First Nations of Canada

NATIVE MESSENGERS OF GOD IN CANADA?:
A TEST CASE FOR BAHA’I UNIVERSALISM (1996)

*** Christopher Buck, “Native Messengers of God in Canada?: A Test Case for Baha’i Universalism.” Baha’i Studies Review 6 (1996): 97–133.

*** Award for Excellence in Baha’i Studies. Association for Baha’i Studies, 1994.

EPILOGUE

Thereupon Tekanawitaˀ [Deganawida, the Peacemaker] stood up in the center of the gathering place, and then he said, “First I will answer what it means to say, ‘Now it is arriving, the Good Message.’ This indeed, is what it means: When it stops, the slaughter of your own people who live here on earth, then everywhere peace will come about, by day and also by night, and it will come about that as one travels around, everyone will be related. …

Now again, secondly, I say, ‘Now it is arriving, the power,’ and this means that the different nations, all the nations, will become just a single one, and the Great Law will come into being, so that now all will be related to each other, and there will come to be just a single family, and in the future, in days to come, this family will continue on.

Now in turn, the other, my third saying, ‘Now it is arriving, the Peace,’ this means that everyone will become related, men and also women, and also the young people and the children, and when all are relatives, every nation, then there will be peace as they roam about by day and also by night. …

Then there will be truthfulness, and they will uphold hope and charity, so that it is peace that will unite all the people, indeed, it will be as though they have but one mind, and they are a single person with only one body and one head and one life, which means that there will be unity.” …

When they are functioning, the Good Message and also the Power and the Peace, moreover, these will be the principal things everybody will live by; these will be the great values among the people.”

– Chief John Arthur Gibson, Concerning the League: The Iroquois League as Dictated in Onondaga, newly elicited, edited and translated by Hanni Woodbury in Collaboration with Reg Henry and Harry Webster on the Basis of A.A. Goldenweiser’s Manuscript. Memoir 9 (Winnipeg: Algonquian and Iroquoian Linguistics, 1992): 36–41. 

ABSTRACT

Academic and popular interest has lent prestige to native spirituality and has brought it into prominence. The United Nations proclamation of 1993 as the International Year of Indigenous People gave native peoples international recognition. A corresponding interest in native culture has “valorised” (brought respect to) native spirituality.

The National Spiritual Assembly of the Bahá’ís of Canada took a position of advocacy on behalf of First Nations Canadians in its formal submission to the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples in the fall of 1993. The strong native presence in Canadian Bahá’í community life raises the question of the place of native spirituality within a Bahá’í worldview.

Homefront “pioneers” have extended Bahá’í universalism to a recognition of the richness and authenticity of native cultural values. Such recognition has been supported by local Bahá’í policy, as attested in teaching pamphlets addressed to native peoples, in which the concept of First World messengers of God has been validated. Although theoretically acknowledged, explicit recognition of native messengers of God has yet to be formalised in Bahá’í doctrine.

This study discusses the possibilities of incorporating the principle of “Messengers of God to Indigenous Peoples” within formal Bahá’í doctrine, reflecting a development that has already taken place in popular Bahá’í belief in the North American context. A hitherto under-studied Persian text of ‘Abdu’l-Bahá establishes the principle in such a way that its explicit enunciation is now possible.

The problem of historical attestation remains. The prophetic credentials of Iroquois culture hero and statesman Deganawida are critically examined as a test case. The legend of Deganawida has a kernel of historicity overlaid by hagiography, with admitted Christian influence. Nonetheless, if the Bahá’í principle of “Progressive Revelation” can assimilate the Amerindian spiritual legacy as distinct from and developmentally asynchronous with Irano-Semitic and Sino-Indic religious histories, then it might be possible to accord Deganawida a provisional status with Bahá’í prophetology, and still affirm Bahá’u’lláh’s unific role in world history, as oral cultures take their place alongside the more familiar “literate” traditions.

https://www.academia.edu/36294314/_Native_Messengers_of_God_in_Canada_1996_

This study demonstrates that that the lion’s share of everyday policing and patrol in Onion Lake and Ahtahkakoop is  administered by Peacekeepers and that their withdrawal would result in a significant impact on the effectiveness of the RCMP who
heavily rely on their assistance and guidance. The vast majority of respondents do not wish to see the Peacekeepers become a police service under the “self-administered” option of the FNPP. Without exception, however, Peacekeepers, administrators, and
RCMP officers believe the Peacekeepers need funding for  standardized training, better equipment, and uniforms as well as more formalized information sharing with the RCMP.
Under the current parameters of the FNPP, however, no such remedy is available. Without a change in the FNPP, the Peacekeepers will continue to act as underpaid, overworked and minimally trained first responders and role models upon whom the RCMP is, by their own admission, heavily dependent but unable to support. Given this state of affairs, it is recommended that the FNPP be revisited to allow for the possibility of plural forms of policing outside the First Nations Self- Administered (FNSA) and RCMP Community Tripartite Agreements (RCMP CTA) .
Peacekeepers are inexpensive and very effective. It would take very little to expand and improve their service provision and thereby free up the RCMP to also engage in more proactive and culturally appropriate mentorship and community involvement.

