DECOLONIZATION ≠ METAPHOR

BUT, HOW AND WHY?

Lynne Alexandrova

9th “Decolonizing the Spirit” conference, Toronto, April 24 & 25, 2015

SEMIOTIC-ANALYTICAL

APPROACH

SEMIOTIC-ANALYTICAL

APPROACH

What words stand for

What message they conceptualize

SEMIOTIC-ANALYTICAL

APPROACH

What words stand for

What message they conceptualize

SEMIOTIC-ANALYTICAL

APPROACH

What words stand for

Decolonization | Indigenization | Philosophy

What message they conceptualize

How to Live | Learn | …Love

PHILOSOPHY SEMIOTICS

Studies in: language, literature, linguistics,

media/communication, philosophy (of education)

Deleuze & Guattari (1991 Fr/1994 Eng): What Is Philosophy? –

philosophers as “friends of wisdom” create concepts

Jean Vanier (1998/2008): Becoming Human (L’Arche homes) --

true wisdom comes with the participation of the heart

WISDOM SEMIOTICS

Premise I: “philosophy” < Greek love/friendship +

knowledge/wisdom

Premise II: philosophy = (1) love-of-wisdom

(2) wisdom-of-love

Educational Philosophy claim:

friends-of-wisdom-of-lovingkindness trump coloniality

WISDOM SEMIOTICS

Premise I: “philosophy” < Greek love/friendship +

knowledge/wisdom

Premise II: philosophy = (1) love-of-wisdom

(2) wisdom-of-love

Educational Philosophy claim (disposition to the world):

Friends-of-the-wisdom-of-lovingkindness trump coloniality

EARLY PHILOSOPHERS

OF OTHERNESS

BARTOLOME DE LAS CASAS (1474-1566) DOMINICAN MISSIONARY, HISTORIAN, PHILOSOPHER

According to Tzvetan Todorov Las Casas “opposed any claim that they[the Indians of the Americas] were inferior, and thus rejected any firmequation between ‘barbarians’ and ‘Indians’... For one thing, the Spanishsurpassed them in inhumanity; and, for another, the Spanish were evenmore ignorant of foreign languages…”

The Fear of Barbarians: Beyond the Clash of Civilizations, pp.19-20

“At the very end of his life Las Casas writes in his will: ‘I believe thatbecause of these impious, criminal and ignominious deeds perpetrated sounjustly, tyrannically, and barbarously, God will vent upon Spain His wrathand his fury, for nearly all of Spain has shared in the bloody wealthusurped at the cost of as much ruin and slaughter.’”

The Conquest of America, p. 245

M.E. SEIGNEUR DE MONTAIGNE (1533-1592)FRENCH ESSAYIST

Montaigne also judged Europeans to be more barbarous (in the absolute sense of cruel) than the Indians. Todorov provides a famous quote by Montaigne:

…there is nothing savage or barbarous about those people in that nation, to judge from what has been reported to me, but that every man calls barbarous what he is not accustomed to.

Todorov concludes that “Christian universalism is here combined with a positive evaluation of noble savages.”

The Fear of Barbarians: Beyond the Clash of Civilizations, p. 20

ARTHUR J. RAY, CONTEMPORARY HISTORIAN

In I Have Lived Here since the World Began: An Illustrated history of Canada’s

Native People (1996/2005) he builds a strong case for the presence of Indians in

Canada’s economy, and reviews a long record of defenders/detractors of Indian

way of living and knowing.

They came to a wigwam. It was a long wigwam with a door at each end. The

man inside the wigwam said, “I have lived here since the world began. I have

my grandmother, she was here when the world was made”.

Mi’kmaq folk tale (1800s) -- epigraph to the book

It is a strict law that bids us dance. It is a strict law that bids us distribute our

property among our friends and neighbours. It is a good law. Let the white man

observe his law, we shall observe ours.

