesting resource on both a pedagogical and epistemological level.

She goes on to talk about pedagogy in the law school at University of Victoria. "The initial trend within law schools is to rely upon a few methodologies (all three that overlap each other) to teach Indigenous legal principles. An initial avenue has been the modified case brief method that has been developed and utilized by the Indigenous Laws Research Unit at the University of Victoria. This methodology relies on the synthesis of case analyses of stories to identify and restate legal principles within Indigenous social orders. Understanding that multiple analyses are needed, researchers immerse themselves within the stories of the community. This strategy aims to have researchers discover trends within the normative practice of the community, leading them to a thicker frame of legal analysis. this methodology is favored because it requires mostly publicly accessed knowledges (published stories) and is tailor-made for the pedagogical environment of the law school. The largest drawback from the adapted case-brief method is that it decontextualizes legal principles from the lifeworlds they relate to and requires a light relationality with Indigenous communities without a natural onus for researchers to engage with a community or seek feedback on their conclusions. It requires institutions to apply internal accountability mechanisms that require community feedback on the results of their synthesis." (Lindberg, 2023, p. 117).

There was also a chapter by Corey Snelgrove and Matthew Wildcat on education governance/development, "Political action in the time of reconciliation." Out of all of the chapters, I think that this one did the best job of discussing reconciliation, and honouring resurgence while also doing away with what Asch, Borrows, and Tully refer to as "resurgence contra reconciliation." The authors begin by stating: "our interest is in two opposing perspectives on reconciliation - considered as ideal types- expressed by those who seek to further Indigenous self-determination. On the one hand is a perspective that involves an embrace of reconciliation, where the idea of reconciliation is a vehicle for positive change in the Indigenous-non-Indigenous and/or Indigenous-state relationship. While the degree of embrace fluctuates within this perspective, one predominant form takes the argument of contrasting definitions or conceptions of reconciliation. On the other hand is a constellation of critiques that normatively reject reconciliation as a political movement and language. The reductionist version of this critique is captured by the sentiment 'Reconciliation equals assimilation.' Here reconciliation is a political sleight of hand where the Canadian state uses a benevolent front to recognize Indigenous rights, title, and political authorities while quietly carrying out its intended goal of extinguishing Indigenous peoples as legal and political entities through incorporation under provincial and federal legislation. In the following, we offer a different approach that sees reconciliation as a unique moment of colonial reconfiguration." (Snelgrove & Wildcat, 2023, p.157-158). 

Rather than framing reconciliation as something which the state is trying to do to Indigenous people, they state that "reconciliation has not emerged through Canadian self-reflexivity, introspection, socio-historical learning, or progressive enlightenment but by generations of Indigenous peoples' sustained legal, political, and economic action that has forced a reckoning within Canadian society and responses by the state - motivated in part by Canada's self-image as a land of justice." (Snelgrove & Wildcat, 2023, p. 158). 

With respect to resurgence, they use an example of the Maskwacis Education Schools Commission as an example of resurgence. "Coulthard calls for a turning away from seeking state recognition to find an emancipatory praxis grounded in one's own traditions, upholding one's own self-worth as the source of liberation... Here I would like to argue that the history of building education systems in Maskwacis was the result of an internal focus on building the schools rather than an externally focused politics of looking towards the state as a source of change. In other words it is possible to turn away in Indigenous institutional contexts." (Snelgrove & Wildcat, 2023, p. 166). 

I thought it was interesting that they cited (167, 169, 170) Marshall Gantz's book Why David Sometimes Wins: Leadership, Organization, and Strategy in the California Farm Worker Movement . It's been in my audiobook library for awhile now and I'm almost finished. Certainly an inspiring book about unions. Listening to the audiobook also inspired me to see if Marshall Gantz has podcasts, and yes, he does. I listened to the episode in which his guest was a leader of a large digital racial justice organization, Arisha Hatch. Highly recommend. 

Goeman, M. (2023). Beyond the grammar of settler apologies.  In H.K. Stark, A. Craft & H.K. Aikau (Eds.),  Indigenous Resurgence in an age of reconciliation (pp.23-41). Toronto, Ontario: University of Toronto Press. 

Hunt, S.K. & Simpson, L.B. (2023). Thinking through resurgence together: A conversation between Sarah Hunt/Tlalilila and Leanne Betasamosake Simpson.   In H.K. Stark, A. Craft & H.K. Aikau (Eds.),  Indigenous Resurgence in an age of reconciliation (pp.129-141). Toronto, Ontario: University of Toronto Press. 

Lindberg, D. (2023). Nehiyaw hunting pedagogies and revitalizing Indigenous laws.  In H.K. Stark, A. Craft & H.K. Aikau (Eds.),  Indigenous Resurgence in an age of reconciliation (pp.112-126). Toronto, Ontario: University of Toronto Press. 

Million, D. (2023). Spirit as matter: Resurgence as rising and (re)creation.  In H.K. Stark, A. Craft & H.K. Aikau (Eds.),  Indigenous Resurgence in an age of reconciliation (pp.43-52). Toronto, Ontario: University of Toronto Press. 

Snelgrove, C. & Wildcat, M. (2023). Political action in the time of reconciliation. In H.K. Stark, A. Craft & H.K. Aikau (Eds.),  Indigenous Resurgence in an age of reconciliation (pp.157-175). Toronto, Ontario: University of Toronto Press. 

