First Peoples

On January 28-29, 2016, at the University of California, Berkeley School of Law, the Canadian Studies Program sponsored a conference, “Fossil Fuels and Radical Sovereignties: Boardrooms, Blockades, and Jurisdictional Struggles over Oil and Gas Development in ‘North America,’” that dealt with major current issues relating to the law and the environment with a particular emphasis on the rights of First Peoples, frequently described by the terms, Aboriginal or Indigenous. Due to work, I missed several of the presentations, but I was able to hear many of the papers and engage in conversations, observations, and raise questions with several of the presenters and attendees. While the conference presenters showed real concern for justice toward the environment and First Peoples and several of the papers offered excellent summaries of recent relevant social action and legal cases, they lacked references to the social sciences of the law relevant to these events and cases. Instead of using this extensive literature to interpret their material, the presenters frequently substituted an analytical concept more derivative of identity politics than the social sciences. Thus I critically review several issues of interest to social scientists, by focusing on perhaps the least ideological of the papers with a more in-depth reference to concepts of major researchers in the areas of social sciences, the law, the environment, and First Peoples.

Depuis le dépôt du rapport de la Commission de vérité et de réconciliation (2015), nous constatons une plus grande prise de conscience politique, historique et sociale envers les Premiers Peuples du Canada. Par ailleurs, nous faisons également face à une valorisation et une affirmation sans précédent de leurs cultures et leurs productions artistiques dans de multiples sphères de représentation. Dans ce contexte, cette recherche tend à observer les collaborations envisagées par plusieurs institutions muséales au Canada, et plus spécifiquement par le Musée McCord, avec ces communautés. Si une importante littérature fait état de ces enjeux en Amérique du Nord, peu d'auteurs ont analysé les initiatives menées au Québec, en contexte francophone. Dans un premier temps, la recherche permet de mieux comprendre comment le Musée s’insère dans un mouvement pancanadien d’ouverture aux communautés autochtones. Un retour historique et historiographique est nécessaire pour comprendre les dynamiques en place depuis les années 1960 et leurs répercussions dans le monde muséal dès la fin des années 1980. En second lieu, la recherche se concentre sur les modalités collaboratives mises en place dans les expositions avec les Premiers Peuples. De cette première analyse quantitative et qualitative découle ensuite une réflexion sur l’inclusion d’œuvres d’art contemporain des Premières Nations dans ces expositions, choix participant alors à une décolonisation des savoirs et des discours émis. En somme, cette thèse tend à mettre en lumière les initiatives individuelles et collectives qui ont permis, depuis près de trente ans, de bonifier les discours et les pratiques muséales à l'égard des Autochtones. Primordiale, cette analyse, à la fois diachronique et synchronique, entièrement tournée vers le Musée McCord permettra donc de mieux appréhender les réconciliations possibles et d'envisager de nouvelles avenues pour une construction des histoires et des cultures en territoire québécois, selon des perspectives d’autochtonisation et de décolonisation des réflexions et des pratiques.

Since the tabling of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission report (2015), we have seen a greater political, historical and social awareness of Canada's First Peoples. At the same time, we are also facing an unprecedented appreciation and affirmation of their cultures and artistic productions in multiple spheres of representation. In this context, this research seeks to observe the collaborations envisaged by several museum institutions in Canada, and more specifically by the McCord Museum, with these communities. While there is a significant literature on these issues in North America, few authors have analyzed the initiatives carried out in Quebec in a Francophone context. The research first provides a better understanding of how the Museum fits into a pan-Canadian movement to open up to Indigenous communities. A historical and historiographical review is necessary to understand the dynamics in place since the 1960s and their repercussions in the museum world since the late 1980s. Secondly, the research focuses on the collaborative modalities put in place in exhibitions with First Peoples. This initial quantitative and qualitative analysis is followed by a reflection on the inclusion of contemporary First Nations artworks in these exhibitions, a choice that contributes to the decolonization of the knowledge and discourses expressed. In short, this thesis tends to shed light on the individual and collective initiatives that have made it possible, over the past thirty years, to improve the discourse and museum practices regarding Aboriginal peoples. Fundamental, this analysis, both diachronic and synchronic, entirely turned towards the McCord Museum, will thus allow a better understanding of the possible reconciliations and to envisage new avenues for the construction of histories and cultures in Quebec, based on perspectives of indigenization and decolonization of reflections and practices.

From modern anthropologists 'hunters and gatherers' to Bruce Pascoe's  'farmers' in "Dark Emu". The  domestication of plants and the presence or absence agriculture in Aboriginal Australia poses questions about First Peoples Ways which privilege a standard secular framework. A horticulture hegemony exists in "Neolithic" gardening societies and in the modern West. How can we recognise and affirm the cosmic maintenance ceremonies of senior lawmen in Central Australia? And what are the implication for 'hot' societies.

