How Cultural Collaboration creates Indigenous-Settler Allyship.
One of the most important topics in Canadian history right now is the ongoing project of Truth and Reconciliation with Canada's Indigenous peoples. Centuries of cultural genocide are slowly rising to the surface of contemporary politics, informing how historians must approach the preservation, presentation, and interpretation of Indigenous histories and resources. However, while the project of reconciling with the past is essential to the healing and resurgence of Indigenous communities, I also believe that equal energy must be expended towards reshaping present and future practices to empower Indigenous peoples and restore Indigenous sovereignty, on Indigenous terms.
Regardless of one's chosen field of historic study, every historian should be constantly confronting the settler colonial ideologies that inform how we come to understand the past. These cultural biases will always be ingrained in how we think and act, and the only way to address them is through self-awareness and a willingness to re-educate and listen to Indigenous perspectives.
Beyond our own personal biases, settler scholars and historians should also extend this awareness towards every interaction with the public. Using settler privilege to place agency upon Indigenous perspectives and experiences is one of the first steps towards becoming an ally to Indigenous peoples. Personally, I have had interactions with the public that forced me to choose between remaining silent or actively advocating for Indigenous sovereignty.
For example, working at a national park that also has a long history of Indigenous occupation, including a remaining cemetery left over from the last settlement, many visitors would inquire about where to find the cemetery. Many of them approached it with a stereotypical, derogatory understanding of the sacred space, often asking me about the "Indian burial ground" and if it has supernatural stories related to it. My own solution to this was to change the language, responding with "oh, you mean the Anishinaabe Cemetery? You can find it here, it has a designation as a National Historic Site so please make sure to be respectful". Using language to confront oppressive settler stereotypes (regardless of how benign the intent may be) is one way to point out harmful stereotypes in a non-confrontational or accusing way.
Another way settler historians can be allies of Indigenous peoples is to continue to learn and listen to stories, personal testimonies, and participate in cultural practices. I think that this aspect has been neglected because it seems fraught with political booby-traps and accusations of appropriation. There is a very fine line we must walk between cultural collaboration/appreciation and cultural appropriation, but this path must be led by Indigenous peoples.
I am very lucky to have had lots of opportunities to participate in teachings and workshops alongside Indigenous people learning and connecting with Indigenous cultures. In high school I made my very own moccasins with the help of a local Mohawk Elder, I made my own drum the traditional way during a workshop at Georgian Bay Islands National Park where I work alongside Nishnaabeg community members. I have listened to teachings on medicines, stories, and techniques and received permission to integrate these into my own life.
I have also struggled with the overwhelming guilt and shame that comes with the realization of ongoing colonial violence and how my whiteness has played a role in the trauma many Indigenous communities face. I have taken several classes on Indigenous cultures - particularly literature - and watched as my First Nations classmates wept when reading about residential schools.
Above: Ode'imin or Wild Strawberries are harvested in July. These wild berries are native to Canada and don't grow nearly as large as the cultivated strawberries you see at the grocery store.
There is a teaching I would like to share with you about reconciliation, the teaching of Ode'imin (O-day-min) or Strawberries. Strawberries are often referred to as the "heart berry" by the Anishinaabe First Nations because of its shape. Strawberries could not grow without a vast, sprawling root system which connects the plants together, just like our veins connect to our heart and give us life.
This story of the origins of Ode'imin, known as the Strawberry Teaching, comes from Elder Lilian Pitwanakwat of Curve Lake First Nation:
"In the Strawberry Teaching two brothers mischievously play at wrestling, against their parents’ wishes. Following the accidental death of one of the boys, the survivor is overcome with grief and ashamed to admit his role in his brother’s death. After years of grief and anger, the surviving brother is surprised to discover a strawberry plant growing on his brother’s grave. As the fruit matures it transforms from a tiny white bud to a beautiful red, luscious fruit, shaped like a heart. Eating this fruit restored his joy in life again and allowed him to release his guilt and shame. Change and healing took place not from the head, but from the heart following acceptance of his brother’s death.
The heart berry helps us understand the connection between the mind, body, spirit, and emotions. We need our heart to guide us in order to maintain personal balance. The heart berry also reminds us of reconciliation and teaches us how to maintain heartfelt relationships in our families and communities. During the strawberry harvest in June, many communities hold annual feasts, welcoming everyone home and letting go of differences, judgment, and self-righteousness".
This teaching holds so much meaning for the ongoing reconciliation between Indigenous peoples and settlers. Coming together and putting aside differences to share in the sweetness of Indigenous cultural resurgence not only heals relations but also strengthens practices and beliefs that colonialism has tried so hard to wipe away.
I think the number one thing we can do as settlers and historians is to be available and ask to participate in Indigenous cultures when the time and place is right. This way, not only are we listening we are also actively acknowledging and sharing in Indigenous resurgence. However, it is important to sit back and know your place in these circumstances. Ensure that you always ask permission and treat this information with great respect, always associating it with Indigenous epistemologies.
As historians, Indigenous perspectives of conservation are essential in order for healing to take place between the land and its original caretakers, Indigenous peoples. This includes Indigenous leadership, and active listening and participation. It also means us settler scholars must surrender our need to control and shape narratives. Rather, Indigenous cultures and ideas should shape our work.
Ultimately, this is all much easier to say than to implement but the strawberry teaching reminds us to cast aside our cultural affiliations as settler or Indigenous and instead work together as ally's with a mutual goal: to protect, preserve, and present the past for generations to come.
Looking for more information on Indigenous allyship and conservation? Check out this amazing article from Land Needs Guardians!
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