Stark, H. K. (2023). Generating a critical resurgence together. In H.K. Stark, A. Craft & H.K. Aikau (Eds.),  Indigenous Resurgence in an age of reconciliation (pp.3-20). Toronto, Ontario: University of Toronto Press. 

Equity, Diversity, and Canadian Labour

I recently went to the Indigenous Graduate Student Symposium at UBC Okanagan. I had a great experience there. I particularly appreciated how the conference highlighted the voices of scholars who are Indigenous to the place where the conference was taking place. I have so much appreciation for the contribution of Syilx scholars to academia. 

I also went to Quebec City for a little bit. Among other things, I visited Musée huron-wendat. Highly recommend. 

My UPass stopped working this week. Yet another small reminder that I am transitioning out of a very intense period of my life, and transitioning back into my normal life, whatever that means. 

Now that my PhD is over, I am just reading whatever I want with no real direction. It's total chaos. I have several books on the go right now including Rueben George's book and a book on resurgence and reconciliation. I also read a book on anarchy which tries to say that certain Indigenous scholars are anarchists... and I have a little Venn diagram in my head which I might try to put on "paper" at some point. I'm also reading the Ontario Human Rights Commission's Dreams Delayed: Addressing Systemic Anti-Black Racism and Discrimination in Ontario’s Public Education System, although, it is taking a long time because it's online and I have a hard time reading online. I prefer books. I've skimmed most of it and I think that it's relevance extends beyond Ontario. 

Anyhow, today's book, Equity, Diversity, and Canadian Labour, is an older book. It was published in 2007 by University of Toronto Press. It is a collection of essays with an introduction by the editors followed by eight chapters written by a number of scholars and an afterword. 

There are not a lot of books out there which focus on equity and diversity specifically in the Canadian labour movement. I think probably in part because the people who are most committed to this topic are union members doing the work of equity and diversity within their union and through their union. And also because compared to say, Socrates, this topic is relatively new in the academy. 

I found this book interesting on a number of levels. It definitely highlights the complex dynamics between legislation, society, and unions. I found the discussion on federal pay equity legislation interesting (Haiven, 2007, p.79).  I liked the way that the book looked at collective bargaining gains, and also highlighted that not all gains are in the collective agreement (Hunt, 2007, p.22), as in some cases unions are directly involved in shaping legislation to promote workers' rights, such as when unions in Ontario helped with the drafting of their employment equity legislation (Das Gupta, 2007, p.192). 

The chapter that I really focused on was the chapter on racism. The chapter starts by looking at the ways that there was significant racism in the union movement in early Canadian history, specifically from the 1880s-1920s (Das Gupta, 2007, p. 183-185). In spite of this, Asian and Black workers organized their own unions (Das Gupta, 2007, p.184). During this period, some radical leftists unions rejected racism and exclusion and supported diverse workers who wanted to organize, and in these radical left unions, white workers acted in solidarity with non-white workers (Das Gupta, 2007, p. 185). Then the focus of the chapter shifts to the 1930s. According to the author "racism in the labour movement began to be less overt in the 1920s" and in the 1930s unions started to organize more broadly and the labour movement generally became more progressive. However, some groups, such as Jewish women in the clothing industry, continued to be excluded. The author describes the 1950s and 1960s a the human rights decades, in which "the labour movement can be characterized as non-racist." (Das Gupta, 2007, p. 187). The authors note that workers inside of the labour movement were activists within the labour movement, and as an example, points out the Jewish Labour Committee who were active inside of the Canadian Labour Congress, and that "a new awareness of human rights arose because of the racism, anti-Semitism, and genocide of Hitler's regime, as well as the suspension of civil rights within Canada, particularly in the case of Japanese Canadians who were interned in labour camps as 'enemy aliens.'" (Das Gupta, 2007, p. 187). The author describes the 1970s as "The Feminism Challenge" in which feminism was challenged to address the needs of women of colour and immigrant women (Das Gupta, 2007, p. 188). The author doesn't use the term intersectional, but people familiar with the term would likely understand the author's approach as consistent with an intersectional analysis. The author notes that there were a variety of ways that the labour movement responded to this challenge, including the development of "Combating Racism in the Workplace: A Course for Workers" which was regularly offered through the Humber College Labour Studies Centre (Das Gupta, 2007, p. 189). 

Sidebar - I looked up the Humber College Labour Studies Centre. If it's still a thing, its online presence is buried. I found this poster on their archive page: 

According to the poster, there was a three credit university course that students could take, which was taught by trade unionists at various union halls. Is that a thing that still exists? If so, sign me up. I also noticed that one of their course outlines is at library archives Canada, but sadly not available electronically. The chapter also mentioned and organization called Cross Cultural Communication Centre as integral to worker education. Similarly, it's difficult to find information on them now, but small pieces of their work endure, such as publications available through this archive site (login required, account is free). Having completed that side quest, let's return to the text. 

The author describes 1981 to today (today being 2007) as "Towards Anti-racism" (Das Gupta, 2007, p. 190). And within this section the author touches on specific work occurring during this period of time, including the participation of unions in the drafting of Ontario's Employment Equity Act (Das Gupta, 2007, p. 192). 

