In Defence of Reconciliation

2014 ◽  
Vol 27 (1) ◽  
pp. 213-223 ◽  
Author(s):  
Victoria Freeman
Keyword(s):  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
Top Down ◽  
Christian Doctrine ◽  
Cultural Paradigms ◽  
Indian Act ◽  
The Status ◽  
Healing Relationships ◽  
Concurrent Processes ◽  
Transformative Process

Indigenous scholars and others have characterized Canadian discourses of reconciliation as supporting a top-down, government-defined and controlled agenda, which is at best ineffective and misleading and at worst fraudulent and recolonizing. Some have argued that reconciliation should only occur after the Indian Act has been abolished, reparations made, land and resources returned, and a political and economic nation-to-nation relationship restored. The author agrees that it is essential to look critically at state and nationalistic discourses of reconciliation and that neither the federal government, the churches, nor non-Indigenous peoples generally can or should control the agenda. However, while reconciliation is not a sufficient condition for decolonization in Canada, Indigenous resurgence on its own will not achieve full decolonization either. If the psychic structures of colonialism persist, various forms of neocolonialism will be prevalent even after a nominal “nation-to-nation” relationship has been established, given the demographic imbalance and geographical proximity between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples. There will always be a need for relationship and negotiation.In fact, decolonization and reconciliation may be understood as complementary and concurrent processes. The concept of reconciliation underlines the emotional, psychological and human changes that are as necessary as political and economic reformulations for decolonization and that are not easily addressed by other means. Rather than a top-down government-initiated campaign focused on assimilation into the status quo or a Eurocentric Christian doctrine focused on forgiveness, reconciliation can be a transformative process of building the relationships, alliances and social understandings necessary to support the systemic changes that true decolonization entails. Indigenous and other cultural paradigms for resolving conflicts, making restitution and healing relationships, such as the Sto:lo concept of lummi or “facing yourself,” can help restore interconnectedness and reciprocity at all levels, both within Indigenous communities and between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples and the land. We also should not overestimate the government’s power to control even those reconciliation processes it does initiate, let alone those that arise autonomously. Decolonization and reconciliation are processes underway on many fronts in Canada, and they can’t be controlled by anyone.

scholarly journals “I WRITE MYSELF AS MANSI”: ETHNICITY AND INDIGENEITY IN THE KONDA RIVER REGION

2021 ◽  
Vol 71 (2) ◽  
pp. 99-107
Author(s):  
Ilya V. Abramov ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
Nature Management ◽  
Strong Mixing ◽  
Soviet Government ◽  
Mixed Marriages ◽  
National Minorities ◽  
River Region ◽  
The Status ◽  
The Right

The article explores the identity of indigenous peoples in a multinational urbanized society, where mixed marriages prevail, the languages of national minorities are lost, and the way of life is not associated with traditional nature management. What does it mean to be indigenous in these conditions? Is ethnicity still linked to blood and land? The institute of ancestral lands of the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug — Ugra is considered as a variant of (re)rooting of titular peoples who were earlier deprived of their rights to land and resources by the Soviet government. The author traces how the introduction of support programs for indigenous minorities provoked an instrumental approach to identity in the 1990s. The correction of genealogy was widespread and led to an unnatural jump in the number of indigenous peoples. The status of the subject of the law of the territories of traditional nature use (the user of ancestral lands) turned out to be equally problematic in the Konda river region. Against the background of ambiguous federal and regional projects to support indigenous peoples, the article examines the concept of indigeneity, which seems adequate for the territories of strong mixing of cultures, to which the Konda river region belongs. The right to determine membership in indigenous communities belongs to the members of these communities, as well as the choice of criteria by which this selection will be carried out. Global experience shows that heredity and consanguinity are not exceptional qualities for inclusion in the “indigenous slot”, but their core is formed by ethnic communities, as the most consolidated groups.