« Tu diras à mon frère que je vais descendre à Montréal où mon père Onontio a allumé le feu de paix » à l'été 1700, le chef iroquois teganissorens affiche son intention d'accepter la main tenue française alors que depuis près de cent ans, ses ancêtres ont déployé leurs forces contre la jeune colonie. Onontio, le gouverneur français n'est plus l'ennemi mais le père. Cette étude retrace les motifs et les conséquences d'un conflit colonial singulier, qui bien que lointain, conditionne le développement et la colonisation française en Amérique.

This archaeological community-engaged research focuses on locating, recording, photographing, and classifying, rock art (pictographs and petroglyphs) designs within Heiltsuk and Wuikinuxv Nations' territories. The two areas are on the Central Coast of British Columbia, Canada: River's Inlet/Owikeno Lake (Wuikinuxv Territory, near Oweekeno village), and Roscoe Inlet (Heiltsuk Territory, near Bella Bella). By listening to stories and visiting rock art locations its deep history and significance can begin to be comprehended. Throughout this research 58 rock art sites were visited and over 900 designs were categorized into nine types. Within this context I consider the feasibility and benefits of digital contrast adjustment of photographs using DStretch, a plugin created for ImageJ, that renders visible faint traces of pigment which can not be seen with the naked eye. Additionally, the potential of underwater archaeology (scuba diving) for the discovery and recording of rock art sites is explored. iv

(Cet exposé n'est qu'une esquisse sans pretention) (This presentation is simply an unpretentious sketch)
Unions Métis et réclamations au Québec; est une analyse de recherche conduite de 2006 à 2009 contenant les résultats de recherche généalogiques d’individus réclamant le statut Indien et / ou Métis, en liens avec le registraire des membres de certaines Premières nations au Québec. La recherché fut effectuée par Eric Pouliot-Thisdale, gradué en sciences sociales et membre de la Faculté des Sciences Humaines de l’Université du Québec à Montréal, lors de recherches
universitaires et d’implications pour une association étudiante.

Eric Pouliot-Thisdale est recherchiste depuis 15 années dans le domaine des archives publiques de diverses sources, incluant les archives historiques et démographiques, qui a mené plusieurs recherches pour certains conseils de bande quant aux revendications territoriales politiques, ainsi que pour des particuliers. Il est actuellement chercheur, auteur et chroniqueur historique pour le journal hebdomadaire de la communauté de Kahnawake, gagnant du lauréat de la meilleure entreprise éducative, membre de Quebec Community Newspapers Association en 2016.

Au Québec, un mythe démographique et sociologique collectif laisse supposer que la majorité des habitants de la province sont de souches métisses; métissés par des alliances interethniques avec les indiens.

Cependant, selon la présente analyse basée sur des recherches approfondies accumulées sur 3 années consécutives par le biais de catégories de divers groupes d'âge, ainsi que plusieurs autres analyses démographique déjà effectuées précédemment par d’autres universités; cette spéculation populaire ne semble pas faire le poids sur la réalité fournie par les dossiers archivés.

En prenant compte de l’aperçu des résultats de cette présente étude, rassemblés à partir de recherches qui ont été menées entre 2006-2009, au Québec, pour les personnes qui étaient en quête d'ancêtres autochtones; le pourcentage de réalisme semblait aléatoire dans la plupart des cas. Pour obtenir un aperçu rapide de ces requêtes rencontrées, seulement 21,33% des candidats provenaient de métissages réels. Mais principalement au Québec une population d'environ 50% à 85% serait spéculée métissée, même si les compilations détaillées n'ont encore jamais été suffisamment présentées.

Également, ces résultats semblent avoir été promus plus particulièrement dans les zones où les origines de ces premiers métissages ont eu lieu la plupart du temps, créant donc un certain manque de régularité.