History describes the story of the Pharaohs of the 25th Dynasty, whose reign for more than a century emphasized a period in time of great achievements, contributions and feats accomplished by Black Leaders and Black People.

This was not just a time of conquest and military might, but a contributory era to modern civilization. The time-frame of around 700 BC was a period of Nubian leadership and rule that has been largely ignored by historians, but authenticated evidence shows that it was a time of achievement and greatness that sends a strong message to today’s Black Community, particularly to Young Black Males by enforcing a stronger familiarity with the concept of success as evidenced by the election of Barack Obama, our nation’s First Black President. This information also makes a strong statement toward showing all members of the public at large, “that Black People have a  tradition of achievement and pride that evolved from a great Heritage!”

Contemporary approaches to integrating "self" and the "other"—such as multiculturalism, cultural diversity, race relations, inclusiveness strategies, or identity politics—are flawed from the perspective of traditional thought. At their core, modernist ideologies are inimical to and destructive of all human diversity. The new face of antipathy to pluralism is becoming more deceptive as it grows less focused on respecting diversity and more on promoting ideological uniformity and the erection of a global monoculture. This essay argues that it is from a metaphysical perspective that human diversity can be fully understood and can seek to reconcile the dichotomy of "self" and the "other".

With First Peoples and non–First Peoples scholars alike questioning the efficacy of research methods based solely upon accepted social science research paradigms with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations, innovative and ontologically inclusive alternatives require consideration. Research conducted with incarcerated Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women in the Northern Territory and Western Australia may provide such an opportunity, arguing for a method of ‘research at the interface’ that utilises appreciative inquiry with culturally appropriate conversations (yarning). Employed across four prisons, the interface research method was applied as an innovative solution to measuring prison performance. It highlighted the lived experience of incarceration while re-imagining the prison, as it exists when it functions at its best. The article begins with a snapshot of the research conducted with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women in prisons across the Northern Territory and Western Australia; this provides a frame through which to consider the efficacy of interfacing First Peoples research paradigms with Western traditional modes of research. Furthermore, the innovative application of appreciative inquiry to the prison is discussed. Given that appreciative inquiry explores and privileges the narrative as a means of making sense of the prison experience, the authors suggest it complements the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander tradition of ‘yarning’. A yarning style represents a way of ensuring cultural safety, respect and the utilisation of First Peoples ontology to research conducted with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women. Overall, it is delineated how interfacing appreciative inquiry and yarning may provide a viable alternative to the deep colonising and perpetually oppressive use of Western modes of scholarship when engaging in research with First Peoples.

Explores varying interactions between First Peoples in the Georgia colony and John Wesley and his Anglican colleagues to meet a need gap in culturally-competent Wesleyan studies / church history to contextualize missionary history and colonialism inclusive of First Nations perspectives and responses. Originally published as “Heather Ann Clements” with co-author Cassandra Shea in Wesleyan Theological Journal 46.2 (Fall 2011): 150-167, expanded from initial presentation as  “Shifts in Engagement with First Peoples and Wesley’s Understanding of the Biblical Concept of Perfection.” Co-presenter with Cassandra Shea Esquivel. Wesleyan Theological Society annual meeting, Ethnic Studies section, March 5, 2010.

Since its opening in Odanak in 2011, Kiuna Institution has been the only post-secondary institution designed by and for Quebec’s First Nations. Like its predecessor, Manitou Community College in La Macaza (1973-1976), and the Tribal Colleges and Universities (TCUs) of the United States, it is committed to cultural safety and continuity. Now, however, with the introduction of Indigenous perspectives and curricula into the provincial educational system, a number of conceptual and logistical challenges are emerging. Can post-secondary institutions provide a supportive environment that helps Indigenous students develop their identity? Can adaptation of curricular programs encourage them to stay in school and succeed academically? This article aims to analyze the different components and approaches of Kiuna’s First Nations Social Science Program. Based on the testimonies and experiences of First Nations’ students, graduates, and professionals gathered between 2013 and 2015, it tends to show that adaptation of curricula and services does contribute to cultural safety, to a stronger cultural identity and, therefore, to perseverance and post-secondary success of First Nations students.

Updated with the permission of Recherches amérindiennes au Québec from the original French version: Dufour, E. (2015). “ « Une école où tu réapprends à être fier de ce que tu es… » : L’Institution Kiuna et le programme Sciences humaines – Premières Nations ”. Recherches amérindiennes au Québec, 45(2-3): 163-176.

This interview with a Native Elder of the Ohlone/Costanoan people was conducted in her ancestral home of the Indian Canyon. Anne‐Marie Sayers speaks about her own history, and of the importance of her spiritual and ancestral heritage, of the environmental crisis and its spiritual roots, and of the traditional emphasis of living in balance with Spirit in nature.