The Rights Granted to Indigenous Peoples under International Law

2016 ◽  
Vol 18 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-71 ◽  
Author(s):  
Taryn Lee
Keyword(s):  
United Nations ◽  
International Law ◽  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Effective Means ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
Self Determination ◽  
The Status ◽  
United Nations Declaration ◽  
The Right ◽  
Political Groups

Indigenous peoples in Australia have been adversely affected by the process of colonisation by the British Crown. Despite Australia’s adoption of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (‘Declaration’), there is little evidence that it is an effective means of redressing the historical wrongs suffered by Indigenous communities in Australia. This essay outlines the experience of Indigenous peoples in Australia and examines the utility of the Declaration in international law. While observing that Indigenous peoples have had limited engagement with the Declaration, there is still potential for the Declaration to affect change through its underpinning principles of the right to self-determination and the status of Indigenous peoples as distinct political groups.

INTEGRATED METHODOLOGY FOR TAKING INTO ACCOUNT THE VIEWS AND OPINONSOF INDIGENOUS PEOPLES IN THEIR INTERACTION WITH PUBLIC AUTHORITIES (ON THE EXAMPLE OF THE YAMAL-NENETS AUTONOMOUS DISTRICT)

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 124-147
Author(s):  
Elena F. GLADUN ◽  
Gennady F. DETTER ◽  
Olga V. ZAKHAROVA ◽  
Sergei M. ZUEV ◽  
Lyubov G. VOZELOVA
Keyword(s):  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Citizen Participation ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Legal Issue ◽  
Public Authorities ◽  
Autonomous District ◽  
Integrated Methodology ◽  
The World ◽  
Nenets Autonomous

Developing democracy institutions and citizen participation in state affairs, the world community focuses on postcolonial studies, which allow us to identify new perspectives, set new priorities in various areas, in law and public administration among others. In Arctic countries, postcolonial discourse has an impact on the methodology of research related to indigenous issues, and this makes possible to understand specific picture of the world and ideas about what is happening in the world. Moreover, the traditions of Russian state and governance are specific and interaction between indigenous peoples and public authorities should be studied with a special research methodology which would reflect the peculiarities of domestic public law and aimed at solving legal issue and enrich public policy. The objective of the paper is to present a new integrated methodology that includes a system of philosophical, anthropological, socio-psychological methods, as well as methods of comparative analysis and scenario development methods to involve peripheral communities into decision-making process of planning the socio-economic development in one of Russia’s Arctic regions — the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous District and to justify and further legislatively consolidate the optimal forms of interaction between public authorities and indigenous communities of the North. In 2020, the Arctic Research Center conducted a sociological survey in the Shuryshkararea of the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous District, which seems to limit existing approaches to identifying public opinion about prospects for developing villages and organizing life of their residents. Our proposed methodology for taking into account the views of indigenous peoples can help to overcome the identified limitations.

THE THE INDIGENOUS IDENTITY INTERPRETED AS A CATEGORY OF ANALYSIS IN POPULATION STUDIES

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (Especial) ◽  
pp. 105
Author(s):  
Dante Choque-Caseres
Keyword(s):  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Methodological Approach ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
Social Contexts ◽  
Indigenous Identity ◽  
Critical Thought ◽  
Northern Border ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Government ◽  
New Research

In Latin America, based on the recognition of Indigenous Peoples, the identification of gaps or disparities between the Indigenous and non-Indigenous population has emerged as a new research interest. To this end, capturing Indigenous identity is key to conducting certain analyses. However, the social contexts where the identity of Indigenous persons are (re)produced has been significantly altered. These changes are generated by the assimilation or integration of Indigenous communities into dominant national cultures. Within this context, limitations emerge in the use of this category, since Indigenous identity has a political and legal component related to the needs of the government. Therefore, critical thought on the use of Indigenous identity is necessary in an epistemological and methodological approach to research. This article argues that research about Indigenous Peoples should evaluate how Indigenous identity is included, for it is socially co-produced through the interaction of the State and its institutions. Thus, it would not necessarily constitute an explicative variable. By analyzing the discourse about Aymara Indigenous communities that has emerged in the northern border of Chile, this paper seeks to expose the logic used to define identity. Therefore, I conclude that the process of self-identification arises in supposed Indigenous people, built and/or reinforced by institutions, which should be reviewed from a decolonizing perspective and included in comparative research.

