Inner Indigenous

[vaneramos]

Tonight I went to the 6th Annual Anti-Colonial Thanksgiving Dinner in Guelph. My friend, Lori, invited me, and I didn't know anyone else there, but when I was sitting alone a young fellow named James moved across from me and said, "You look like someone who likes to go hiking." That led to an interesting conversation mostly about birds, and he gave me a copy of his zine about his "secret spot" outdoors, which I'll read with interest.

Four indigenous people (three women and a man) had been invited to speak after dinner. The three women chose to speak together. Some points I found profoundly affecting:

• We (the speakers) will take advantage of this opportunity to transform our relationship with you (the audience), however this format (us talking at you) is very colonial; we feel like we should be meeting in a circle.
• In order for decolonization to occur, everyone needs to decolonize; even non-indigenous people need to find their own indigenous selves.
• Indigenous life is inseperable from place and the land.
• Peace does not mean passivity.
• Inviting us here, serving a meal and controlling the agenda is very colonial. If you want a genuine anti-colonial experience you should not ask us to step into an uncomfortable, unfamiliar place, but come and meet with us on our terms.

As a young person I felt profoundly connected with the land. Until recently I was still walking and experiencing the Earth every day. I'm still connected, but the relationship has become dysfunctional. It is not a vital part of my everyday life. In 2011 I will strive to reclaim what I've lost.

Comments

[rfmcdpei.livejournal.com]

This sounds like it was a real experience. ::envy::

[vaneramos.livejournal.com]

Yes, you would have enjoyed it!

[trinker.livejournal.com]

Wow. Such admiration for those women.

[vaneramos.livejournal.com]

I felt the same.

[inishglora.livejournal.com]

Inviting us here, serving a meal and controlling the agenda is very colonial. If you want a genuine anti-colonial experience you should not ask us to step into an uncomfortable, unfamiliar place, but come and meet with us on our terms.

I'm glad they said that because it's true. That's where the real change in attitude happens in colonial mindset.

[vaneramos.livejournal.com]

It sounds like you are addressing this from a place of experience?

[inishglora.livejournal.com]

Perhaps a limited one. I am probably generalizing here, but if people belonging to the colonials/majority step out of their comfort zone (ie, they leave their controlled environment and meet with the minority/indigenous on their terms), sometimes it's enough to break the spell of unconscious assumptions and/or ethnocentrism. I find I learn more when I step into unfamiliar territory of another person's viewpoint.

Example: I used to belong to a Pagan group that allied with the local Native people to preserve a natural flowing spring (long used by the Lakota and Dakotah people) against highway development (only partially successful but the spring still flows!). During a meeting with the state officials, one of the Native women made statements about European values vs Native/indigenous values in a way that really struck me and caused a shift in my own understanding of indigenous viewpoints. What she said was similar to what the people you listened to said.

And I know what you mean about the relationship with the Earth becoming dysfunctional. I don't know where mine went astray.

[vaneramos.livejournal.com]

I'm glad I asked! That's an interesting story.

[leafshimmer.livejournal.com]

Thank you for sharing those notes. Even at this distance, I can feel the Power in the words of those women.

[vaneramos.livejournal.com]

I'm glad that came across. At least in a small may, it felt like a life-altering encounter.