Cross posting Indigenous Issues Reading list...

I posted this on my blog some time last summer, I think. Thought I'd reLOAD it here as a way to get myself back on track with my own educational process. Lot's to learn, lots of painful growth I've been avoiding.

Care to join me?


CONTINUE READING +/-

I got this list via email yesterday. It makes reference to the post I wrote about being a Black colonized settler. To find my writings here brings up complicated feelings and contradictory perspectives in me.

At once I am honoured that this woman chose to include my work.

I feel validated in that she checked to make sure I didn't want to opt out of having my work included, she checked to make sure I was okay with being included and that this inclusion wasn't happening against my will.

I feel excited that the post will be seen and read and hopefully engaged with by more people in more places who occupy different locations and who can bring to bear different perspectives when they read me.

I feel uncomfortable with having my work included in a list of (majority) academic writings. As someone who attempted to learn in an academic context at one time, who realized that hoop jumping, validation seeking, elitist climbing and learning were not quite the same thing...
As someone who is not particularly impressed/ moved/ stimulated/ stretched/ broadened by reading many academic writings on resistance at this point in time, I realize that my post, created and emerging out of my experience, conveyed in a style so purposefully not trying to cling too much to academic literary conventions and rules will/may be understood as of lesser value, as not quite so intellectual, evolved or valid as some of the others writings referenced on this list.

This particular way of defining work as valid or invalid upholds a relationship to constructed intellect as desirable. Such a maintained and constructed perspective designed to reinforce the elite status of those who function inside the university complex. I've actually seen/read one academic blogger in particular refer in passing to my writing as indicative of a multi-layered critique. He didn't go into what he thought my writings in the form of my blog offered. Instead he then went on to point out that a tenured (read acceptable and co-opted) academic, someone due to unearned privilege and academically sheltered training conferring dominance, someone who is able to automatically call on an uncritiqued understanding of her work, words and analysis as valid, did a better job describing and outlining multi-layered, multi-faceted identities and experiences using an academic framework. So superior to my work, words, analysis gained against all odds insisted on whatever the price I've had to pay in blood and tears.

hee, hee, hee. whatEVAH.
Offending/offensive blogger methinks you do not actually possess as much analysis of domination, hierarchy, subjugation, identity, resistance, elitism and power as you would like to believe. You know who you are. :)

Finally, I feel excited yet most definitely out of place being included in a list of writings by (majority) Native writers who have experienced/ bled/ resisted/ worked/ screamed/ fought for the realizations presented here in the form of writing set to be consumed by others like me...settlers one and all.

I occupy.
I am learning to identify as part of an occupying force.
I take up privileged space even as what I attempt to discuss, to describe, to acknowledge, to claim, to challenge -- my hidden and obscured location -- through wordings designed to disturb, destabilize and bring into full view (for me and for others), a complicated experience as occupying colonized settler is forgrounded in this list through the inclusion of my post.

I occupy textual space on this list as a colonized colonizing settler. This is not a liberatory space for me as a Black person. It's more like a space where I am forced to embrace what it means to define as the dominated who dominates. Ugh. Yuck. This is uncomfortable yet still true. Even as I attempt to function ethically by writing, there's no avoiding the simple fact of geographical and therefore dominating location. This list is not about me.

sigh...
There are some writings I'll be wanting to take a look at, take to heart so as to continue to understand how I'm located in this mess that is kkkanada and by extension north amerikkka.

I'm hoping that the Native woman who compiled this list makes a web page so that other people will be able to access the list via the internet.

Indigenous Issues Reading List

Journal Articles:

1) Anticolonial Strategies for the Recovery and Maintenance of Indigenous Knowledge. By: Simpson Leanne R.. American Indian Quarterly, Summer/Fall2004, Vol. 28 Issue 3/4, p373-384, 12p; Abstract: Offers a look at anticolonial strategies for the recovery and maintenance of indigenous knowledge in 2004. Focus of the United Nations on Traditional Ecological Knowledge; Elements comprising the renewal of indigenous knowledge; Representation by the Indian Act of the criminalization of indigenous knowledge systems; Role of ecological damage in the destruction of indigenous knowledge; Documentation as a means of further colonizing indigenous knowledge.