scholarly journals Eye care delivery models to improve access to eye care for Indigenous peoples in high-income countries: a scoping review

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. e004484
Author(s):  
Helen Burn ◽  
Lisa Hamm ◽  
Joanna Black ◽  
Anthea Burnett ◽  
Matire Harwood ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Diabetic Retinopathy ◽  
Service Delivery ◽  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
High Income ◽  
Eye Care ◽  
Service Delivery Models ◽  
Care Services ◽  
Delivery Models ◽  
Improve Access

PurposeGlobally, there are ~370 million Indigenous peoples. Indigenous peoples typically experience worse health compared with non-Indigenous people, including higher rates of avoidable vision impairment. Much of this gap in eye health can be attributed to barriers that impede access to eye care services. We conducted a scoping review to identify and summarise service delivery models designed to improve access to eye care for Indigenous peoples in high-income countries.MethodsSearches were conducted on MEDLINE, Embase and Global Health in January 2019 and updated in July 2020. All study designs were eligible if they described a model of eye care service delivery aimed at populations with over 50% Indigenous peoples. Two reviewers independently screened titles, abstracts and full-text articles and completed data charting. We extracted data on publication details, study context, service delivery interventions, outcomes and evaluations, engagement with Indigenous peoples and access dimensions targeted. We summarised findings descriptively following thematic analysis.ResultsWe screened 2604 abstracts and 67 studies fulfilled our eligibility criteria. Studies were focused on Indigenous peoples in Australia (n=45), USA (n=11), Canada (n=7), New Zealand (n=2), Taiwan (n=1) and Greenland (n=1). The main disease focus was diabetic retinopathy (n=30, 45%), followed by ‘all eye care’ (n=16, 24%). Most studies focused on targeted interventions to increase availability of services. Fewer than one-third of studies reported involving Indigenous communities when designing the service. 41 studies reflected on whether the model improved access, but none undertook rigorous evaluation or quantitative assessment.ConclusionsThe geographical and clinical scope of service delivery models to improve access to eye care for Indigenous peoples in high-income countries is narrow, with most studies focused on Australia and services for diabetic retinopathy. More and better engagement with Indigenous communities is required to design and implement accessible eye care services.

Indigenous climate change adaptation: New directions for emerging scholarship

2021 ◽  
pp. 251484862110224
Author(s):  
Danielle Emma Johnson ◽  
Meg Parsons ◽  
Karen Fisher
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Climate Change Adaptation ◽  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Climate Adaptation ◽  
Food Sovereignty ◽  
Small Body ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
Cultural Continuity ◽  
Power Dynamics ◽  
Indigenous Development

Although Indigenous peoples’ perspectives and concerns have not always been accommodated in climate change adaptation research and practice, a burgeoning literature is helping to reframe and decolonise climate adaptation in line with Indigenous peoples’ lived experiences. In this review, we bring together climate adaptation, decolonising and intersectional scholarship to chart the progress that has been made in better analysing and responding to climate change in Indigenous contexts. We identify a wealth of literature helping to decolonise climate adaptation scholarship and praxis by attending to colonial and neo-colonial injustices implicated in Indigenous peoples’ climate vulnerability, taking seriously Indigenous peoples’ relational ontologies, and promoting adaptation that draws on Indigenous capacities and aspirations for self-determination and cultural continuity. Despite calls to interrogate heterogenous experiences of climate change within Indigenous communities, the decolonising climate and adaptation scholarship has made limited advances in this area. We examine the small body of research that takes an intersectional approach to climate adaptation and explores how the multiple subjectivities and identities that Indigenous peoples occupy produce unique vulnerabilities, capacities and encounters with adaptation policy. We suggest the field might be expanded by drawing on related studies from Indigenous development, natural resource management, conservation, feminism, health and food sovereignty. Greater engagement with intersectionality works to drive innovation in decolonising climate adaptation scholarship and practice. It can mitigate the risk of maladaptation, avoid entrenchment of inequitable power dynamics, and ensures that even the most marginal groups within Indigenous communities benefit from adaptation policies and programmes.

scholarly journals Local-Indigenous Autonomy and Community Streetscape Enhancement: Learnings from Māori and Te Ara Mua—Future Streets Project

