Indigenous Semiotics in “The Transistor” by Shahnaz Bashir: Application of Roland Barthes’ Codes to Kashmiri Narrative

The research focuses on the indigenous critical perspective when applied through semiotics of Barthes’ codes to the Kashmiri narratives. The study briefly reviews indigenous perspective as explained by Professor Jody Byrd and Aileen Moreton-Robinson after giving reference to Heather Harris about indigenous epistemology. This follows linking it to semiotics through Barthes’ codes with their review and association to cultural indigenousness. The research also reviews the Kashmiri narrative tradition and analyses the short story “The Transistor” in the light of this theoretical perspective to show that Kashmiri indigenousness as presented through signs and symbols when interpreted as indigenous semiotics show the specific Kashmiri resistance, conflictual cultural practices, and indigenous sovereignty under paracolonialism. The research, however, falls short of proving how the Kashmiri cultural paradigm shifts under paracolonial presence which requires separate inquiry from another angle.

Te Hokinga Mai O Ngā Tūpuna: Māori Perspectives of Repatriation and the Scientific Research of Ancestral Remains.

<p>The repatriation of human remains has been the subject of much discussion and debate, especially since the 1990s. Since then, there has been a marked increase in the international literature relating to museums, indigenous peoples and repatriation; however, this literature is mainly written from the perspective of museums and universities. Although there has been some publication of the views on repatriation of indigenous communities there is a conspicuous absence of Māori perspectives in this literature. In particular, there is a lack of Māori voice on the repatriation of ancestral remains, as well as a lack of commentary on the so-called scientific research on ancestral remains that has taken place, and continues to take place, in universities, museums, and medical institutions around the world. This lack of indigenous perspective in the repatriation literature has resulted in mainstream assumptions about why indigenous communities, such as Māori, have been so active in repatriation activities over the last 25 years. The assumptions have tended to view the motives of indigenous peoples as politically motivated and even go as far as describing them as “activist” in nature rather than motivated by cultural beliefs and imperatives. This perceived view, as well as the views of many writers in the scientific and museum professions who do not agree with the repatriation of human remains back to origin communities because of their “loss to science” and therefore humankind, has prompted hotly contested debates concerning these issues. These contested views lead inevitably to the question of consent and whether the taking of skeletal remains from burial contexts to carry out ‘scientific’ research without consent is deemed ethical by today’s standards. The primary aim of this thesis is to document Māori perspectives on the repatriation of ancestral human remains and to understand the significance of Māori ancestral human remains for descendant communities. A secondary aim is to review some of the scientific research which has been carried out on Māori ancestral remains, and to identify the benefits, if any, of that research for descendant communities.</p>

Te Hokinga Mai O Ngā Tūpuna: Māori Perspectives of Repatriation and the Scientific Research of Ancestral Remains.

<p>The repatriation of human remains has been the subject of much discussion and debate, especially since the 1990s. Since then, there has been a marked increase in the international literature relating to museums, indigenous peoples and repatriation; however, this literature is mainly written from the perspective of museums and universities. Although there has been some publication of the views on repatriation of indigenous communities there is a conspicuous absence of Māori perspectives in this literature. In particular, there is a lack of Māori voice on the repatriation of ancestral remains, as well as a lack of commentary on the so-called scientific research on ancestral remains that has taken place, and continues to take place, in universities, museums, and medical institutions around the world. This lack of indigenous perspective in the repatriation literature has resulted in mainstream assumptions about why indigenous communities, such as Māori, have been so active in repatriation activities over the last 25 years. The assumptions have tended to view the motives of indigenous peoples as politically motivated and even go as far as describing them as “activist” in nature rather than motivated by cultural beliefs and imperatives. This perceived view, as well as the views of many writers in the scientific and museum professions who do not agree with the repatriation of human remains back to origin communities because of their “loss to science” and therefore humankind, has prompted hotly contested debates concerning these issues. These contested views lead inevitably to the question of consent and whether the taking of skeletal remains from burial contexts to carry out ‘scientific’ research without consent is deemed ethical by today’s standards. The primary aim of this thesis is to document Māori perspectives on the repatriation of ancestral human remains and to understand the significance of Māori ancestral human remains for descendant communities. A secondary aim is to review some of the scientific research which has been carried out on Māori ancestral remains, and to identify the benefits, if any, of that research for descendant communities.</p>

Land and storytelling: Indigenous pathways towards healing, spiritual regeneration and resurgence

This article aims to contribute to discourses of healing, Indigenous resurgence and spiritual regeneration within the context of the Indian Residential School Truth and Reconciliation Commission that took place in Canada between 2008 and 2015. First, it considers to what extent the TRC’s restorative justice process can relate to Indigenous ways of conceptualising healing. Secondly, it reflects on the Commission’s exclusive focus on the Indian Residential School system and its legacies, which, according to many Indigenous scholars, overlooks a much broader and more complex history of colonisation, political domination, and land dispossession still ongoing. I underline that, from an Indigenous perspective, land plays a fundamental role to achieve healing, spiritual regeneration, and resurgence. In the last section, I move the discussion to the literary dimension as I explore Richard Wagamese’s 2012 novel Indian Horse. In particular, I argue that fiction, especially that fiction produced during the years of the Commission’s work, can be a crucial site for challenging the TRC’s restorative process and for bringing out the significance of storytelling and of an Indigenous deep sense of connection to the land as a source of learning, spiritual reclaiming, and healing.

