In her book, Simpson writes about the shame she once carried from the legacy of colonial abuse, which she describes as a collective shame carried by the Michi Saagiig Nishnaabeg people. She describes this shame as rooted in the humiliation of colonialism, in dark thoughts that her people's ancestors did not rally hard enough against the colonial regime and became tricked into surrendering their life, land and sustenance through the treaty process.
But for Simpson, this shame felt like not only a tremendous burden to carry, but was also displaced. She writes:
“We are not shameful people. We have done nothing wrong. I began to realize that shame can only take hold when we are disconnected from the stories of resistance within our own families and communities…I became interested in finding those stories of resistance and telling them” (p.14).
Simpson writes about Indigenous scholars like Taiaike Alfred and Glenn Coulthard (whose talk we watched in Unit 1) who draw on indigenous political culture and theory, which has been developing since long before settlers arrived in what is now North America.
These scholars explain these currents of resistence and resurgence by looking at internal or community-based goals of indigenous nation building. Rather than focusing on engaging with the colonial structures, they instead work towards specifically indigenous visions of the future, as seen in indigenous forms of governance, education, healthcare, and economic activity (p.17).
In this course, we will look at some of these First Nations approaches towards technology development. Focusing on community-based projects, we will explore how First Nations from across Canada are building and using information and communication technologies to meet their needs. Through innovations taking place inside communities, we can see how people are using these tools to support goals of resurgence and nation-building.
Here is a short clip of Taiaiake Alfred talking about this process, and some of the elements of practical decolonialization.
But for Simpson, this shame felt like not only a tremendous burden to carry, but was also displaced. She writes:
“We are not shameful people. We have done nothing wrong. I began to realize that shame can only take hold when we are disconnected from the stories of resistance within our own families and communities…I became interested in finding those stories of resistance and telling them” (p.14).
Simpson writes about Indigenous scholars like Taiaike Alfred and Glenn Coulthard (whose talk we watched in Unit 1) who draw on indigenous political culture and theory, which has been developing since long before settlers arrived in what is now North America.
These scholars explain these currents of resistence and resurgence by looking at internal or community-based goals of indigenous nation building. Rather than focusing on engaging with the colonial structures, they instead work towards specifically indigenous visions of the future, as seen in indigenous forms of governance, education, healthcare, and economic activity (p.17).
In this course, we will look at some of these First Nations approaches towards technology development. Focusing on community-based projects, we will explore how First Nations from across Canada are building and using information and communication technologies to meet their needs. Through innovations taking place inside communities, we can see how people are using these tools to support goals of resurgence and nation-building.
Here is a short clip of Taiaiake Alfred talking about this process, and some of the elements of practical decolonialization.
Last modified: Friday, 17 January 2014, 03:53 PM