This short expose was part of an assignment rubric that was very minimal but I decided to keep it on hand as a reminder for myself.  I plan to begin compiling data and footage this fall, for an extensive Native North American Indian documentary series.  The project will combine the work of several anthropologists, archaeology majors, and psychologists, with myself as producer and narrator.  The project will bring together ethnographic research, historiography, biographical narratives, spirituality, and psychological anthropology, and include video, audio, collaborative written publications and current developments.

The Anasazi will be one of the tribes that presents an enigmatic paradigm in the history of the North American First Peoples, that is largely under-addressed in terms of an integrated theory and timeline.  We feel it is important to devote considerable attention to the questions that are still left unanswered.

Dans leur texte, Pierrot Ross-Tremblay et Nawel Hamidi nous rappellent qu’il n’y a point de réconciliation sans vérité, même si elle est un supplice pour les sociétés coloniales, et que nous sommes à l’aube d’une révolution | In their text, Pierrot Ross-Tremblay and Nawel Hamidi remind us that there is no reconciliation without truth, even if it is a torture for the colonial societies, and that we are at the dawn of a revolution.

Alex Janvier’s Morning Star at the Canadian Museum of Civilization is a reflection of the First People’s shared experience of loss, displacement, renewal and reconciliation. This mural adorns 418 square feet of the dome area above the staircase located at the end of the Canadian Museum of Civilization’s Grand Hall. The artist’s use of colour, imagery and shapes constructs a historical narrative, in the form of a circular timeline, which depicts the experiences shared by Canada’s First Peoples. The circular timeline format of Alex Janvier’s Morning Star is a direct reflection of the role of Canadian historiography, in that, the issues of the past are continually being shaped by the present. This paper will examine the main themes of Alex Janvier’s Morning Star by investigating the context in which the mural was created, the narratives associated with the painting and the anthropological method First Peoples are portrayed in Canadian historiography. In addition, this discourse analyze will compare Janvier’s Morning Star narrative with the Canadian historical narrative to show its differing perspectives on history and identity.

In this chapter we argue that critical service learning can be a powerful and effective means of developing higher education students’ Indigenous cultural awareness and understanding. When done well, critical service learning also encourages reflection on the socio-political and environmental contexts that influence contemporary culture and contribute to social injustice. We support our argument with the example of a Western Australian service-learning program in which undergraduate media students work with city based Aboriginal community groups over the course of a semester. This project is of special significance because of its use of participatory action research to assist students to develop relationships with their community partners and manage individual projects. The findings expose the common ground shared by critical service learning and participatory action research, and suggest that the principles of action research can contribute to a strong and successful service-learning experience.

The core of service learning in post-secondary education is a range of partnerships between higher education institutions and communities, as co-generators of knowledge. This paper, reporting from a national arts-based service learning project involving three Australian universities, is concerned with communities of practice that influence stakeholder values and attitudes as well as enhancing the work readiness of pre-service teachers and university students in music, screen arts and journalism. It builds on seven years of practice and research in arts-based service learning with Aboriginal communities (2009-2015) and a nationally funded project that entailed service-learning programs at three Australia universities in partnership with Aboriginal communities in regional and metropolitan areas Australia (2011-2013). Drawing on the concept of Ubuntu, or humanness, the paper discusses the benefits and challenges of working as an interlocking community of practice. Within this community...

The core of service learning in post-secondary education is a range of partnerships between higher education institutions and communities, as co-generators of knowledge. This paper, reporting from a national arts-based service learning project involving three Australian universities, is concerned with communities of practice that influence stakeholder values and attitudes as well as enhancing the work readiness of pre-service teachers and university students in music, screen arts and journalism. It builds on seven years of practice and research in arts-based service learning with Aboriginal communities (2009-2015) and a nationally funded project that entailed service-learning programs at three Australia universities in partnership with Aboriginal communities in regional and metropolitan areas Australia (2011-2013). Drawing on the concept of Ubuntu, or humanness, the paper discusses the benefits and challenges of working as an interlocking community of practice. Within this community...

With First Peoples and non–First Peoples scholars alike questioning the efficacy of research methods based solely upon accepted social science research paradigms with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander populations, innovative and ontologically inclusive alternatives require consideration. Research conducted with incarcerated Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women in the Northern Territory and Western Australia may provide such an opportunity, arguing for a method of ‘research at the interface’ that utilises appreciative inquiry with culturally appropriate conversations (yarning). Employed across four prisons, the interface research method was applied as an innovative solution to measuring prison performance. It highlighted the lived experience of incarceration while re-imagining the prison, as it exists when it functions at its best. The article begins with a snapshot of the research conducted with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women in prisons across the Northern Te...