Historiquement, à partir des données découvertes dans les archives, la plupart des gens d'origines françaises vivant à proximité des territoires autochtones n’avaient fondamentalement pas de relations associées, spécifiquement avec les Premières nations, comme l'ont confirmés diverse études précédentes

This review compares Yukon’s health system performance with other northern regions, including: Labrador, Saguenay (QC), Côte-Nord (QC), Nord (QC), Nunavik (QC), Baie-James (QC), Northwestern (ON), Porcupine (ON), Thunder Bay (ON), Northern (MB), Mamawetan (SK), Keewatin (SK), Athasbasca (SK), North Zone (AB), Northwest (BC), North-Interior (BC), Northeast (BC), the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, and Yukon.

This study will examine various forms of literature to provide insight into the accessibility of Emergency Management (EM) resources to First Nations on-reserve communities and attempt to make comparisons to non Indigenous communities and their resource accessibility.  To do so, it will examine Canada's various policies and frameworks for Emergency Management, and the international documents and agreements on which they are based. These frameworks shape the way in which collaboration, and communication is addressed by Federal, Provincial and Territorial EM planning and outlines the direction in which EM in Canada is headed. Indigenous peoples face a particular set of vulnerabilities from inter-generational traumas resulting from historic colonial practices that create unique obstacles to effective emergency management. These vulnerabilities are amplified by the reserve system and cultural difficulties toward beneficial municipal and provincial partnerships. By looking at existing EM practices through the principles of High Reliability Organizations, while bearing a sensitivity to the appropriateness to First Nations on-reserve communities we can develop a comprehensive and adaptable framework to Indigenous determinants of vulnerability and uncover assets within Indigenous communities that can improve the Canadian practices of EM in general.

This paper examines the role that the search for and removal of non-renewable fossil fuels plays in northern, often Aboriginal, communities in Canada. Such settlements at the social, political, and geographic "periphery" or "frontier" of Canada are often characterized by transient populations and social welfare challenges. While the economic boom brought about by oil and gas development is undeniable, it is unevenly spread. Further, communities that would otherwise be facing sizable challenges now must address even greater and more urgent struggles. These rural and remote settlements have drawn strength from their social cohesion, but presently, the strain is heightened. Insiders may be at odds with outsiders; one generation may be divided against the generation before and after it. Environmental concerns and traditional culture may be displaced by competing interests. In this paper we provide an overview of the existing and proposed extraction of nonrenewable natural resources in several parts of northern Canada and examine their economic impact, but also their social impact. In particular, we focus on their ramifications in terms of community cohesion in general and on Aboriginal communities more specifically.

We ask what it would mean to take seriously the possibility of multiple water ontologies, and what the implications of this would be for water governance in theory and practice. We contribute to a growing body of literature that is reformulating understanding of human–water relations and refocusing on the fundamental question of what water ‘is’. Interrogating the political–ontological ‘problem space’ of water governance, we explore a series of ontological disjunctures that persist. Rather than seeking to characterize any individual ontology, we focus on the limitations of silencing diverse ontologies, and on the potential of embracing ontological plurality in water governance. Exploring these ideas in relation to examples from the Canadian province of British Columbia, we develop the notion of ontological conjunctures, which is based on networked dialogue among multiple water ontologies and which points to forms of water governance that begin to embrace such a dialogue. We highlight...

Carved and painted onto wood, stone, bone, animal skins or metal, woven and knit into cloth, material culture from Northwest Coast Native peoples has historically been a one-of-a-kind iteration and a declaration of of familial rights and privileges.  These items adorned public and private spaces, including the body, and were traditionally produced by hand.  In recent years, some designs have been serialized and mass produced through new technologies like silk screen and digital printing, adorning everything from coffee mugs to t-shirts, sunglasses, jewelry and other garments (Roth 2012; Roth 2015). This chapter explores the history of Nuu-chah-nulth First Nations specifically and analyzes their distinctive aesthetics and design practice through the lens of fashion theory.  The chapter concludes with a discussion of contemporary Nuu-chah-nulth designers and the circulation of their work.  I ask: how does fashion operate within Nuu-chah-nulth social organization and how has ongoing colonialism and hybridization of prestige and capitalist economies transformed Nuu-chah-nulth fashion systems and design ideas? The findings discussed in this chapter draw from ongoing ethnographic research (beginning in October 2009) and archival- and museum-based research at both major and minor institutional repositories in the United States, Canada, Germany and England.

This article examines the depoliticization of violence against women in indigenous communities. It argues that there is a pressing need to examine the ways in which gen- dered violence is explained, addressed and often sanctioned in indigenous commu- nities. The article draws on Crenshaw’s concept of political intersectionality and examines responses to gendered violence in indigenous communities through two groups: Aboriginal women in Canada and Sa ́mi women in Scandinavia.