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (3) ◽  
pp. 865
Author(s):  
Kimiora Raerino ◽  
Alex Macmillan ◽  
Adrian Field ◽  
Rau Hoskins
Keyword(s):  
Cultural Identity ◽  
Urban Design ◽  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
Collective Agency ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Indigenous Autonomy ◽  
Spatial Justice ◽  
Aotearoa New Zealand ◽  
Kaupapa Māori

In settler countries, attention is now extending to the wellbeing benefits of recognising and promoting the Indigenous cultural identity of neighbourhoods as a contributing factor to more equitable and healthier communities. Re-indigenisation efforts to (re)implement cultural factors into urban design can be challenging and ineffective without the leadership and collaboration of local-Indigenous peoples. Undertaken in Aotearoa New Zealand, Te Ara Mua — Future Street project, demonstrated that co-design has critical potential in the reclamation of Indigenous autonomy, increased local-Indigenous presence and revitalisation of cultural identity. Employing a Kaupapa Māori (Māori-centred) research approach, we focused on the workings and perspectives of mana whenua (local-Indigenous peoples) and community stakeholder engagement in Te Ara Mua. An Indigenous theoretical framework, Te Pae Mahutonga, was utilised in the data analysis to explore perspectives of Indigenous collective agency, empowerment, and wellbeing. Our research demonstrates that developing capacity amongst Indigenous communities is integral for effective engagement and that the realisation of autonomy in urban design projects has broader implications for Indigenous sovereignty, spatial justice and health equity. Significantly, we argue that future community enhancement strategies must include not only re-designing and re-imagining initiatives, but also re-indigenising.

scholarly journals Us Mob Online: The Perils of Identifying as Indigenous on Social Media

Genealogy ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
pp. 52
Author(s):  
Bronwyn Carlson ◽  
Tristan Kennedy
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Indigenous People ◽  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Mixed Methods Research ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
Digital Environment ◽  
Collective Identities ◽  
Social Media Platforms ◽  
Insight Into

Social media is a highly valuable site for Indigenous people to express their identities and to engage with other Indigenous people, events, conversations, and debates. While the role of social media for Indigenous peoples is highly valued for public articulations of identity, it is not without peril. Drawing on the authors’ recent mixed-methods research in Australian Indigenous communities, this paper presents an insight into Indigenous peoples’ experiences of cultivating individual and collective identities on social media platforms. The findings suggest that Indigenous peoples are well aware of the intricacies of navigating a digital environment that exhibits persistent colonial attempts at the subjugation of Indigenous identities. We conclude that, while social media remains perilous, Indigenous people are harnessing online platforms for their own ends, for the reinforcement of selfhood, for identifying and being identified and, as a vehicle for humour and subversion.

Barriers and Enablers to Older Indigenous People Engaging in Physical Activity—A Qualitative Systematic Review

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-13
Author(s):  
Margaret J.R. Gidgup ◽  
Marion Kickett ◽  
Tammy Weselman ◽  
Keith Hill ◽  
Julieann Coombes ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Systematic Review ◽  
Indigenous Peoples ◽  
Indigenous Communities ◽  
Cultural Safety ◽  
Barriers And Enablers ◽  
Qualitative Systematic Review ◽  
Physical Activity Programs ◽  
Key Barrier ◽  
Appraisal Tool

The objective of this qualitative systematic review was to synthesize all evidence to understand the barriers and enablers to older Indigenous peoples (aged 40 years and older) engaging in physical activity. Four databases were searched. Study quality was assessed from an Indigenous perspective, using an Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander quality appraisal tool. Data were analyzed using thematic synthesis. There were 4,246 articles screened with 23 articles and one report included from over 30 Indigenous communities across four countries. Cultural Safety and Security was a key enabler, including developing physical activity programs which are led by Indigenous communities and preference Indigenous values. Colonization was a key barrier that created mistrust and uncertainty. Social Determinants of Health, including cost, were supported by successful programs, but if not addressed, were demotivators of engagement. Older Indigenous peoples identified barriers and enablers that can direct the development of sustainable, culturally appropriate physical activity programs.

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