Having done a significant review of Canadian history, the author then goes on to identify work that still needs to be done, and various themes including self-organizing (p. 194), policy development and education of members (p. 196), representation in leadership (p. 198), barriers to leadership positions (p. 201), tokenism and lack of support (p. 202), harassment of women of colour (p. 203), employment equity (p. 203), and issues particular to organizing Aboriginal workers (p. 205). Overall, I found the chapter an interesting overview. I might see if I can find more work by Tania Das Gupta. 

As a whole, I think it would be interesting to read an updated version of this book. However, if I were to re-imagine a revised version, I think it would be interesting to see something done using participatory action research or to see some pieces written by or in collaboration with workers' collectives.  

Das Gupta, T. (2007). Racism and the Canadian labour movement. G. Hunt & D. Rayside (Eds.), Equity, Diversity, and Canadian Labour (pp.181-207). Toronto, Ontario: University of Toronto Press. 

Haiven, J. (2007). Union response to pay equity: A cautionary tale. In G. Hunt & D. Rayside (Eds.), Equity, Diversity, and Canadian Labour (pp. 75-100). Toronto, Ontario: University of Toronto Press. 

Hunt, G. (2007). Introduction. In G. Hunt & D. Rayside (Eds.), Equity, Diversity, and Canadian Labour (pp.3-24). Toronto, Ontario: University of Toronto Press. 

Gender, Affect, Environmental Justice, and Indigeneity in the Classroom Amy T. Hamilton

 I watched a knowledge mobilization webinar and the speakers recommended piktochart. I tried using it today to create a summary of my reading notes, and it turned out okay. I had some issues cropping it. And I think that I probably need to use a different template for blogging purposes, because I don't think these are the ideal dimensions. But it's a fun tool to play with. I am also going to try venngage. 

Anyhow, just logging some reading notes here. This was a good article. Basically, the gist of it is that for a long time the author accepted the conventional notion that emotion has no place in analysis. But then she had a moment in front of her class where she felt emotional, and that moment inspired her to inquire into the role of emotion in analysis through the lenses of feminism, environmental justice, and Indigenous studies. And then she arrived at a place where she saw the value of emotion in analysis. 

Gender, Affect, Environmental Justice, and Indigeneity in the Classroom by Amy T. Hamilton

p. 92 “Since I was hired by Northern Michigan University (nmu) in 2008, approximately 70 percent of the courses I have taught have been upper division undergraduate courses in Native American literature. As of the spring 2019 semester, I have taught thirty-two sections of these courses at nmu, or roughly eight hundred students. As a white woman teaching Native American literature to a largely white student population, I am acutely aware that I have—and will always have—a lot to learn. Further, as a non-Native ally scholar and teacher, I have been wary about infringing on areas of cultural knowledge that are not—and should not be—available to me. This positioning has further complicated how I have thought about emotion in the classroom. How can non-Native students and I interrogate our affective responses to course readings without appropriating stories and experiences that belong to someone else? How can I make room in the classroom for multiple emotional responses from Native and non-Native students? How can I be an ethical ally when it comes to emotion?” 

Feminism: Naomi Greyser, bell hooks, Parker Palmer, Paula Moya 

Environmental justice: Kristie Dotson, Kyle Whyte, Sarah Jaquette Ray  

Indigenous studies: Malea Powell, Jay Dolmage, Robin Wall Kimmerer 

p. 96 uses the phrase “ethical analysis” 

p. 101 circulating within a text and among a text, its contexts, and its readers are affects and emotions that help create access to what Dotson and Whyte call “moral terrains,” where values, practices, and emotions are located in space, linking peoples and lands in a complex system that moves well beyond a personal reaction. It is in affective response that we can actually encourage students to craft the deepest and most rigorous, as well as the most meaningful, analytical interventions.

p. 101 As Moya suggests, readers connect to texts intellectually and emotionally, and it is that relationship between heart and head where space is created for interpretation.

p. 102 Far from self-indulgent, affective responses offer us an opportunity for an ethically engaged criticism, what Ray calls “critique as a form of active care.”

Truth Telling - Michelle Good

 My mom loaned me a bunch of books and this was one of them. 

This is a collection of seven essays. I read about half of them. 

The introduction begins with some comments around the phrase truth before reconciliation, and she asserts that it is an anthem of sort that has lost its meaning. Within the first few pages she says "We must step away from the window dressing of reconciliation."  She says these are not academic essays, they are her personal take, and "these essays examine the brutal intentions of colonialism that continue to harm us..."

Based on the introduction's emphasis on non-Indigenous Canadians becoming aware of Indigenous history, I get the strong impression that this book was written primarily with a non-Indigenous audience in mind. 

"The rise and resistance of Indigenous literature" is the chapter which I appreciated the most. She does a great job outlining the chronology of publishing Indigenous literature in Canada, including outlining how Indigenous movers and shakers created structures in which Indigenous authors could thrive. Then, that lead to more mainstream acceptance and demand. It's a well organized chapter which points the reader to a lot of other great readings. I also like the way that she grounded discussion of Indigenous literature within the larger policy context. If I were still teaching, I could see myself using parts of this chapter or the whole thing, depending on the context and level. It's probably also good background reading for anyone who is teaching Indigenous literature and would like to do some accessible background reading on Indigenous literature in Canada. 