Why is it that Chief Joseph Brant, one of the key indigenous North American leaders, is fondly remembered in Canada, but largely forgotten or dismissed in the United States?  How did his strong Anglican heritage shape his leadership?  How did Brant face betrayal and setback in his life?  What can we learn from his life?  Would Canada still exist without his contribution?

In this chapter, the Hul’qumi’num Treaty Group (of southwest coastal British Columbia, Canada) addresses a unique question set to address three specific objectives:  1) to articulate Hul’qumi’num customary laws relating to historically significant places, artifacts, and human remains; 2) to examine current problems relating to respect and enforcement of Hul’qumi’num customary laws; and 3) to explore how the legal environment might be changed.

Relationships to land and nature have long been recognized globally as a central Indigenous determinant of health. As more Indigenous peoples migrate to larger urban centers, it is crucial to better understand how these relationships are maintained or function within urban spaces. This article outlines the results of a year-long collaborative study that qualitatively explored Indigenous young peoples' connections between "land," nature, and wellness in an urban Canadian context. Thirty-eight semi-structured interviews were conducted with 28 Cree and Métis Indigenous youth living within Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. A strength based analysis focused on re-imagining miyo-wicehtowin; that is, the processes of youths' self-determination and agency that build positive human-nature relationships and enact "land-making" amidst their urban spaces. This research critically engages environmental dispossession and repossession to more readily consider decolonizing land-based approaches to health and wellness among urban contexts. Future empirical and methodological directions for exploring human-nature relationships in urban health research are also offered.

This is rather the first book with a title "Philosophy of Law in the Arctic" in the literature. This philosophy of law is a very wide and cross-disciplinary area of research: between law, philosophy, anthropology, history, cultural ecology or environmental studies. I have no doubts that we have done such kind of philosophy in the academia so far, not using this term, but keeping up with the concept, the idea.
The book is a result of research conducted by many members of the Sub-group of Philosophy of Law in the Arctic (the University of the Arctic). This team seems a very interdisciplinary academic group. Our cooperation bears fruit.
The aim of the book is to define and systematise Arctic legal philosophy problems. In this book, there are five thematic parts. Each part consists of two-five short articles (we can call them also chapters or papers). These are the sixteen short articles all together. Each article consists of between six and fourteen pages. So going further, what we see in the book then is, in fact, a set of both theoretical and practical papers1. The topics of these papers (chapters) are different as the authors are different while representing a wide-ranging scope of academic disciplines or specialisations. Each paper is followed by a relevant bibliography, which might be helpful for other scholars interested in the field. The seventeen writers come from such countries as Finland (4), Norway (1), Canada (3), Poland (3), Japan (2), Austria (1), Ireland (1), and England (2). Some of them have Arctic indigenous roots (3). In the end
of the book, there is a very original attachment - the map of Arctic Canada.

The United Nations' Charter was prepared during the Second World War in order to protect the peace and security of the World from another kind of Lebensraum ideology1. The Lebensraum ideology of Germany was the key reason for the Second World War, and similar ideologies can be found in the history of wars conducted for colonization and conquest.

Bioarchaeology of Marginalized People amplifies the voices of marginalized or powerless individuals. Following previous work done by physical anthropologists on the biology of poverty, this volume focuses on the voices of past actors who would normally be subsumed within a cohort or whose stories represent those of the minority. The physical effects of marginalization – manifest as skeletal markers of stress and disease – are read in their historical contexts to better understand vulnerability and the social determinants of health in the past. Bioarchaeological, archaeological, and historical datasets are integrated to explore the varied ways in which individuals may be marginalized both during and after their lifespan. By focusing on previously excluded voices this volume enriches our understanding of the lived experience of individuals in the past.

This volume queries the diverse meanings of marginalization, from physical or social peripheralization, to identity loss within a majority population, to a collective forgetting that excludes specific groups. Contributors to the volume highlight the histories of individuals who did not record their own stories, including two disparate Ancient Egyptian women and individuals from a high-status Indigenous cemetery in British Columbia. Additional chapters examine the marginalized individuals whose bodies comprise the Robert J. Terry anatomical collection and investigate inequalities in health status in individuals from Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom. Modern clinical population health research is examined through a historical lens, bringing a new perspective to the critical public health interventions occurring today. Together, these papers highlight the role that biological anthropologists play both in contributing to and challenging the marginalization of past populations.