2) From Expert to Acolyte: Learning to Understand the Environment from and Anishinaabe Point of View. By: Simpson, Leanne R.; Driben, Paul. American Indian Culture & Research Journal, 2000, Vol. 24 Issue 3, p1-19, 19p, 3 maps; Abstract: Deals with a study which analyzed the aboriginal environment in the Long Lake #58 First Nation, an Anishinaabe, Ojibwa community in the Indian Reserve of Long Lake, Ontario.

3) Stories, dreams, and ceremonies--Anishinaabe ways of learning. By: Simpson, Leanne. Tribal College, Summer2000, Vol. 11 Issue 4, p26, 4p, 3bw; Abstract: Focuses on the use of stories, dreams and ceremonies as methods for transmitting knowledge and learning among Anishinaabe people in Canada. Characterization of the learning process of Aboriginal children; Effectiveness of story telling in teaching and learning; Ceremonies as sources of spiritual knowledge; Pros and cons of using the methods in academic endeavors.

4) Coming Full Circle: Indigenous Knowledge, Environment, and Our Future. By: McGregor, Deborah. American Indian Quarterly, Summer/Fall2004, Vol. 28 Issue 3/4, p385-410, 26p; Abstract: Presents an article exploring the relationship between Indigenous Knowledge (IK) and Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) in Canada. Role of indigenous people in global society; Problems with conventional constructs of IK; Definition and history of TEK; Discusses the difficulties in the field of TEK and questions whether or not it has ultimately been beneficial to indigenous peoples.

5) Minobimaatisiiwin: The Good Life. LaDuke, Winona. October 31, 1992. Cultural Survival Quarterly. Issue 16.4.

6) Decolonizing Antiracism. By: Lawrence, Bonita; Dua, Enakshi. Social Justice, 2006, Vol. 32 Issue 4, p120-143, 24p; Abstract: The article offers information on antiracism. In continuous research over the years, the exclusion of aboriginal people in the discussion of antiracism issues made these people unexposed to various antiracism contexts. Much more, they cannot see themselves in the antiracism consideration. In Canada, this issue is dealt with utmost concern. Police surveillances of racialized people are prevalent, and Native communities are sometimes at risk of direct military intervention. The author calls on postcolonial and antiracism theorists to begin to undertake indigenous decolonization.

7) Settler Colonial Realization Meltdown Take II. T.J. Bryan aka Tenacious. February 2007.

8) Indigeneity and Transnationality? Women & Environments International Magazine, Fall/Winter2005 Issue 68/69, p6-8, 3p; Abstract: The article presents an interview with Bonita Lawrence, a professor at York University in Toronto, Ontario. She differentiates the theory of hybridity from diaspora within postcolonial writing. Lawrence cites the reasons behind the disinclination of Aboriginal theorists on transnational feminism. The professor comments on remarks from theorist Gayatri Spivak regarding aboriginal people. Lawrence became aware on the issue of genocide within Indian tribes after she had written her book "Real Indians and Others: Mixed Blood Urban Native Peoples and Indigenous Nationhood." She believes that identities and lives of Natives in the U.S. and Canada are similar.

9) Gender,Race,and the Regulation of Native Identity in Canada and the United States:An Overview. By: Lawrence Bonita. Hypatia, Spring2003, Vol. 18 Issue 2, p3, 29p; Abstract: Presents an overview of the regulation of native identity, which has been central to the colonization process in the U.S. and Canada. Systems of classification and control that enable settler governments to define who is 'Indian' and control access to native lands; Gender and race issues in the regulation of native identity.

10) The Powerful History of Native Women. By: Anderson, Kim. Herizons, Summer2000, Vol. 14 Issue 1, p15, 4p; Abstract: Deals with the history of aboriginal women in Canada. Contrast between Western and Indigenous political systems; Number of ways in which women traditionally exercised political power; Women's recognition of the significant roles, responsibilities and skills involved in being the primary caregivers of children; Patriarchal provisions of the Indian Act.

11) Dismantling the Master's Tools with the Master's House: Native Feminist Liberation Theologies. By: Smith, Andrea. Journal of Feminist Studies in Religion (Indiana University Press), Fall2006, Vol. 22 Issue 2, p85-97, 13p; Abstract: The article presents a roundtable discussion regarding feminist liberation theologies. The participants of the discussion laid out a diverse agenda for future conversation and activism through their responses to the lead article's strategic reclaiming of the category liberation theology and its creative reuse of the image of the master's house and the master's tool.