Kwakwaka’wakwa chief addressing Franz Boas in 1896, B.C.

epigraph to chapter on potlatch and Sun Dance

CANADA = SAMPLING OF THE WORLD

The Americas and especially the Canadian context are “post-settler” societies (J. Sissons, 2005 / New Zealand)

first peoples

On reserve: first Nations/”status Indians”

Off reserve: urban n/Native, a/Aboriginal, i/Indigenous

European settlers of post-contact period

1-tier colonialism in English Canada (Native/English)

2-tier colonialism in Quebec (Native/French/English)

Recent (im)migrants:

from (neo-)colonizing countries

from (neo-)colonized countries

Philosophical claim:

Coloniality cuts

in different ways

for different actors

It affects all

CANADA = MANY WORLDS

The Americas and especially the Canadian context are “post-settler” societies (J. Sissons, 2005 / New Zealand)

first peoples

On reserve: first Nations/”status Indians”

Off reserve: urban n/Native, a/Aboriginal, i/Indigenous)

European settlers of post-contact period

1-tier colonialism in English Canada (Native/English)

2-tier colonialism in Quebec (Native/French/English)

Recent (im)migrants:

from (neo-)colonizing countries

from (neo-)colonized countries

Philosophical claim:

Natives & Immigrants

share responsibility for

transcending multiple

colonialities

DE-COLONIZATION = RE-INDIGENIZATION

Premise I: colonize = “de-indigenize”, i.e. deprive of belonging to a

country/place/land; destroy bodies and spirit of the people & their land

Premise II: when an industrialized culture alienates itself from

land/nature (+ each other), subjugates/exploits/destroys animal &

plant (and thereby human) life, it “de-indigenizes” = self-colonizes

Philosophical claim: de-colonize = re-indigenize, i.e. restore

1) belonging to land 2) belonging with people/culture

3) BELONGING TO LAND ACROSS CULTURES

From 1850 to 1854, Governor James Douglas negotiated fourteen pre-

confederation treaties on Southern and Northern Vancouver Island.

To Indigenous Nations, these treaties were not land cession agreements

but set out the obligations of each party to allow for their peaceful

coexistence then and into the future.

Union of BC Indian Chiefs Aboriginal Title Curriculum Project, Law Foundation of BC

BELONGING TO LAND ACROSS CULTURES

Royal Proclamation, 1763 protect Indian sovereignty over land

And We do further strictly enjoin and require all Persons whatever, who

have either wilfully or inadvertently seated themselves upon any Lands

within the Countries above described, or upon any other Lands, which,

not having been ceded to, or purchased by Us, are still reserved to the

said Indians as aforesaid, forthwith to remove themselves from such

Settlements.

BELONGING TO LAND ACROSS CULTURES

Royal Proclamation, 1763 protects Indian sovereignty over land

And We do further strictly enjoin and require all Persons whatever, who

have either wilfully or inadvertently seated themselves upon any Lands

within the Countries above described, or upon any other Lands, which,

not having been ceded to, or purchased by Us, are still reserved to the

said Indians as aforesaid, forthwith to remove themselves from such

Settlements.

1850 - 1854

Governor

James Douglas

Treaties in BC

… The condition of our understanding of this sale is this,

that our village sites and enclosed fields are to be kept for

our own use, for the use of our children, and for those who

may follow after us; and the land shall be properly

surveyed, hereafter. It is understood, however, that the

land itself, with these small exceptions, becomes the entire

property of the white people for ever; it is also understood

that we are at liberty to hunt over the unoccupied lands,

and to carry on our fisheries as formerly.

We have received, as payment, Seventy-five pounds

sterling.

SAMPLE TEXT OF DOUGLAS TREATY

THE (NON-)METAPHORICAL

One sense of “non-metaphorical” decolonization

decolonization = “repatriation of land (and life)” (Tuck & Yang, 2012)

Response:

“Decolonizing” heart-mind-body on Indigenous land (as much as the

land) is not a metaphor. Poorly done “decolonization” in education,

etc. projects is not a metaphor

But land “repatriation” (returning [a prisoner, esp. of war] to a country

of origin) could be the operative metaphor for – using US census

ratios per Tuck and Yang (2012) – 100% US land (Indigenous-inhabited

before contact) being cared for, not propertied-denaturalized, by

99.1% non-Indigenous in addition to 0.9% Indigenous population.