The chapter on the sixties scoop ($13.69) is a good introduction to the topic which uses her personal experience to help the reader understand the devastating impact of separating children from their families. 

There were intriguing details about her career throughout. For example, one of her first jobs was a writing contract for UBCIC and she mentions advocacy on behalf of First Nations organizations and residential school survivors, but doesn't go into a lot of detail. She used to be a lawyer. She specialized in residentials school settlements. The book itself focuses mostly on her personal life and her opinions about Canadian public policy (aka colonialism), but doesn't include a lot of detail around her career as an advocate and lawyer. I was very curious about that, so I dug a little bit online. 

First, I read this Canadian Lawyer Magazine article. In the article, she talks about how it was her career in advocacy that led her to eventually go into law as a mature student. She talks about racism that she faced as an Indigenous lawyer. And she talks about how she recovered from her constructive dismissal at the Department of Justice. I think that it would be very interesting to read more about the constructive dismissal, but I would not be surprised if she were not allowed to say much about it. But it would still be nice to hear any advice that she has for Indigenous professionals working in the public sector. 

As she is a lawyer, I plugged her name into CanLii. She self-represented herself against the Department of Justice in 2006. Here are some of the facts:

[6]               The plaintiff is a lawyer in Vancouver.  On the 30th of August 2002, the plaintiff began employment with the Federal Department of Justice office, working as a lawyer on Indian residential school claims and resolutions.  She alleges that her contract-based employment with the defendant was partly in writing and orally, and was for an indefinite duration. 

[7]               The plaintiff states that it was an implied term of her contract that the contract would not be terminated by the defendant for anything but just cause and upon provision of reasonable notice and severance pay in lieu thereof. 

[8]               Approximately two years after her employment began, the defendant gave the plaintiff a performance evaluation which was highly critical of the plaintiff’s interpersonal skills.  The plaintiff filed a grievance under the provisions of the Public Service Relations Act.  The plaintiff alleges that in response to the filing of this grievance on the 23rd of August 2004, the defendant directed that the plaintiff no longer work on any substantive matter and removed the plaintiff from all activities involving prosecution, negotiations, and resolution of residential school claims save and except for work on one file. 

[9]               Additionally, it was alleged that the defendant removed the plaintiff from her working groups email list such that she received no information pertaining to the prosecution, negotiation, and resolution of residential school claims in the office generally.  She further alleges that the defendant forbade her from working with other members of the team in resolution of the residential school claims. 

[10]           It is the plaintiff’s position that the actions of the defendant as noted above were actions in retaliation for the plaintiff exercising her statutory right to file a grievance. 

[11]           On the 8th of September 2004, the plaintiff elected to treat the conduct of the defendant as a repudiation of the contract and to treat the contract as being terminated.  The plaintiff alleges that she was constructively dismissed by the defendant and the dismissal was without just cause and without reasonable or any notice and that it constituted an arbitrary and wilful breach of contract. 

[12]           Additionally, the plaintiff alleges that the defendant has falsely and maliciously defamed her.  A memorandum was generated in June 2004 in regards to the plaintiff.  The memorandum, without repeating the allegations, suggests that a number of cases that the plaintiff was working on were settled for what appears to be too high a dollar figure.  The memorandum also questions whether or not there is any way the plaintiff could have benefited personally from overpaying lawyers who settled claims on behalf of clients.  This memorandum appears to have had limited, if any, circulation.  It was essentially placed in her employment file which was disclosed in these proceedings. 

I can't imagine how difficult it must have been to go through all of that. I think it was brave of her to stand up for herself. The matter was resolved through an out of court settlement. Sometimes I hear non-Indigenous people tell Indigenous professionals that maybe they can work for the government and change things from the inside. That's a really nice idea, but sometimes it doesn't really work out like that, even within processes specifically created in order to further justice for Indigenous people. Colonialism is a powerful force. The Canadian Lawyer Magazine article explains how she was able to overcome this experience, work for another law firm, and eventually begin her own practice. 

I also read the judicial review around an election appeal that she was pursuing, which was also an interesting read. 

Update - I'm finished!

I totally forgot to post here that I finished my PhD. My defense was on January 10th. I think it went well. I talked and talked and talked... and I had to just keep talking. I've never talked so much in my life. At one point, I could hear myself talking, and I thought "is that me? Am I STILL talking?!?" Then, I had minor revisions, and I finished those. That part took a long time because I kind of went on my own little journey with the revisions. Maybe I didn't want it to be over. And then I had a library formatting appointment, and I finished that. And now I am slowly emerging from my nest of books like a bear in the spring. 

Sometimes people say they want to read my dissertation. Eventually it will be public... but I actually feel weird about it. Imagine a book is serving your guest a meal. And an article is serving your guest a snack. A dissertation is like bringing your guest into the kitchen so that they can watch you mull over every decision, talk through why you do what you do, why you don't do what you don't do, and basically second guess every step of the process. It's an open demonstration of the process of inquiry... I don't think of it as a product in and of itself. I challenged myself to use hermeneutics, which was totally new to me, and so it's also an open demonstration of the messy process of growth and working through the awkwardness of trying something new. I'm glad I went through the process and definitely feel like a changed person because of it. 