O bem viver: uma proposta para reaprender a sonhar com o mundo

ResumoApresento neste ensaio a perspectiva indígena de Bem Viver como possível anúncio para desconstrução de aspectos coloniais que persistem em moldar de modo exploratório as relações entre seres humanos e meio ambiente, haja vista que cada vez mais tem se propagado sob o horizonte do Planeta Terra um véu de devastação e destruição pelo estímulo desenvolvimentista. Recorro à ecologia dos saberes para pautar um pensamento que renuncie a lógica de apropriação e violência empregada na anulação da diversidade epistêmica dos conhecimentos de diversos povos. Como anúncio, me valho de perspectivas indígenas frente aos sonhos como possibilidade de outro entendimento sobre a vigília, em virtude de neles serem transfigurados os contatos despertos com o mundo, transformando experiências e dotando as dinâmicas sociais com profundos significados.Palavras-chave: Sonho. Bem Viver. Ecologia de Saberes. Well-living: a proposal to relearn how to dream about the worldAbstractIn this essay I present the indigenous perspective of Well-Living as a possible advertisement for the deconstruction of colonial aspects that persist in shaping the relations between human beings and the environment in an exploratory way, given that a veil of devastation has spread under the horizon of Planet Earth and destruction by developmental stimulus. I resort to the ecology of knowledge to guide a thought that renounces the logic of appropriation and violence used in the annulment of the epistemic diversity of knowledge of different peoples. As an advertisement, I use indigenous perspectives in the face of dreams as a possibility for another understanding of wakefulness, as awakened contacts with the world are transfigured in them, transforming experiences and endowing social dynamics with deep meanings.Keywords: Dream. Well-Living. Ecology of Knowledge. Buen vivir: una propuesta para reaprender a soñar con el mundoResumenEn este ensayo presento la perspectiva indígena de Buen Vivir como un posible anuncio de la deconstrucción de aspectos coloniales que persisten en configurar de manera exploratoria las relaciones entre el ser humano y el medio ambiente, dado que un velo se ha extendido cada vez más bajo el horizonte de Planeta Tierra de devastación y destrucción por el estímulo del desarrollo. Recurro a la ecología de saberes para orientar un pensamiento que renuncia a la lógica de apropiación y violencia empleada en la anulación de la diversidad epistémica del saber de los diferentes pueblos. A modo de publicidad utilizo las perspectivas indígenas frente a los sueños como posibilidad de otra comprensión de la vigilia, pues en ellos se transfiguran los contactos despiertos con el mundo, transformando vivencias y dotando de significados profundos a las dinámicas sociales.Palabras clave: Sueño. Buen Vivir. Ecología de Saberes.

Teaching creative (Literary) writing: Indigenous psychological perspective

This study aims to explore the teaching of creative writing through an indigenous perspective. This study used qualitative methods based on narrative interpretation and exposure. The respondents of this study were 40 students. Data collection techniques were conducted using creative writing, picking, and interviews. The data analysis technique consisted of three stages, namely pre-writing, writing process, and post-writing. The results showed that 77.5% of students answered very well, 17.5% answered well, 32% answered mediocre about the learning process of creative writing uses the perspective of indigenous psychology. Students’ responses related to the perspective of indigenous psychology that it makes someone easier to write: 32% of students answered yes, 0% answered no, and 68% answered mediocre. Students' responses regarding the perspective of indigenous psychology that it provides benefits to the learning of creative writing: 90% of students answered yes and 10% answered no. Students’ responses regarding the learning of creative writing that it is more easily using the perspective of indigenous psychology: 80% of students answered yes and 20% answered no. Keywords: creative writing, literature, indigenous studies, indigenous psychology, pre-writing, writing process, post-writing

Can an indigenous media model enrol wider non-Indigenous audiences in alternative perspectives to the ‘mainstream’

This paper offers a theoretical model to analyse an example of Indigenous media through an Indigenous lens and discusses its potential to increase audiences in other alternative media. Adapted from New Zealand Māori filmmaker and philosopher Barry Barclay’s idea of the ‘fourth cinema’ and a metaphorical ‘communications marae’, 1 the model has been applied to New Zealand’s Indigenous broadcaster, Māori Television. This article discusses the model and suggests that the ‘communications marae’ has the potential to be used by non-mainstream media providers to, not only address their own audiences, but also to enrol wider communities in alternative perspectives to the ‘mainstream’. Research has demonstrated how Indigenous broadcasting can serve its own audience while also attracting wider, non-Indigenous audiences. However, this paper’s focus is a case study of migrants engaging with Māori Television because it is migrants who frequently operate outside of established power relationships and represent an often unrecognised niche audience segment in mainstream media. The model demonstrates the potential pedagogical role of the broadcaster and how its content can make a positive difference to migrants’ lives and attitudes towards Indigenous people through its ability to counter the, often negative, representations of Indigeneity in mainstream media. Outside of Māori Television, migrants have limited access to an Indigenous perspective on the nation’s issues and concerns, which calls into question both democracy and migrants’ ability to engage in civic society. Migrants need information to negotiate and weigh up important tensions and polarities, to understand multiple perspectives inherent to democratic living and to evaluate issues of social justice and to solve problems based on the principles of equity. Indigenous media, as in all alternative media, has a role to play in questioning or challenging accepted thinking and to present counter hegemonic discourses to all citizens in participatory democratic societies.