DE-COLONIZATION = RE-INDIGENIZATION

Premise I: colonize = “de-indigenize”, i.e. deprive of belonging to a

country/place/land; destroy bodies and spirit of the people & their land

Premise II: when an industrialized culture alienates itself from

land/nature (+ each other), subjugates/exploits/destroys animal &

plant (and thereby human) life, it “de-indigenizes” = self-colonizes

Philosophical claim: de-colonize = re-indigenize, i.e. restore

1) belonging to land 2) belonging with people/culture

DECOLONIZATION “INTEGRATION”? -- NO.

Widdowson & Howard: Disrobing the Aboriginal Industry: The Deception Behind Indigenous Cultural Preservation (2008)

“Developmental gap” has to be recognized – the “neolithic” vs the modern

Land claims and self-government do not improve the living standard of Native people; serve to syphon funds into the pockets of lawyers, Native elites (presumably patriarchal, and standing in the way of “universal human rights”),

Instead of “culturally sensitive” programs for schools – Caroline Krause’s success with Indigenous students’ via “Eurocentric” focus on “literacy, academics & objective assessment”

Hope for “principled leadership”: the Metis, for relative independence; aboriginal women

o Tom Flanagan, First Nations, Second Thoughts (2000) – 3 steps to capitalism

o Alan Cairns Citizens Plus (2000) – Trudeau’s 1969 “White Paper” for uniform vs differentiated citizenship [criticized by Patricia Monture-Angus and Taiaiake Alfred]

o Calvin Helin Dances with Dependency: Indigenous Success Through Self-Reliance (2006) treaty

“INTEGRATION” = INDIGENOUS KNOWLEDGE

Widdowson & Howard: Disrobing the Aboriginal Industry: The Deception Behind Indigenous Cultural Preservation (2008)

“Developmental gap” has to be recognized – the “neolithic” vs the modern

Land claims and self-government do not improve the living standard of Native people; serve to syphon funds into the pockets of lawyers, Native elites (presumably patriarchal, and standing in the way of “universal human rights”),

Instead of “culturally sensitive” programs for schools – Caroline Krause’s success with Indigenous students’ via “Eurocentric” focus on “literacy, academics & objective assessment”

Hope for “principled leadership”: the Metis, for relative independence; aboriginal women

o Tom Flanagan, First Nations, Second Thoughts (2000) – 3 steps to capitalism

o Alan Cairns Citizens Plus (2000) – Trudeau’s 1969 “White Paper” for uniform vs differentiated citizenship [criticized by Patricia Monture-Angus and Taiaiake Alfred]

o Calvin Helin Dances with Dependency: Indigenous Success Through Self-Reliance (2006) treaty

THE BIG EPISTEMIC/LOGICAL QUESTIONS

Indigenous knowledge that would ensure the

cultural continuity of Indigenous/any populations -

authentically

Indigenous knowledge that would be a valuable

contribution to other paradigms - in the current and

future context

THE BIG EPISTEMIC/LOGICAL QUESTIONS

What Indigenous knowledge would ensure the cultural continuity of Indigenous/any populations - authentically?

By proven (and re-discovered) tradition

By ongoing evolution (including cross-pollination)

What traditional Indigenous knowledge would be a valuable contribution - in the current and future context?

By resonance with current paradigms

By its specificity

THE BIG EPISTEMIC/LOGICAL QUESTIONS

What Indigenous knowledge would ensure the cultural continuity of Indigenous/any populations - authentically?

By proven (and re-discovered) tradition

By ongoing evolution (including cross-pollination)

What traditional Indigenous knowledge would be a valuable contribution - in the current and future context?