As a student, overall I found SFU to be a very supportive institution with many supportive faculty members. I was in the ETAP program. It's not a huge program and I didn't have a huge cohort, and I definitely liked that experience. As someone who went to UBC, I always imagined SFU to be a place which encompasses the spirit of the sixties - open minded, free thinking, and creative. It lived up to those expectation. I feel like I had a lot of creative freedom at SFU and that enabled me to take risks I may have otherwise avoided. I intentionally spent a lot of time in a space of uncertainty. I think the biggest benefit of such a space was that it enabled me to go within to look for answers, instead of always looking to authority or others. And so now I have a certain self-knowledge that I did not have before. 

If someone told me that they were thinking of doing their PhD at SFU I would tell them go for it, have fun, and keep an open mind. And don't rush. 

Now I am going to chill out for a bit and spend some time with my family and friends. Once I have chilled for a bit, then I have some projects that I would like to work on. 

The Serviceberry and Braiding Sweetgrass

 In the book Indigenous Earth: Praxis and Transformation, Jeanette Armstrong has a chapter called "Constructing Indigeneity: Syilx Okanagan Oraliterature and Tmixw Centrism. In that chapter, she says that Indigeneity is "an attainment of knowledge, wisdom, and sustainable practice in the scheme of perfect self-perpetuation that nature is." (p.43). Additionally, she proposes "re-indigenization as a path to full sustainability. The thesis proposes that there is a necessity for a common text in the form of literature that demonstrates, embeds, and advocates a regenerative land ethic as a re-indigenization of place in human behavior... the re-indigenization of places can be supported through literature and academia opening a viable path toward a future willingness to engage in a human practice of sustainability for all lifeforms on the planet." (p.45). 

This is the spirit in which I read Robin Wall Kimmerer's work. 

Braiding Sweetgrass: Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants combines Kimmerer's Indigenous knowledge with her profession/scholarly expertise of biology. I listened to this years ago as an audiobook, so I have no notes on it, and honestly, I remember the emotive texture of it more than anything. It's a very soothing book. The Sacred and the Superfund, about a lake which has been heavily polluted, is the essay that stands out to me the most. Coming from BC it is difficult for me to comprehend the environmental state of areas like New York. It's difficult for me to comprehend what it would mean to be Indigenous to a highly industrialized region. Braiding Sweetgrass is a collection of essays, and it's about 400 pages long. 

The Serviceberry: Abundance and Reciprocity in the Natural World is a much smaller book, and it is one long essay with illustrations. It's a nice book. Wendell Berry fans would likely love this book. It's agrarian idealism. It's a very pretty book. If someone were new to the concept of reciprocity, this book would be an excellent introduction to the concept of reciprocity as well as the larger potential social implications of striving towards reciprocity. 

When I reflect on Armstrong's words, I know that it is important to cultivate within mainstream society an appreciation for Indigenous perspectives on the environment. For some people, that is what entices them into larger conversations around land justice. So even though these books are not as overtly political as some other books in the realm of Indigenous non-fiction, I conceptualize these books as a form of soft power, like KPop is to Korean geopolitics. I also appreciate that instead of pitting Indigenous and non-Indigenous worldviews against each other, she harmoniously integrates both into her work and life. In that way, she models peace and peacefulness. 

Read, Listen, Tell & Learn, Teach, Challenge

 Read, Listen, Tell: Indigenous Stories from Turtle Island is an anthology of Indigenous stories as well as accompanying critical essays to go with the stories. It's published by Wilfred Laurier Press. It's a great exploration of Indigenous literature across time. I read selections of it, with a focus on the section on Indigenous fantasy and science fiction. I found that it contained a lot of authors who were familiar to me as well as many new-to-me authors. I'll probably return to it at another time. 

Learn, Teach, Challenge: Approaching Indigenous Literatures is it's non-fiction counterpart, also published by Wilfred Laurier. Also published, Deanna Reder and Linda M. Morra. The book is huge, almost 600 pages, and contains essays from Indigenous and non-Indigenous scholars. It's an excellent curation of ongoing conversations in Indigenous literary studies. For example there is an essay by Sam McKegney on ethical engagement, and then there is a response to the essay by Robert Appleford. 

Several of the essays look at the question of how to engage with Indigenous literature, including how to do ethical engagement and ethical criticism. There is also an entire section on classroom considerations, presenting various viewpoints on how to responsibly teach Indigenous literature and pedagogy specific to Indigenous literature. 

I think that in the future, when I blog creative works, I am going to try some of these approaches to ethical criticism and ethical engagement. 

I wish that I had both of these books prior to teaching English First Peoples 12 because the essays provide a lot of food for thought. 

The books are part of an Indigenous Studies Series, and Jo-ann Archibald is one of the series editors. 

Drumming Our Way Home: Intergenerational Learning, Teaching, and Indigenous Ways of Knowing by Georgina Martin

This book is by a Secwepemc scholar who interviews a Secwepemc elder and a Secwepemc youth. But the youth is also Tsilhqot'in and speaks to some of his experiences in Nemiah. When I was a child, I remember that after the librarian taught us how to read the index of a book, I went to the Native American books and looked for "Chilcotin" and it was not there. And so, as an adult, when I see a Tsilhqot'in in a book, I am like yay! 