Indigenous Peoples in Canada are collectively referred to as
“Aboriginal Peoples”. The Constitution Act of 1982 recognizes
three groups of Aboriginal Peoples: Indians, Inuit and Métis.
According to the 2016 Canadian Census, there were 1,673,785
Aboriginal Peoples in Canada, accounting for 4.9% of the total
population. 977,230 people identified as a First Nations person.
First Nations (defined as “Indians” in the Indian Act (R.S.C.,
1985., 1985, c. I-5) and the Constitution Act (1982)) are diverse
Nations and peoples representing more than 600 distinct First
Nations and encompassing more than 60 languages. The Métis
constitute a distinct Aboriginal nation, number 587,545 in 2016,
many of whom live in urban centres. The Inuit represent an Indigenous
people who have occupied Inuit Nunangat in Canada’s
north, and numbered 65,025 in 2016.
Indigenous Peoples in Canada are represented by a number
of representative organizations regionally, provincially and
nationally. National Indigenous representative organizations
include, but are not limited to, the Assembly of First Nations,
the Congress of Aboriginal Peoples, the Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami,
the Métis National Council, and the Native Women’s Association
of Canada.
Canada’s Constitution Act recognizes and affirms the
existing Aboriginal and treaty rights of Aboriginal Peoples.
The Supreme Court has called the protection of these rights
“an important underlying constitutional value” and “a national
commitment”. In 2007, Canada was one of four states that
voted against the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of
Indigenous Peoples (UN Declaration). In 2010, the Canadian
government announced its endorsement of the UN Declaration
and, in 2016, Canada re-affirmed its support “without qualification”.
Canada has not ratified ILO Convention 169. The Aboriginal
Peoples Television Network serves Canada’s Indigenous
Peoples as an independent television network and news broadcaster,
broadcasting programs made by, for and about Indigenous
Peoples, with government support.

Extractive capitalism has long been the driving force of settler colonialism in Canada, and continues to threaten the sovereignty, lands and waters of Indigenous nations across the country. While ostensibly counterposed to extractivism, state-led conservation has similarly served to alienate Indigenous peoples from their territories, often for capitalist gain. Recognizing the inadequacy of the colonial-capitalist conservation paradigm to redress the biodiversity crisis, scholars in political ecology increasingly call for radical, convivial alternatives rooted in equity and justice. Indigenous Protected and Conserved Areas (IPCAs) are one such alternative, representing a paradigm shift from colonial to Indigenous-led conservation that reinvigorates Indigenous knowledge and governance systems. Since the Indigenous Circle of Experts finalized a report in 2018 on how IPCAs could contribute to Canada's conservation targets and reconciliation efforts, an increasing number of Indigenou...

In early April 2016, Attawapiskat First Nation declared a state of emergency when 11 young people tried to kill themselves in one day alone. The response from the state was to send in crisis workers. As I write, occupations and protests have erupted across Canada to draw attention not only to youth suicides in First Nations communities, but also to the state’s response to them. As protests continue, the state’s reactions to these situations raise alarming questions about its relationship with Indigenous peoples. On April 10, Justin Trudeau tweeted, “The news from Attawapiskat is heartbreaking. We’ll continue to work to improve living conditions for all Indigenous peoples.” We, the state, will work to improve living conditions for all of you, Indigenous peoples. Taking a page out of an old paternal script, the state sees itself as the champion that can deliver improvement – and, in doing so, it erases its own direct role in inflicting the ravages of structural violence in the long history of this settler state. Against this backdrop, Sherene Razack’s Dying from Improvement is a critical intervention, as it provides an analysis of the banality of settler-state violence framed through narratives of improvement and inquiry….

The Six Nations of the Grand River Indian reservation is comprised of six separate nations of Haudenosaunee people (commonly but mistakenly referred to as Iroquois) and is the largest reserve by population in Canada. The word Haudenosaunee translates to “People of the Longhouse” and includes Seneca, Mohawk, Cayuga, Onondaga, Oneida and Tuscarora nations.

Like Chief Joseph Brant, Chief Dan George has left a remarkable legacy across Canada. He himself was a chief’s son. In the 1990 North Vancouver Centennial book, Chuck Davis describes Chief Dan George as one of North Vancouver’s most famous citizens. Born on July 24th 1899, Chief Dan George died at age 82 on September 12th 1981.  His birth name was Gwesanouth/Teswahno Slahoot, meaning ‘thunder coming up over the land from the water.’  His name was changed to Dan George when he entered the Native residential school at age 5.  He memorably said that “A man who cannot be moved by a child’s sorrow will only be remembered with scorn.” Sadly, the use of his indigenous language was forbidden.  “My culture”, said Chief George, “is like a wounded stag that has crawled away into the forest to bleed and die alone. The only thing that can truly help us is genuine love.”