12) Native American Feminism, Sovereignty, and Social Change. By: Smith, Andrea. Feminist Studies, Spring2005, Vol. 31 Issue 1, p116-132, 17p; Abstract: Analyzes the theories produced by Native American women activists regarding sovereignty and feminist struggles. Definition of feminism according to Annette Jaime; Views of Native women regarding the reasons for not considering themselves as feminists; Information on the projects of the activists that address colonialism and sexism.

13) Beyond Pro-Choice Versus Pro-Life: Women of Color and Reproductive Justice. By: Smith, Andrea. NWSA Journal, Spring2005, Vol. 17 Issue 1, p119-140, 22p Abstract: This paper argues that the pro-life versus pro-choice paradigm for understanding reproductive rights is a model that marginalizes women of color, poor women, women with disabilities, and women from other marginalized communities. The pro-life versus pro-choice paradigm serves to both reify and mask the structures of white supremacy and capitalism that undergird the reproductive choices that women make. While both camps of the pro-choice and pro-life debate give lip service to addressing the concerns of women of color, in the end the manner in which both articulate the issues at stake contributes to their support of political positions that are racist and sexist and which do nothing to support either life or real choice for women of color. Instead, women of color activists should develop alternative paradigms for articulating reproductive justice that make critiques of capitalism and criminalization central to the analysis rather than simply expand either pro-choice or pro-life frameworks.

14) Spiritual Appropriation As Sexual Violence. By: Smith, Andrea. Wicazo Sa Review, Spring2005, Vol. 20 Issue 1, p97-111, 15p; Abstract: Explores how the New Age movement and other forms of indigenous spiritual/cultural appropriation constitute a form of sexual violence. Analysis of the primary causes of the oppression of Native Americans; Role of material conditions as the primary reason for the continuing genocide of Native peoples; Framing of Native genocide from a materialist perspective; Reappraisal of non-Native, colonialistic attitudes of entitlement to indigenous lands.

15) Introduction: Native Women and State Violence. By: Smith, Andrea; Ross, Luana. Social Justice, 2004, Vol. 31 Issue 4, p1-7, 7p; Abstract: The article focuses on crimes against women. Native women who are survivors of violence often find themselves forced into silence around sexual and domestic violence by their communities because their communities desire to maintain a united front against racism and colonialism. At the same time, the white-dominated anti-violence movement often pits Native women against their communities, arguing that they should leave the communities in which their abusers reside. The reason Native women are constantly marginalized in male-dominated discourses about racism and colonialism and white-dominated discourses about sexism is the inability of both discourses to address the inextricable relationship between gender violence and colonialism.

16) Boarding School Abuses, Human Rights, and Reparations. By: Smith, Andrea. Social Justice, 2004, Vol. 31 Issue 4, p89-102, 14p; Abstract: The article focuses on boarding school abuses, human rights, and reparations in the United States. During the 19th century and into the 20th century, American Indian children were forcibly abducted from their homes to attend Christian and the U.S. government-run boarding schools as a matter of state policy. The goal of the policy was to turn over the administration of Indian reservations to Christian denominations. Congress set aside funds to erect school facilities to be run by churches and missionary societies. These facilities were a combination of day and boarding schools erected on Indian reservations.

17) Not an Indian Tradition:The Sexual Colonization of Native Peoples. By: Smith, Andrea. Hypatia, Spring2003, Vol. 18 Issue 2, p70, 16p; Abstract: Analyzes the connections between sexual violence and colonialism in the lives and histories of Native peoples in the U.S. Argument that sexual violence does not simply occur within the process of colonialism but that colonialism itself is structured by the logic of sexual violence; Analysis of pertinent topics and relevant issues.

18) From the 'Clean Snows of Petawawa': The Violence of Canadian Peacekeepers in Somalia. By: Razack, Sherene. Cultural Anthropology, Feb2000, Vol. 15 Issue 1, p127, 37p; Abstract: Focuses on the violence of Canadian peacekeepers deployed from the Petawawa military base to Somalia. Twofold national aspiration of Canadian peacekeeping; Account of the violence in Somalia; Examination of racist organizations and racist conduct in all the military units of Canada.