Anyhow, this book is based on Georgina Martin's doctoral work. Jo-ann Archibald was her supervisor. The references contain a lot of names which were already well-known to me, such as Kathleen Absolon, Marie Battiste, Lee Brown, Sandy Grande, Verna Kirkness, Graham Hingangaroa Smith, Linda Tuhiwai Smith, and Shawn Wilson. But it also included BC Indigenous people who's work I am less familiar with, such as Eugene Richard Atleo, Janice R. Billy, and Ron Ignace. I like the way that she includes people's full names in the references. And also the way that she maintains place names in the citations. I think the new version of APA which does not include place names perpetuates placelessness and creates a sense of being ungrounded.

Some books contain grand narratives and try to make broad generalizations about Indigenous people, and I think to some degree academia really rewards the stance of speaking from a position of universal authority. I don't think that this book perpetuates that way of being. I really like the way that Georgina Martin's work is not trying to make universal claims about Indigenous people, but rather it is focused on being a Secwepemc person, and telling her story in a Secwepemc way. In my eyes, her epistemological cultural humility elevates her credibility. It is an autoethnography. She starts by explaining that one of her main traumas is that she was separated from her mother at birth, because her mother was at Coqualeetza Indian Hospital because she had TB. The author tries to make sense of being raised by her grandparents and going to residential school, and through her research, tries to heal her own intergenerational trauma (p.18). One of the aims of the book is to help others work through their own narratives, and also to "assist educators, policy-makers, and the general public to understand the effects of our embodied lived experiences as Indigenous people, especially residential school trauma and intergenerational legacies. By understanding our lives, educators can more effectively intervene in cycles of marginalization and cultural alienation and policy-makers may come to a better understanding of how policy impacts Indigenous lives." (p.8). 

In terms of this work as a piece of scholarship, I can see the application of Kathleen Absolon's work in Georgina Martin's conceptual framework. 

Even though this work aspires to help the author in her journey to overcome her trauma, the central focus of the work is not on the trauma itself. The heading of her concluding section is titled "Don't ask me to bleed" in which she asserts that it is important to learn about stories such as hers, even if they are not newsworthy. And she lets the reader know that sharing this story was draining and required a lot of courage and strength. Her final words relate to truth telling and reparations. 

Overall, I enjoyed this book. If I were not studying at the time that I read this book, I probably would have skipped the methodology section altogether and gone straight to the section which tells her life story. 

Another notable feature of this book is the foreword by Jo-Ann Archibald, in which she directly addresses first storytellers and Indigenous guests, then she directly addresses settlers, allies, educators, policy makers, and the general public, and then finally she directly addresses everyone. Going back to the previous post, I appreciate it when I am the target audience, if only for a few paragraphs. I think the opening is an interesting model for how we as Indigenous people talk to each other, even in published works meant for broad distribution. 

Hungry Listening: Resonant Theory for Indigenous Sound Studies by Dylan Robinson

This book found me through the algorithm. I don't think that I would have sought out sound studies on my own. So, thank you to the tiny robots inside of my phone for suggesting this book. While the book is written from the standpoint of someone who performs in the arts, I think a lot of the concepts within this book could be helpful to any Indigenous person who stands in front of mixed crowds physically or virtually.

The book sets out to address a problem in the performing arts where inclusion involves "a fixation upon - Indigenous content, but not Indigenous structure." (p. 6). "Hungry listening indicts those displays of equality that are more concerned with importing Indigenous content and increasing representation than with redefining the structure of inclusion." (p. 6). This is what he identifies as hungry listening. In place of hungry listening, he says that "the act of listening should attend to the relationship between the listener and the listened-to" (p. 15). 

He ends his first chapter with a Garneau except on irreconcilable spaces. "Irreconcilable spaces of Aboriginality are gatherings, ceremony, nehiyawak (Cree) - only discussions, kitchen table conversations, email exchanges, et cetera, in which Blackfootness, Metisness, and so on, are performed without settler attendance. It is not a show for others but a site where people simply are, where they express and celebrate their continuity and figure themselves to, for, and with one another without the sense that they are being witnessed by people who are not equal participants. When Indigenous folks (anyone really) know they are being surveyed by non-members, the nature of their ways of being and becoming alters. Whether the onlookers are conscious agents of colonization or not, their shaping gaze and trigger a Reserve-response, an inhibition or a conformation to settler expectations. (Garneau, 2016, 27)." Thus, the next chapter "is written exclusively for Indigenous readers." (p.25). I love that because I am often not the target audience. Even within reconciliation discourse, often direct address is made to non-Indigenous audience members, disappearing me within a discourse about me. It is tiresome to be a secondary audience, as though the messages are hand-me-downs, concepts created with someone else's needs in mind, but I can try them on for size if I like. So, I always appreciate the rare occasion where I am the target audience. The chapter is an attempt to build an equity space inside of a book. 

The book is packed with a wide variety of interesting concepts. The concept of hungry listening ties diverse theoretical perspectives together in a way that makes them coherent. In terms of methodology, I found this perspective helpful "to see Indigenous and Western theoretical discourses as mutually exclusive and to refuse all that is not essentially Indigenous is to impoverish our work as Indigenous writers and scholars, not to mention to assume that we do not make critical choices and repurposings of non-Indigenous theory in ways similar to how we have always repurposed non-Indigenous tools to advance our work." (p. 105). That being said, sometimes this repurposing occurs inside of an Indigenous structure or logic, and the Indigenous logic is not always visible to non-Indigenous people (p. 106). 