Helmcken Falls is a 141 m (463 ft) waterfall on the Murtle River within Wells Gray Provincial Park in British Columbia, Canada. The protection of Helmcken Falls was one of the reasons for the creation of Wells Gray Provincial Park in 1939.

-Gray/Grey- ref.note.

Helmcken Falls is the fourth highest waterfall in Canada, measured by total straight drop without a break. Higher Canadian waterfalls are Hunlen Falls in Tweedsmuir Provincial Park, Takakkaw Falls in Yoho National Park, and Della Falls in Strathcona Provincial Park, all in British Columbia.

There are six other waterfalls on the Murtle River, upstream from Helmcken Falls. The others are The Mushbowl, Dawson Falls, Majerus Falls, Horseshoe Falls, Meadow Falls and McDougall Falls.

The Canadian Pacific Railway surveyors in the 1870s passed to the north and made no mention of seeing the falls. Credit for discovering Helmcken Falls goes to Robert Henry Lee (1859–1935), a land surveyor working for the British Columbia government. In 1911, Lee was awarded a four-year contract to survey lands in the North Thompson and Clearwater Valleys. By 1913, he was working south of the Murtle River laying out lots for homesteaders. On July 24, 1913, he walked west along the Murtle River from his remote camp and reached the top of the waterfall.
He was so impressed that he wrote a letter to Sir Richard McBride, Premier of British Columbia, requesting that the falls be named "McBride Falls".
Three weeks later, Lee received a reply from the Premier stating that the waterfall was instead to be called Helmcken Falls.
This name honoured John Sebastian Helmcken, a physician with the Hudson's Bay Company who arrived in Victoria in 1850. He helped bring British Columbia into Canadian Confederation in 1871.

Dr. Helmcken died in 1920 at the age of 95, but never actually saw the falls himself.

In contemporary Canada, what non-Indigenous people know (or assume)  about Indigenous peoples comes from TV news. For years, the media
have played a significant role in circulating biased representations of
Indigenous peoples, acquired from colonial discursive constructions
of the ‘Indian’. At the same time, in Canada’s varied mediascape, master narratives and counter-narratives interfere with and interrupt each other. The struggle to gain the power to ‘represent’ is constant and leads to ongoing conflict between those who are being illegitimately objectified on TV and those who want to represent them. In light of this, by focusing on the genre of newscasts, this book attempts to identify and uncover the linguistic phenomena that characterize different stances in the representation and self-representation of Indigenous peoples in contemporary Canadian TV news discourse, from a Critical Discourse perspective, using Corpus Linguistics tools. The study proposes an analysis of mainstream and Indigenous news stories, aired in the years 2012-2013 during the so-called #idlenomore national revolution, by three widely accessible news providers: the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), CTV Television Network and APTN, the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network. While CTV and CBC are identified as carriers of dominant discourses and representations, APTN is not merely a network broadcasting Indigenous stories, but it is made for and by Indigenous peoples. The newscasts, arranged into two specifically designed corpora, are examined in order to spot linguistic preferences, and state whether an alternative, ‘postindian’ form of news discourse is possible, what viewpoints it reflects and how it aligns or dis-aligns with hegemonic discourses on the ‘Indian’.

На ранних этапах колонизации североамериканского континента взаимоотношения европейских переселенцев и коренных жителей Нового света развивались в рамках двух основных моделей. Первая из них может быть условно названа английской, поскольку утвердилась во владениях династии Стюартов. Для колонистов с Британских островов само наличие прежде неизвестных этнических групп на недавно «открытых» территориях оказалось неожиданностью. А начавшаяся с ними борьба за землю и ресурсы заставила переосмыслить принесенное из Старого света понимание «своих» и «чужих». Ведь по мере обострения конфликтов с аборигенами различия между европейцами становились не существенными. Зато отношения с «краснокожими» «индейцами» требовали некой теоретической основы. Для обоснования собственных притязаний на превосходство «белые люди» прибегли к конструированию расового дискурса.
Как способ организации социальных отношений дискурс нуждался в наборе дескрипторов, которые бы позволили четко разделить  «своих» и «чужих», выстроить систему социальной иерархии и обосновать право первых на доминирование в ней. Наиболее яркие и очевидные из них оказались связаны с этничностью.

