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Let's investigate some examples of identity and belonging...
Let's investigate some examples of identity and belonging...
There is never a shortage of debate when it to comes to the politics of identity... Identity and belonging can be quite complex!
It was previously highlighted that being accepted as a part of a social group by that group is an important component of social identity. However, different social groups have different understandings of what it means to be a part of that group (i.e., who is/should be included and conversely who is/should not be included). Different groups within a same social group can have different ideas, and different individuals can also feel differently! Sometimes there are multiple conflicting ideas within a group.
Beyond this, other external parties who do not belong to that social group can even have their own conceptions of what it means to be a part of the group. Even though these parties are external to the group, they can still have an impact upon it. For example, government legislation, both historic and contemporary that by one way or another impacts who is legally assigned as a member, despite the perspectives of the community itself.
As Gauthier (2018) asks when it comes to discussions around these sorts of identities:
Which voices are legitimately entitled to participate in this discussion?
Who gets to shape the future of Francophone community, and to what degree?
Ineese-Nash (2019) raises this consideration as well in the context of reconciliation, highlighting that:
"who has voice in the decision-making processes of reconciliation is an important consideration when Indigenous perspectives have largely been absent from these conversations."
Francophone or Francofauxne?
Francophone or Francofauxne?
Let's talk about Francophone identity in the Canadian context.
What makes someone Francophone?
❔ Speaking French?
While the French language is considered an important aspect of la Francophonie, given that this represents an ethnolinguistic group, is it everything? The Department of Justice Canada (2025) notes that "language is more than a mere means of communication, it is part and parcel of the identity and culture of the people speaking it".
Section 23 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms defines who has minority-language education rights in Canada, which includes individuals in the Francophone community. It defines who is an "ayant-droit" which translated directly means "rights holder," or in other words, a beneficiary.
While French being the first language spoken and still understood is one eligibility criterion, it is not the only eligibility criterion. For example, an individual is also considered an ayant-droit if at least one of their parents received their formal education in French (Francophone, not French immersion; Department of Justice Canada, 2025). This second criterion is independent of the first and makes no mention of language ability.
Some Francophone schoolboards allow families to apply for admission exceptions. They may establish an enrollment committee, or even extend the specific criteria used for admission in line with the restorative mission of Section 23 (Gauthier, 2016). For example, Conseil Scolaire Centre Nord (n.d.) allows individuals to apply for an admission exception for "a child, whose parent is a Canadian citizen, wishes to rediscover Francophone culture and identity [italics added]." It is worth noting that exceptional admission also asks a commitment of families to support and promote linguistic and cultural development in the home sphere as well.
These questions of identity do not come without their challenges. One such common concern is over-anglicising Francophone spaces meant to protect, promote and foster linguistic and cultural development. Francophone schoolboards as a part of the greater Francophone community are attempting to figure out how to best navigate these questions of identity.
Indigneous or Indigenot?
Indigneous or Indigenot?
Let's talk about Indigenous identity in a Canadian context.
What makes someone Indigenous?
❔ Is it Status?
Status is one system by the Canadian government attempting to regulate identity among Indigneous peoples in Canada. There is a long history of governmental identity regulation among Indigenous peoples in Canada.
📖 "Indian status is the legal standing of a person who is registered under the Indian Act." (Government of Canada, 2026) As Vowel (2018) explains, "it is an administrative category created and applied by the federal government of Canada."
Referred to simply as status below.
Image source: Indigenous Services Canada. (n.d.). What Does a Status Card Look Like? [Brochure]. https://publications.gc.ca/collections/collection_2023/sac-isc/R122-23-2021-eng.pdf
Status is a legal designation with a technical definition... a definition that has been changed many times (Vowel, 2018; Frideres & Gadacz, 2012). It was enacted in the mid-1800s and used as a tool for oppression and assimilation (Frideres & Gadacz, 2012; Ineese-Nash, 2019). The definition and criteria have been altered and adjusted to suit the assimilationist agenda of the government of the given time period—for example, until 1960, in order to be permitted to vote in a federal election, status had to be surrendered (Frideres & Gadacz, 2012). Vowel (2018) explains that "Indian status is not a system created or enforced by Indigenous peoples themselves". It is a system "to measure Indigenous blood quantum to end subsequent generations of Indigenous peoples" (Ineese-Nash, 2019).
As Vowel (2018) simply states, "Indian status is not the same as Indigenous identity" (p. 25).
Imposed systems and policies, like the status system, "have defined Indigeneity in terms of blood quantum rather than community membership and relationship to place [italics added]" (Ineese-Nash, 2019). There is significant diversity among Indigenous nations. "Indigenous peoples [...] have differing definitions of themselves based on place-based histories and cultural membership" (Ineese-Nash, 2019). Despite this diversity, there are principles that tend to be shared. Perhaps you've previously heard the following phrase:
All my relations. Msit No'kmaq (in Mi'kmaq).
Whiteway (n.d.) explains:
"'All My Relations' is an important phrase utilized by Indigenous peoples in North America to express their worldview about the interconnectedness of all creation; from people, to animals and insects, to plants and inanimate objects. It reminds us that we all live within a larger system of relationships and must maintain balance and harmony with all other real and perceived spiritual beings with whom we share this realm."
The phrase all my relations highlights the common shared principle of relationality, or being in relation. Indigenous identity is about more than just lineage, "it is also a practice of cultural lifeways and orientation towards Indigenous value systems" (Ineese-Nash, 2019). "Connection is what has enabled Indigenous peoples to persevere through colonial tactics of genocide, and it will be what brings us into a new assemblage of being, one which does not measure Indigeneity through blood tests or number of protests attended" (Ineese-Nash, 2019). These notions come back to identity and belonging beginning from the community itself.
You may be asking, "What does all this mean for me, in my case? Should I claim my heritage-based identity, or not?" Let's get in to that in the next (and final) section...
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