Something that I really appreciate about the work is that it does not equate non-Indigenous feelings with actual reconciliation. If a work allows "the feelings of being transformed to satisfy" - that is not actually transformation. Actual transformation requires one to "unsettle and engage with the enormous amount of work that must still be done." (p. 232). Additionally, Deborah Wong cautions that sometimes responses to the TRC lead non-Indigenous people to think that "feeling guilty and ashamed is equivalent to holding oneself accountable." (p. 241). 

By providing examples where Indigenous people have challenged the logic and structure in which their artistic performances take place, and attempted to create an Indigenous logic which engages the listener as an active participant with relational responsibilities, the book provides encouragement to Indigenous people to thwart attempts de-politicize Indigenous art. 

 

Number one favourite new book - Wayi Wah! Indigenous Pedagogies: An Act for Reconciliation and Anti-Racist Education

 Out of all the books that I have read over the last few years, this one is by far my favourite. 

Jo Chrona has contributed so much to education in BC through her work on committees, in curriculum development, and as a speaker. She has a strong foundation working as a teacher in public schools in BC, and I think that that's part of the reason why her work resonates with educators. I like the way that she has a lot of anecdotes in the book regarding conversations that she has had with others over the years. It makes the book very conversational and approachable. There are some complex ideas in her work, but she makes them accessible to a general audience. 

This book was published in 2022, and it's an excellent orientation to a lot of the good work that has been happening here in BC with respect to curriculum and pedagogy. Many of the chapters are relevant to anyone working in K-12 and the book contains an abundance of practical tips throughout. But the chapters on the First Peoples Principles of Learning and Authentic Indigenous Resources will likely be particularly helpful in a practical sense for those who are teaching in BC, including those teaching the Indigenous graduation requirements. 

From a theoretical perspective, I found her positioning of decolonization and reconciliation interesting. First, she raises an issue. "I often wonder if it is possible to decolonize an education system that is inherently a colonial construct. It seems to me that decolonization is often used to justify any change that someone wants to make in education, regardless of whether it is in response to the priorities of the Indigenous people who have been most impacted by colonization in this country." (p.43).  She answers this question of whether or not it is possible to decolonize education with the following explanation: "If we define decolonization as the continuing process of critically examining and challenging beliefs, values, structures, and processes that are steeped in mindsets that implicitly or overtly devalue or exclude Indigenous Peoples, rights, knowledge systems, and processes, then yes, we can engage in decolonization. However, I refer to this process as Reconciliation through education and responding to the rights of Indigenous Peoples as expressed though UNDRIP or specific comparable provincial or territorial declarations." (p.43). 

If you are curious about her work but on the fence about whether or not to buy her book, I recommend checking out this snippet of the book on her blog. 

The list

 When I tell people that I am doing my dissertation on Indigenous science fiction, they are delighted by the concept of Indigenous science fiction and then they ask for the list of stories. So, here is the list of books. I also included three films - Slash/Back, Night Raiders, and Blood Quantum.  

• 1994 The black ship by Gerry Williams – novel 

• 2012 Walking the clouds: An anthology of Indigenous science fiction edited by Grace Dillon – short fiction anthology 

• 2014 Lightfinder by Aaron Paquette – novel 

• 2014 The back of the turtle by Thomas King – novel 

• 2016 Take us to your chief: And other stories by Drew Hayden Taylor – short fiction collection 

• 2016 Mitewacimowina: Indigenous science fiction and speculative storytelling edited by Neal McLeod – short fiction anthology 

• 2016 Love beyond body, space, and time: an Indigenous LGBTQ sci-fi anthology edited by Hope Nicholson – short fiction anthology 

• 2017 The marrow thieves by Cherie Dimaline – novel 

• 2017 This accident of being lost: Songs and stories by Leanne Betasamoke Simpson – short fiction collection plus song lyrics

• 2017 Read, listen, tell: Indigenous stories from Turtle Island edited by Sophie McCall, Deanna Reder, David Gaertner, and Gabrielle L’Hirondelle Hill – short fiction anthology 

• 2017 Future home of the living god by Louise Edrich – novel

• 2017 Mapping the interior by Stephen Graham Jones – novel

• 2018 Split tooth by Tanya Tagaq – novel 

• 2018 Trail of lightning by Rebecca Roanhorse – novel 

• 2018 Moon of the crusted snow by Waubgeshig Rice – novel 

• 2018 Guardian angels and other monsters by Daniel H. Wilson – short fiction collection 

• 2019 Taaqtumi: An anthology of Artic horror stories compiled by Neil Christopher – short fiction anthology 

• 2019 Empire of wild by Cherie Dimaline – novel 

• 2020 Land-water-sky/Nde-ti-yat’a by Katłıà – novel 

• 2020 Elatsoe by Darcie Little Badger – novel 

• 2020 Love after the end: An anthology of Two-Spirit and Indigiqueer speculative fiction edited by Joshua Whitehead – short fiction anthology 