Explanations for suicide are theorized primarily in terms of the individual , seldom considering the interdependent orientation of Indigenous communities. Drawing on the interpersonal theory of suicide and settler colonial theory, this study addresses Indigenous suicide on two levels: the individual and the collective. Twenty-one interviews were conducted with members of the Cowi-chan Tribes to understand reasons for suicide in one community. Qualitative analysis identified explanatory constructs proposed by the interpersonal theory as well as negative conditions stemming from colonialism, as proposed by settler colonial theory. These results argue that Indigenous suicidal behavior is best understood from an interdependent standpoint.

This paper analyses the trope of water in Thomas King’s latest novel The Back of the Turtle from an ethics-of-care perspective that puts in conversation Indigenous ethics, feminist care ethics and environmental ethics. I suggest that King’s focus on water offers a harsh—even if often humorous—critique of the anthropocentric, neoliberal extractivist mentality while proposing a transcultural ethics of care. Consequently, my analysis of the novel draws on the dialogue taking place in the realm of the Environmental Humanities in Canada and beyond about the centrality of water (See Cecilia Chen, Janine MacLeod and Astrida Neimais’ Thinking with Water; Dorothy Christian and Rita Wong’s Downstream: Reimagining Water; Astrida Neimanis’ Bodies of Water: Posthuman Feminist Phenomenology; Stacy Alaimo’s Exposed: Environmental Politics and Pleasures in Posthuman Times, as well as on Indigenous epistemologies that eschew anthropocentrism in favour of attentive caring for the interconnected needs of humans and non-humans within interdependent ecologies, and feminist environmental care ethics that emphasize the importance of empowering communities to care for themselves and the ecologies that sustain them.

This article ““‘Who’s going to look after the river?’ Water and the Ethics of Care in Thomas King’s The Back of the Turtle“” originally appeared in Rescaling CanLit: Global Readings Spec. issue of Canadian Literature 238 (2019): 66-82.

This is a 'precis' or somewhat deep dive into the reason for the nomination of Louisiana attorney Warren Perrin for a lifetime achievement award. His 1988 Petition for Apology from the Queen on behalf of the Acadians has resonance beyond Louisiana and Canada. Mr. Perrin's Petition prompts comparison with the current Hong Kong protests and the efforts of Mauritius, which recently obtained a ruling from the International Court of Justice that decolonization is not yet complete until Great Britain returns Diego Garcia, among the Chagossian island archipelago. This of course has serious implications for the 'American pivot' to the Indo-Pacific in light of a growing Chinese presence. It also implicates the next "Grotian moment' and a realization the next tweak to the 'law of nations' will likely be less 'Western' in its approach.

A questão das Primeiras Nações (First Nations) na história canadense constitui um traço de narrativa essencial. Em toda extensão territorial do país há uma profusão complexa e profunda de culturas, línguas e representações do que comumente denominamos indígenas. Termo complexo e facilmente manipulável, a historiografia canadense em geral prefere denominar os 617 povos autóctones de Nações, termo que configura a essas comunidades um estatuto político crescente na vida canadense depois de séculos de assimetria, opressão e das mais diversas tentativas de erradicação. Sejam os Inuits do norte, habitantes do gélido Yukon, ou os Nanooks da costa pacífica, as Primeiras Nações são um legado ancestral indissociável da cultura e história canadenses. No caso do Canadá Atlântico, os Mi'kmaqs foram e ainda são o traço autóctone cultural dominante. A importância histórica dos Mi'kmaqs se justifica pelo fato de terem sido eles os primeiros a estabelecer relações com os imigrantes franceses que chegaram a costa atlântica do país em 1604, fundando a primeira comunidade do que mais tarde chamou-se Acádia. O presente artigo pretende introduzir o leitor a aspectos fundamentais da história e da cultura Mi'kmaq discutindo suas principais representações, questões simbólicas e seu papel histórico na formação do Canadá Atlântico entre os séculos XVII e XVIII.

On ‘Abdu’l-Bahá’s Prophecy: “These Indians will enlighten the whole world.” By Christopher Buck and Kevin Locke [Lakota], Version #4 (April 26, 2020). • This is a work-in-progress. • “The views expressed in our content reflect individual perspectives and do not represent the official views of the Bahá’í Faith.” • (Photos are linked: Click on each photo to view source.) • Feedback invited.

“Attach great importance to the Indigenous population of America. … Likewise, these Indians, should they be educated and guided, there can be no doubt that they will become so illumined as to enlighten the whole world.” – ‘Abdu’l-Bahá, Tablets of the Divine Plan, p. 33.

