Drawing Spirits in the Sand: Performative Storytelling in the Digital Age

For First Nations people living in the central desert of Australia, the performance of oral storytelling drawing in the sand drives new agency in the cultural metamorphosis of communication practices accelerated by the proliferation of portable digital devices. Drawing on the ground sustains the proxemic and kinesthetic aspects of performative storytelling as a sign gesture system. When rendering this drawing supra-language, the people negotiate and ride the ontological divide symbolized by traditional elders in First Nations communities and digital engineers who program and code. In particular, storytelling’s chronemic encounter offsets the estrangement of the recorded event and maintains every participants’ ability to shape identity and navigate space-time relationships. Drawing storytelling demonstrates a concomitant capacity to mediate changes in tradition and spiritual systems. While the digital portals of the global arena remain open and luring, the force enabled by the chiasmic entwinement of speech, gesture and sand continues to map the frontier of First Nations identity formation and reformation.

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Quality of Care for First Nations People with Diabetes Living in Rural vs. Urban Locations in Alberta

Canadian Journal of Diabetes ◽

10.1016/j.jcjd.2014.07.148 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 38 (5) ◽

pp. S54

Author(s):

Nathalie Saad

Keyword(s):

Quality Of Care ◽

First Nations ◽

Nations People ◽

First Nations People

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Cultural safety for First Nations people in aged care

Contemporary Nurse ◽

10.1080/10376178.2021.1962378 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-7

Author(s):

Linda Michelle Deravin ◽

Judith Anderson ◽

Nicole Mahara

Keyword(s):

First Nations ◽

Aged Care ◽

Cultural Safety ◽

Nations People ◽

First Nations People

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Estimating risks from exposure to methylmercury: Application to first nations people in Canada

Water Air & Soil Pollution ◽

10.1007/bf02409649 ◽

1997 ◽

Vol 97 (1-2) ◽

pp. 107-118 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Sara Hoover ◽

Ryan Hill ◽

Tom Watson

Keyword(s):

First Nations ◽

Nations People ◽

First Nations People

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First Nations’ Survivance and Sovereignty in Canada during a Time of COVID-19

American Indian Culture and Research Journal ◽

10.17953/aicrj.44.2.rowe_rowat_walker ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 44 (2) ◽

pp. 89-100

Author(s):

Robyn K. Rowe ◽

Julia Rowat ◽

Jennifer D. Walker

Keyword(s):

First Nations ◽

Healthcare System ◽

Scarlet Fever ◽

Nations People ◽

Vulnerable People ◽

History Of ◽

Negative Impacts ◽

First Nations People

First Nations people in Canada have demonstrated and continue to demonstrate persistent and resilient cultural, linguistic, and traditional endurance: survivance. The devastation resulting from centuries of health pandemics such as smallpox, influenza, cholera, tuberculosis, measles, and scarlet fever reinforce the ongoing resilience of First Nations people, cultures, and traditions in Canada. Despite the history of pandemic-related trauma and a myriad of social, political, environmental, and health challenges, as well as the added burden that COVID-19 is placing on the healthcare system in Canada, First Nations’ organizations and leadership are enacting their inherent rights to sovereignty and governance. While First Nations are bracing for the expected negative impacts of COVID-19, they are doing so in ways that respect and honor their histories, cultures, languages, and traditions. First Nations are acting to protect some of the most vulnerable people in their communities including elders, knowledge keepers, and storytellers who carry with them irreplaceable traditional and cultural knowledges.

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The Terms of Our Surrender: Colonialism, Dispossession and the Resistance of the Innu

10.14296/202110.9781912250486 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Elizabeth Cassell

Keyword(s):

First Nations ◽

Land Tenure ◽

Legal Framework ◽

Land Ownership ◽

Fiduciary Duty ◽

Eastern Canada ◽

Nations People ◽

Natural Land ◽

First Nations People ◽

Indigenous Land

Based on extensive fieldwork and oral history, The Terms of Our Surrender is a powerful critical appraisal of unceded indigenous land ownership in eastern Canada. Set against an ethnographic, historical and legal framework, the book traces the myriad ways the Canadian state has successfully evaded the 1763 Royal Proclamation that guaranteed First Nations people a right to their land and way of life. Focusing on the Innu of Quebec and Labrador, whose land has been taken for resource extraction and development, the book strips back the fiduciary duty to its origins, challenging the inroads which have been made on the nature and extent of indigenous land tenure—arguing for preservation of land ownership and positioning First Nations people as natural land defenders amidst a devastating climate crisis. It offers a voice to the Innu people, detailing the spirituality practices, culture and values that make it impossible for them to willingly cede their land. The text is intended to bridge the gap in knowledge between legal practitioners and those working at the intersections of human rights, social work and public policy. The book offers a potent template for how we can use the law to fight back against the indignities suffered by all indigenous peoples.

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