• 2021 Firekeeper’s daughter by Angeline Boulley – novel

• 2021 Snake falls to Earth by Darcie Little Badger – novel 

• 2021 Bugz: Walking in two worlds by Wab Kinew – novel  

• 2021 The barren grounds: The Misewa saga by David Alexander Robertson – novel 

• 2022 Buffalo is the new buffalo by Chelsea Vowel – short fiction collection 

• 2022 Wapke: Indigenous science fiction stories edited by Michel Jean – short fiction anthology

Indigenous fiction enthusiasts will notice some absences here. David Alexander Robertson is a prolific writer, and one could probably write a dissertation on his work alone. Rather than including all of his books, I only included one. The sequel to Marrow Thieves came out while I was writing this work, and I tried to read it, but the interpersonal conflict between family members was too vivid, so I could not complete it. Likewise, Never Whistle at Night put me in a dark place every time I picked it up, and I could not complete it. Once I hit a certain threshold of solidity in my inquiry, I implemented a "no new friends" policy, where I stopped reading new fiction. Moon of the Turning Leaves was published shortly after I hit that mark and so I have not read it yet. I bought it right away, and it sits on my table waiting. Some people buy champagne in advance of an anticipated celebration. I don't drink alcohol, so I don't have a bottle of champagne waiting. Instead, Moon of the Turning Leaves will be the way that I celebrate submitting my final version of my dissertation. Some may wonder why I didn't include Eden Robinson's Trickster series of books and/or the subsequent TV show. My original conceptualization was to focus on science fiction, and I place Trickster more in the realm of supernatural fiction. I acknowledge that given that some may view spiritual knowledge as a technology in and of itself (McLeod, 2016), perhaps the distinction between science and supernatural is and arbitrary distinction which reflects a colonial mindset. But in the context of a dissertation, I had to have some criteria in place to make the inquiry manageable in scope, else I would never finish. 

I plan on posting about some of these in the future. I'm sort of recalibrating my brain around reviews of creative works. Someone who writes creative works told me that they think that the act of writing reviews is inherently colonial, and as a creative writer, they experience reviews as a form of harm. I don't want to harm anyone. I love Indigenous literature, and I'd never want to perpetuate colonial violence on other Indigenous people, especially if there is a risk that it might harm their ability to write creatively. I never blog negative reviews on fiction, poetry, plays, or films. If I don't like something, I actually do spend a lot of time trying to figure out why I didn't like it, and I spend a lot of time reflecting on it and processing it. Sometimes that process of reflecting does actually bring me around to a place where I am like "okay, actually, I see now why I had a strong reaction, and having processed that strong reaction, now I do like this work because it is provocative." But if I never arrive at a place where I come around to liking the work, then I just don't post about it. 

Part of the reason why I blog is to encourage others to read books by Indigenous people. I hope that people read my blog, and think to themselves "I'd love to check out that book" and then go buy the book. Then the publisher and author make money, and hopefully this causes the author feels encouraged and supported to write more. And so in a small way, I hope that my contribution to the eco-system of books is overall positive. Additionally, historically I have had a high readership of teachers because K-12 is my jam. Over the years, teachers have told me that my blog helped them discover more Indigenous texts for teaching. If, over the years, my blog has helped to increase the volume of Indigenous texts that all students encounter in K-12, then I hope that that has an anti-racism function, and if it is even only a tiny a drop in the bucket of the larger effort of reducing racism, then I think it's a worthwhile use of my life energy. Do these benefits outweigh the coloniality of reviews? If someone says "please don't review my work" then I won't review their work. I don't know, though, how broad that sentiment is among Indigenous creative writers, so I am definitely experiencing a paralysis of sorts with respect to writing about creative works. 

Theoretically, I could just post entirely positive content. That's basically marketing. And promotion of the concept of Indigenous literature is generally part of what I am doing with this blog. There are modes of inquiry, such as appreciative inquiry, which focus primarily on the positive. And this blog is my happy place, where I talk about things that make me happy. There are two major pitfalls with only posting entirely positive content, though. 

The first pitfall is that only focusing on the positive will kill the spirit of the blog. If I am writing about a book here, that means it did something to me. Likely, it challenged me in some way, or made me think about something in a different way. I write here to digest what I read and ask questions. That's what makes writing interesting for me, and I suspect that's part of what makes my writing interesting for others to read. If this becomes a space which is limited to only writing promotional materials, then it will become boring. I will become bored writing it, and maybe people will stop reading it. And then it will become lifeless. 

The second pitfall is that it will undermine the credibility of the reviews. Instead of the blog being a real person having real reactions, it will be like an advertisement. Often, the difference between a real review and a promotion is that a real review is not always entirely positive content.  This is not an unboxing channel and I'm not a paid influencer. So, I think that when I say "as a thoughtful reader, overall I liked this but I didn't agree with everything in it" - that carries more credibility as a positive review than saying "I loved every single page and you will too." If my reviews are not authentic, and become solely promotion, then readers may question whether or not the reviews are even real. And they would be justified for doing so. 

I think that all of this is much easier to grapple with when it comes to non-fiction. In non-fiction, usually someone is saying "here are some facts, based on these facts, I am trying to persuade you the reader to do X." And then I, the reader, unpack whether or not I have been convinced by the author to live my life differently based on their argument. So, it's a conversation. By virtue of writing a book with an argument, there is an implied invitation to converse with the ideas. Do creative works contain the same invitation?