Tablet to Amir Khan
(English & Persian)

“Undoubtedly in those regions [the Americas] the Call of God must have been raised in ancient times, but it hath been forgotten now.”

https://www.bahai.org/…/additional-tablets-ext…/169212878/1…

Original Persian (transliterated):
al-battih dar án ṣafahát níz dar azmanih-yi-qadímih vaqtí nidá-yi-iláhí buland gashtih va-lákin hál farámush shudih ast.

Coyote U: Stories and Teachings From the Secwepemc Education Institute is a unique collection of writing from the Secwepemc (Shuswap) Territory of British Columbia. This anthology is the product of a highly successful Aboriginal Educational Program created by the partnership of the Secwepemc Cultural Education Institute and Simon Fraser University (1989–2010). The text demonstrates that a Native- administered post secondary institution can pioneer new ways of combining Native and Non-Native educational philosophy to produce a literary collection of outstanding quality. The student works consist of poetry, personal essays, interviews, and short stories that speak to current issues of identity, the legacy of residential schools, and the power of traditional teachings of Shuswap elders. Recommended reading for Native Studies courses that focus on Native Education, and Native literature courses at the post secondary level.

IntroductionPolybius, with his concept of Anacy dosis where "(...) the natural course or order in which constitutions change, are transformed, and return again to their original stage" (Trompf, 1979, p. 5), was the first to suggest that history may repeat itself (Trompf 1979, p. 15). Yet, the concept of historic recurrence has not been left unchallenged, having progressivism as its main contender. Baum (1978) and Edelstein (1967) argue that although progressivist ideas date as far back as the work of Xenophanes, it was the writings of the Age of Enlightenment that received praise for their notion of progress, dynamic change and human control (pp. 67-70). It is in this light that:... risk analysis might be regarded as not only a product of enlightenment thinking, but also the means to deliver the ultimate enlightenment fantasy: the idea that successive generations will learn more about the world, and so become more able to manipulate it for human gain and contentment. (Horl...

Keith G. Brown, Mary Beth Doucette and Janice Esther Tulk (eds.), Indigenous Business in Canada: Principles and Practices. Sydney, Nova Scotia: Cape Breton UP, 2016. 303 pages. ISBN 978-1-77206-004-7. $27.95 paperback.This text book is full of useful information for those Indigenous students seeking to understand how to approach business from within Indigenous communities. It not only addresses the stumbling blocks encountered by those attempting to start a business, but it approaches those issues through standard business principles. Barriers that might be encountered are explained and various options are presented for overcoming them. This teaching could be perceived by some Indigenous communities as favouring government imposed laws that overrule their informal leadership structures. However, knowledge and understanding are the keys to moving forward.Explanations of the governances, laws, Native rights, and differences between Nations and non-Indigenous people are well presented. This background provides an understanding as to why there are obstacles and differences and opens the mind to possibilities that avail themselves for Indigenous people within the business world. History has taught Indigenous peoples to see themselves as segregated from other Canadians, when in fact they need to see themselves as a real part of the modern world and as self-sustaining and productive contributors to the economy.On page 30, the authors state that "A goal shared by most Indigenous communities in Canada is for their lands to be places where community members-their own citizens-want to live". It is my experience that traditionalists often view education and success in the outside business world as threats to the preservation of culture and identity. Often, young people who have obtained a good education and work off the reserve are drawn back into the isolation of their reserve and traditional practices because elders tell them "to shed the ways of the white world".... a step backwards. Derek's story in chapter four is a great motivational example of success that can be experienced while living on a reserve. Stories like his can help initiate positive thinking in young Native entrepreneurs. Important benefits and economic advantages are shown for both those on-reserve and off-reserve. Business financing, training, business plans and mentors are discussed - all important points necessary when starting any business. Old stereotypical beliefs that "an Indigenous person cannot get financing to help start a business" are put to rest when options for help are made known with real examples.Fear of change is real (41). Self-government agreements allow Aboriginal governments substantial land-management authority. However, they are often not finalized due to the lingering mistrust of past government influences (23). Traditional chiefs compete with the formal chief-and-council system imposed by the Indian Act (42). Even so, the growing youth population on reserves must be taught to see business success and ambition as non-threatening and the way to become self-determining: "Motivations by parents and elders must change from the 'Wards of State' past attitudes that relied on transfer payments." "They cannot isolate themselves into their traditions."There is a limited understanding of Aboriginal circumstances by non-Aboriginal firms and individuals (69). …

From the early decades of the 17th century until 1701, the Great Lakes region and its vicinity were riven by wars their peoples largely for control of trade with European powers but also, in the case of the Haudenosaunee (Five Nations Iroquois), for assimilation to rebuild their population.