July 15, 2022 Who Is Indigenous? A Matter of policy - Two stories.
July 15, 2022: Who is Indigenous? The issue of identification of “who is Indigenous?” can often be a contentious issue with various factors either preventing people from identifying as Indigenous, or alternatively, promoting families to identify as Indigenous, including some people who may not actually have any Indigenous ancestry. Recently two news articles came to my attention which both brought up different issues relating to identifying “who is Indigenous”, and how that affects not just data collection (Frisan & Kruath, 2012) which is important in monitoring the effects of policy in Indigenous education, but highlights the issue of who should lead decolonizing efforts in education, and how do educational organizations ethically identify Indigenous educational leaders?
The two news articles came out within days of each other, both relating to “non status” Indigenous groups, who had long been leaders in Indigenous education and decolonization in different parts of Canada; In the Nelson area, issues arose concerning the “Autonomous Sinixt” led by local educator and Indigenous advocate, Marilyn James, and in Ontario, a report was released relating to a controversy at Queen’s University, regarding self identified Indigenous professors either lying about their Indigenous ancestry or belonging to an apparently controversial non-status group called “The Ardoch First Nation”. In both stories, people identifying as Indigenous were practicing as leaders in efforts to decolonize education for many decades, and both groups have identified as being opposed to the Indian Act and it’s “colonial definitions” of who gets to identify as Indigenous, stating that in the past Indigenous people themselves identified their own community members, rather than a colonial government agency or act. In both cases, official organizations such as Queen’s University and the Government of British Columbia had recognized these individuals as Indigenous leaders and employed them to teach Indigenous traditions and share knowledge at schools. Recently, other status Indigenous people have called into question these organizations and individuals “Indigeneity”, saying they are not members of status nations and therefore can’t represent Indigenous people. In both cases, the individuals & groups involved were accused of “cultural appropriation” (Allen, 2022, Metcalf, 2022.), and in both cases the organizations involved have ended or changed their relationships with the non-status groups.
The issue of Indigenous identity is complex, as Murray Sinclair points out, ”Canada's residential school system broke the connections many Indigenous people had with their cultures, which partly explains why it's hard for some people to concretely establish their citizenship within a particular community” (Allen et al, 2022) The Ardoch First Nation notes on its’ website that “membership in our communities is not a matter of blood quantum, race or colonial categories – but is in fact a matter of integrity and reciprocity” (Family Heads Council, 2022), they note they “have historically rejected the restrictive and discriminatory criteria associated with Indian Act policy that stripped Indigenous women of their status and forced them from their homes, families and communities. Likewise, we reject processes that disenfranchise individuals for military service or receiving western forms of education.” (Family Heads Council, 2022) The Autonomous Sinixt follow a similar philosophy stating “Autonomous Sinixt are those Sinixt who reject the authority of the governments of Canada, British Columbia The United States of America, Washington State, Colville Confederated Tribes, Okanagan Nation Alliance or any other governing body who claims the authority to represent our interests and by proxy, exert authority over our təmxʷúlaʔx and siwɬkʷ culture, customs and traditional governance.” (Autonomous Sinixt, 2022) This group identifies as a matriarchal culture, and states that matriarchs traditionally appointed their own successors, and don’t acknowledge any of the systems of governance that were put into place relating to colonial powers. (Autonomous Sinixt, 2022). As you can see, there are good reasons that many people with Indigenous ancestry may not be able to, or may not wish to identify as belonging to a particular status First Nation. Should rejecting colonially imposed definitions preclude them from being able to identify as Indigenous or from teaching Indigenous knowledge & culture that has been passed down to them? And who should make these decisions?
Murray Sinclair points out that at Queen’s University “self-identification ….has "proved insufficient in creating a safe, respectful and inclusive community" at the university.” Additionally, he notes "The one thing we have to be careful of is that people can take advantage of that — and advantage of the willingness of institutions and organizations to rely upon [those self-identification declarations] solely." (Allen et al, 2022) The article also notes that Queen’s University is implementing a new vetting process to verify teacher’s Indigenous ancestry, including checking status cards, and getting references from several other sources. Janice Hill, Vice Principal of Indigenous Initiatives and Reconciliation at Queen’s states "Queen's, as a colonial institution, doesn't have the authority or right to determine who is Indigenous…It must be an Indigenous-led process." (Allen et al, 2022) Queen’s hopes to involve local status First Nations in their new process of identifying who is actually Indigenous, and who can teach Indigenous studies.
Back here on unceded Sinixt lands, with the Supreme Court of Canada recently opening the door to American Colville Confederation Tribes Sinixt people’s right to use their traditional lands in Canada, the BC government is revoking “Autonomous Sinixt” elder Marilyn James’ caretaker-ship of the important Vallican heritage site. (Metcalf, 2022) James has been working for over 30 years to protect her ancestor’s graves there, and has taught decades of local school children about her Sinixt culture and traditions on this land. The complexities of the situation seem so nuanced and loaded with politics and also reminiscent of the parallel story unfolding in Ontario. Many educators and students in our district have relied on Marilyn’s support as one of very few local resources in Indigenizing the curriculum. The provincial government states “Indigenous engagement on finding a replacement caretaker for the site will be pursued, to address concerns that a broad discussion on candidates had not occurred,” (Metcalf, 2022) So, like at Queen’s University, a colonial agency, in this case the government of British Columbia, will be engaging in long overdue discussions with, hopefully diverse Indigenous groups on who is Indigenous, and who should be the Indigenous leaders decolonizing Indigenous education.
References:
Allan, Michelle, Pfeffer, A, Williams, Ontario Morning.(July 8, 2022) Queen’s
University should apologize, create process to validate Indigenous identity: report.
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/queen-s-university-staff-indigenous-identity-
report-recommendations-1.6514055
Autonomous Sinixt Nation (2022) About Us. Sinixt.org https://sinixt.org/about-sinixt
(Accessed July 15, 2022)
Family Heads Council. (June 21, 2021) Ardoch Statement on Recent Attacks Against
Our Community. Ardoch First Nation.ca http://www.aafna.ca/ardoch-statement-on-
recent-attacks-against-our-community
Frisan, Dr. Jane and Krauth, Dr. Brian. (2012) Key Policy Issues in Aboriginal
Education. Council of Ministers of Education Canada
(CMEC)http://www.cmec.ca/Publications/Lists/Publications/Attachments/295/Key-
policy-Issues-in-Aboriginal-Education_EN.pdf
Metcalf, Bill (July 7, 2022) Sinixt Woman Occupies Vallican Heritage Site After
Province Revokes Her Caretaker Role. Castlegar News.com
https://www.castlegarnews.com/news/sinixt-woman-occupies-vallican-heritage-site-
after-province-revokes-her-caretaker-role/