By resonance with current paradigms

By its specificity

(NON)INDIG. EPISTEMIC/LOGICAL ANSWERS

David Peat, Blackfoot Physics: A Journey into the Native American Universe

Indigenous science shares paradigm features with today’s fundamental physics

predates eco-biology: renewable “compacts” with nature; plant domestication

Scott Pratt, Native Pragmatism: Rethinking the Roots of American Philosophy

interactivity, pluralism, community, growth

Gregory Cajete, Look to the Mountain: An Ecology of Indigenous Education

Educating to discover one’s 1) face (true potential, identity), 2) heart (true passion, creativity), and 3) foundation (true vocation)

Richard Atleo Principles of Tsawalk: An Indigenous Approach to Global Crisis

The Nuu-chah-nulth tsawalk “one” (ontological unity) - recognition, consent, continuity

“Our stories are true!” – knowledge verification by experience

Cf. Werner Heisenberg, prominent atomic physicist

Unification at physical levels of ever greater abstraction => understanding between nations

Prime Take-aways

Values of relationality

(Make time to) Listen

Trusting the learner

Indigenous art evolves

outside “Indigeneity”

NATIVES RAP & ROCK

I’m feeling reserved

Man that’s how I’m living

I gotta do with this mic I was given

To try to get by,

no word of a lie

We gotta try to restore pride

From “Feeling Reserved” video remix by WarParty

NATIVES RAP & ROCK

My dash is dusty, my plates are expired,Please Mr. Officer, let me explain,I've got to make it to a Pow-Wow tonight…

Were on the circuit of an Indian dream,We don't get old,We just get younger,When were flying down the highway,Riding in our Indian Cars,Riding in our Indian Cars,Riding in our Indian Cars

Lyrics by Keith Secola

Non-colonial Europeans

like (and practice)

Indigenous knowing/living

A community in the Czech Republic

goes Native

https://vimeo.com/24033319

YOUR

QUESTIONS

AND COMMENTS

NATIVES RAP & ROCKReserves relentless,

yo, it’s what I gotta contend with,

sundance the rez demented,

genuine arson of lessons

from beneath the ground sentence

to blessed with four elements.

This mic, this light, this rez, this life,

I represent my residents.

From “Feeling Reserved” video remix by WarParty

Czech community emulates “American Natives”

Manitoba Natives say OK - documentary

PARADOX I:

THE “WEST” THAT CAME FROM THE EAST

At the very end of his life Las Casas writes in his will: “I believe that

because of these impious, criminal and ignominious deeds

perpetrated so unjustly, tyrannically, and barbarously, God will

vent upon Spain His wrath and his fury, for nearly all of Spain has

shared in the bloody wealth usurped at the cost of as much ruin

and slaughter.”

Curse correction: replace Spain with Western Europe because:

…Spain is not alone: Portugal, France, England, Holland, will fol-

low close after. Belgium, Germany and Italy will try to catch up.

Tzvetan Todorov’s The Conquest of America, p. 245

MOUNDBUILDING REGION - MISSISSIPPI

Ice Age hunters and gatherers 12,000 – 8,000 BC

Early Archaic Period (localization, use of atlatl) – 6,000 BC

Middle Archaic Period (sedentary habits emerge) – 3,000 BC

Late Archaic Period (plant domestication, copper, pottery) – 500 BC

Moundbuilding Epoch 1,500 BC – AD 1,731

corn, indigenous domesticates, bow and arrow

3rd Moundbuilding Epoch AD 700 – 1,731

palisaded towns, hoes, corn, beans and other crops

Cahokia AD 700 – 1,250

Major Spanish invasions AD 1513 – 1543

Postcontact survivals AD 1550 – 1731

French defeat the Natchez, 400 sold as Caribbean slaves AD 1731

From: Linda Noreen Schaffer’s Native Americans before 1492: The Mound-

building Centers of the Eastern Woodlands (1992, p. 4)