University of Victoria

Indigenous and Settler: Identities and Relationships in Research I

Indigenous and Settler peoples in what is now North America have long interacted across porous and rigid boundaries, in conflict and cooperation, and these historic and present-day dynamics play a critical role in shaping collective identities. These "mutually constituted" identities, and the varied relationships that inform and are informed by them, create both challenges and opportunities for sociologists working within and across Indigenous and Settler subjectivities. Building on popular past CSA sessions in 2011 and 2012 ("Indigenous Peoples and Contemporary Canada," "Indigenous Peoples and Social Research"), this session aims to interrogate the impacts of Indigenous and Settler identities and relationships on research, and vice versa. How are identities operationalized in research? How do relationships between researchers and community members impact on identity formation and enactment? And what does empirical research tell us about the complexity, diversity and interconnections of Indigenous and Settler identities today (e.g., Anishinaabe, Kwak'waka'wakw, Metis, multi-generational Euro-Canadians, recent immigrants of colour)? Our goal is to open dialogue on these often-unseen or overlooked - yet fundamental - aspects of research, in order to critically assess who 'we' are and how 'we' work together, but also to envision respectful, creative partnerships for the future.

Session Organizer: Emma Battell Lowman, University of Warwick, e.j.b.lowman@warwick.ac.uk ; Jeff Denis, McMaster University, denisj@mcmaster.ca

Indigenous Identities and Anti-Racist Strategies

Jeff Denis, McMaster University, denisj@mcmaster.ca , Ismael Traore, McMaster University, traoreis@mcmaster.ca

This paper investigates the anti-racist strategies of Indigenous peoples. Drawing on in-depth interviews with 60 First Nation and Métis residents of Northwestern Ontario (Treaty 3 Territory), we document pervasive recent experiences with racial discrimination, but also a wide range of interpretations and responses to it, which are informed by residents' own senses of Indigenous identity. By analyzing participants' narratives of their personal experiences, we first reveal the complex inner dialogue, long-term observation, testing and analysis that usually precede labeling an incident "racist." Then, we show how the responses to such incidents go beyond "fight or flight" (Krieger, 2000) to the reflective choosing of battles, based on situation, agent, and the target's own coping resources, as well as the frequent re-framing of such incidents as "gifts" or opportunities for change. These responses are embedded in broader stigma management strategies (Fleming, Welburn, & Lamont, 2012), most especially finding strength in spirituality, maintaining a sense of humour, taking political action, educating the self and others, and seeking social support. Finally, we show how the use of these strategies shapes and is shaped by different understandings of what it means to be Indigenous. In particular, four prominent identity "types" - although not necessarily mutually exclusive - are associated with distinct patterns of interpretation and response: traditionalists tend to rely on spirituality and ceremonies; activists on confrontation and political engagement; straddlers on negotiation and diplomacy; and self-doubters on minimization and internalization. Overall, this research highlights how the mobilization of effective anti-racist strategies depends on the salience and meaning of Indigenous identities.

Wednesday June 5, 2013 08:45 AM - 10:15 AM Building: Elliott Building, Room: E-168

Respect, Relevance, Reciprocity, Responsibility, Relationships: Questions for the settler taking up indigenist research methodologies

Jean-Paul Restoule, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto, jeanpaul.restoule@utoronto.ca , Rochelle Johnston, Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto , rochellenjohnston@yahoo.com

Indigenous scholars have critiqued dominant approaches to research, demonstrating how they have and continue to be instruments of colonialism (Smith, 1999). They have worked in collaboration with Indigenous communities, with guidance from Elders and other traditional knowledge keepers, to develop ways to carry out research that honour Indigenous worldviews (Simpson, 2000). Indigenous research methodologies require us as researchers to establish, strengthen and come closer in our relations, with each other as human beings, but also with the Creator, the Land and its inhabitants, and generations past and future (Absolon, 2011). Indigenous protocols set high standards for how we behave in these research relationships (Kovach, 2010). According to an Indigenous worldview, our identities as researchers are relationally constructed: we locate ourselves in relation to what we research; we strive to live our values through our research; and the process of researching is at the same time a journey of personal transformation (Wilson, 2008). Using Indigenous research methodologies necessarily impacts the identities and relationships of both Indigenous and Settler researchers. Settler researchers have even begun adopting what Wilson (2008) calls Indigenist research methodologies. We illustrate how these impacts are felt with examples from our own practice as researchers, a graduate class on Indigenous research methodologies and a book we’re editing on Indigenous research methodologies.

Wednesday June 5, 2013 08:45 AM - 10:15 AM Building: Elliott Building, Room: E-168

Anishinaabe Gikeedaasiwin – An Exploration into Indigenous Resilience

Patricia McGuire, University of Saskatchewan Sociology, pdm120@mail.usask.ca

This study investigated socio-cultural knowledge(s) of the Lake Nipigon and Lake Superior region in northern Ontario. There is a need to explore how Indigenous knowledge(s) may be related to Anishinaabe ongoing resilience. Exploring the survival of Anishinaabe knowledge(s) can set different directions for the social renewal of Anishinaabe societies. This dissertation is grounded in Anishinaabe ontology and epistemology. A multi-layered reflexivity approach combined with grounded theory was used in a sociology of knowledge approach. The result is an exploration of specific Anishinaabe knowledge as being rooted in land based knowledge. This study offers a nuanced understanding of Anishinaabe ways of knowing and being in the world.

Wednesday June 5, 2013 08:45 AM - 10:15 AM Building: Elliott Building, Room: E-168

Niwahkomanak, Nitoteemak, ekwa Niya: All my relatives, my friends and me. Does a Cree communal family model create a strong sense of cultural identity and resilience of culture?

Angele Alook, York University, aalook@yorku.ca

I sent out on a research project attempting to understand the cultural identity of young Aboriginal adults in between city and reserve, and discovered a modern understanding of family. I interviewed 15 co-participants that left the reserve to live in Edmonton and 15 co-participants that stayed on reserve in oil rich Wabasca. Weaved within the co-participants narratives was the definition of family and community. Most of the co-participants had young families and large extended family networks. Even though most had left the reserve to pursue careers in the city, those that maintained a strong connection to family maintained a strong sense of cultural identity. Those that stayed to live and work on reserve made the choice to stay based primarily on their strong sense of family and community. Family was defined based on a traditional Cree model, in which the child’s well-being is central, parents and grandparents are caregiving teachers, then an extended network of family provide additional care. Central to this model is a sense of community which is defined by togetherness, helping, sharing, caring, learning and teaching. In this paper I will explore the following questions, how do these families still have a strong sense of family and culture, despite experiencing trauma caused by colonialism? Is this Cree model of family contributing to creating an Aboriginal middle-class? How is cultural identity formed between the juxtaposed ideologies of capitalist meritocratic labour market values and a Cree communal understanding of family? In addition, do remnants of traditional Cree egalitarian gender relations now create a strong sense of family and culture?

Wednesday June 5, 2013 08:45 AM - 10:15 AM Building: Elliott Building, Room: E-168