19) Fellows, Mary Louise and Sherene Razack. “The Race to Innocence: Confronting Hierarchical Relations Among Women.” Journal of Gender, Race and Justice (1997-98): 335-352.


Chapters In Books:

1) Crosby, Marcia. “Construction of the Imaginary Indian.” Vancouver Anthology: The Institutional Politics of Art. Ed. Stan Douglas. Vancouver: Talonbooks, 1991. 267-291.

2) Crosby, Marcia. “Lines, Lineage, and Lies, or Borders, Boundaries, and Bullshit.” Nations in Urban Landscapes: Faye Heavy Shield, Shelley Niro, Eric Robertson. Vancouver: Contemporary Art Gallery, 1997. 23-30.

3) Dumont, Marilyn. “Positive Images of Nativeness.” Looking at the Words of Our People: First Nations Analysis of Literature. Ed. Jeanette Armstrong. Penticton, BC: Theytus, 1993. 45-50.

4) Mackey, Eva. “Settling Differences: Managing and Representing People and the Land in the Canadian National Project.” The House of Difference: Cultural Politics and National Identity in Canada. Toronto: U Toronto P, 2002. 23-49.

5) McLeod, Neal. “Coming Home Through Stories.” (Ad)dressing Our Words: Aboriginal Perspectives on Aboriginal Literatures. Ed. Armand Garnet Ruffo. Penticton, BC: Theytus, 2001. 17-36.

6) McLeod, Neal. “Plains Cree Identity: Borderlands, Ambiguous Geneologies and Narrative Irony.” The Canadian Journal of Native Studies xx.2 (2000): 437-454.

7) Shohat, Ella. “The Struggle Over Representation: Casting, Coalitions and the Politics of Identification.” Late Imperial Culture. Eds. Roman de la Campa et al. London: Verso, 1995. 116-78.

8) Shohat, Ella and Robert Stam. “The Politics of Multiculturalism in the Postmodern Age.” Unthinking Eurocentrism: Multiculturalism and the Media. London: Routledge, 1994. 338-62.

9) Valaskakis, Gail Luthrie. “Postcards of My Past: Indians and Artifacts. Indian Country: Essays on Contemporary Native Culture. Waterloo, ON: Wilfred Laurier UP, 2005. 67-87.

10) Valaskakis, Gail Luthrie. “Rights and Warriors: Media Memories and Oka.” Indian Country: Essays on Contemporary Native Culture. Waterloo, ON: Wilfred Laurier UP, 2005. 35-65.


Entire Books:

1) Recovering the Sacred: The Power of Naming and Claiming.
Winona LaDuke. Between the Lines. September 8, 2005.

2) Thunder In My Soul: A Mohawk Woman Speaks. Patricia Monture-Angus. Fernwood Pub. September 1, 1995.

3) A Recognition of Being: Reconstructing Native Womanhood. Kim Anderson. Sumach Press. November 28, 2001.

4) Strong Women Stories: Native Vision and Community Survival. Edited by Kim Anderson & Bonita Lawrence. Sumach Press; 1 edition (May 22, 2003).

5) Conquest: Sexual Violence and American Indian Genocide. Andrea Smith. South End Press. April 15, 2005.

6) Color of Violence: The INCITE! Anthology. Andrea Smith August 1, 2006. South End Press.

7) Global Lockdown; Gender, Race, and the Rise of the Prison Industrial Complex: Race, Gender, And The Prison-industrial Complex. Julia Sudbury. Routledge. January 18, 2005.

8) Real Indians and Others: Mixed-Blood Urban Native Peoples and Indigenous Nationhood. Bonita Lawrence. University Of Nebraska Press. July 1, 2004

9) Not Vanishing. Chrystos. May 15, 2000. Press Gang.

10) A Gathering of Spirit: A Collection by North American Indian Women. Beth Brant. January 12, 1988. Firebrand Books.

11) Truth About Stories: A Native Narrative.
Thomas King. House Of Anansi Press. November 1, 2003.

12) Ojibway Heritage. Basil Johnston. University of Nebraska Press. January 1, 1990.

13) Indian School Days.
Basil H. Johnston. University of Oklahoma Press. January 3, 1995.

14) Race, Space, and the Law: Unmapping a White Settler Society. Sherene Razack. April 15, 2002. Between the Lines.