GNDS 340: Indigenous Women, Feminism & Resistance @lpgjm340-blog - Tumblr Blog

Pocahontas is one of many very stereotypical Disney movies. It shows to young people that the way Pocahontas acts and dresses is the way that all native women are. The movie does not recognize the historical difficulties and discrimination that native women have suffered. Still today, indigenous women are the highest populated victims of rape and sexual assault. It's great that people are recognizing the down falls in Pocahontas and the serious false stereotypes given to native women.

Lydia

Sovereign Erotics

The reading Walking With Ghosts by Qwo Li Driskill is an artistic piece filled with different poems that discuss issues that revolve around colonialism in Canada, and how it was a genocide for First Nations people, as well as other minority, oppressed groups. The title “Walking With Ghosts” shows that even today we are haunted by the ghosts of colonialism from the past, and these issues are still relevant and active in our society. I believe that Driskill’s main point in this book is for people to stop ignoring these issues and to stop pretending like the affects of colonialism don’t exist for indigenous people. The poem Wild Indians discusses the way First Nations people were assimilated, and treated like animals, but also how they refuse to conform. Yes I’m Wild, I Can’t find God in white walled churches. Don’t like the pope, And would scalp him in a blink. I’m wild. Don’t Like cages, Cant walk on a leash. And never eat the food you leave out. ( Driskill, 27) This poem demonstrates some of the types of assimilation and cruelty indigenous people faced, and still do today.

Some of the poems in this book discuss sexuality and the ongoing attacks on lesbian, gay, trans, bisexual and indigenous communities. The poem Gay Nigger Number One discusses how someone was murdered for his or her skin colour and sexuality; “All he left was Your skull bleached of color Scrawled with words Gay Nigger Number One”. These disturbing lines show the sad truth behind colonialism and how people were brutally treated for their race and sexuality. Sexual violence to minority groups and especially indigenous women is still a major issue in Canada today. The title of the poem “On Hearing Another Friend was Raped” demonstrates how normalized sexual violence against indigenous people has become by the use of the word another, as though it is nothing new. “Your marked neck, My scratched heart, Are wounds we permit to fall away”. (54)

The author of both literary pieces this week was Qwo Li Driskill, and I think that this is an outstanding author. Driskill discusses the harsh side of colonialism in an artistic. personal way. Driskill’s poems and style are really memorable and has an affect on the reader. In the poem Map of Americas the lines “Sometimes I look at you and choke back sobs knowing you are here because so many of my people are not” is really moving and demonstrates how this still affects indigenous people today. Driskill makes it clear how important it is to recognize that the affects of colonialism still remain and many people still suffer from them. “There is still a war “.(Driskill, 11)

References

Driskill, Qwo-Li. Walking With Ghosts.

Performance and Memory

This week in lecture, we focused on the power of performance in rewriting colonial histories of Indigenous women. In Shari Huhndorf’s article, she discusses the complexities of “colonial memory”, referencing the story of the “trusty little Indian guide” Sacajawea, who served the colonial Captains in their expedition, noting that tales like these create narratives of Indigenous women as betrayers complicit in their own demise (Huhndorf 181). She discusses the tendency for both Indigenous lands AND Indigenous women to be seen as available and willingly submissive to white colonizers (182). She problematizes that colonial histories are dominated by heroines like Pocahontas, who are beloved for serving white males (182). Gender, Huhndorf argues, is a crucial tool of colonial power; colonialism and patriarchy cannot be separated (183). Upon reflection, it is undeniable that the film Pocahontas is highly problematic in that it represents the protagonist as a sexually available, timid Indigenous woman, willing to abandon her land and her family for the favour of her beloved white colonizer John Smith (Huhndorf 190). The work of Monique Mojica is powerfully subversive in that it exaggerates common stereotypes about Indigenous women in a manner so sarcastic that it renders them laughable. Theatre is an especially powerful tool for political transformation, according to Huhndorf, because it gathers an audience full of diverse spectators together to experience a performance simultaneously, reminding them of their communal strength (189). Especially in the case of “Princess Pocahontas”, the performative aspect of the story would be especially moving because of the rewriting of history that Mojica is putting forward as an alternative understanding for the audience. Because she is able to address numerous spectators simultaneously, it is visible the impact she is making. Mojica’s use of theatre as a tool to subvert stereotypical patriarchal and colonial assumptions about Indigenous women and their relation to both white men and the men in their community is an example of one way that Indigenous feminists are taking steps toward political change and the demystification of the patriarchal and colonial forces that continue to negatively impact Indigenous communities and that need to be challenged.

References

Hundorf, Shari. “Indigenous Feminism, Performance and the Politics of Memory in the Plays of Monique Mojica.”

by Monique Harvison

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DISCUSSION

Monique: This is a little off-point but I think it is interesting to bring up! I wanted to discuss the in-class performance of Mojica’s play. Wasn’t it great? I loved how theatrical our classmates were with the singing/ yelling/ running around at the front of the class room. For me, this performance made the play more clear than it had been when I read it, in that the stereotypes were so sarcastically presented that it could not be read as anything but subversive. What did you think of the in-class performance? Did it help you understand the play in a new way?

Cheers! Monique Harvison.

Grace:

I cannot speak towards the in-class performance as I was not there that week— but I did have some comments about the material. I think that blatant sarcasm and is an extremely effective tool in realizing the power that language and discourse has had on the understanding of our history in its truth, and not in the way that the colonizers manipulated it to sound.

I also think that since in this class we have learned numerous manners in which we can theorize about Indigenous populations, the movie “Pocahontas” becomes absolutely laughable. Like you said, Pocahontas eventually choosing a white man, allowing herself to choose the West over her home, and characters calling the Indigenous “savage” and “red-skinned” are just some of these ludicrous commentaries.

Grace Di Cesare

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I was pretty impressed with the performance myself, and I really appreciate the way the gender is discussed within this narrative of Native colonization as well. I think are so often targets and tools within colonialism that are played upon by both the colonizers and the colonized. In the case of Aboriginal women, we see this divide and characterization of Aboriginal women having relations with white men which ultimate stigmatizes them within their community. This of course serves to appropriate Aboriginal women towards white interests while demonizing them within their own community—the overall affect of this of course only leaves the women vulnerable.

This particular article reminded me of other instances in which racialized women are characterized in a way that ostracizes them from both the society that oppresses them and from their own traditional societies as well. For example, black women throughout the existence of slavery within the US were often very highly, and negatively sexualized in a way that completely degraded their femininity which essentially dehumanized them making them vulnerable to acts fo violence and prejudice from within and outside their communities.It really goes to show how intertwined race and gender are as tools within Colonialism.

Justine

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I really loved the use of an artistic performance to discuss such an emotional issue that affects the way that Native women are still stereotypes. I think that it was very impressive, and a great way to express the issue. I’m really glad that you discuss this stereotype Monique, and that you point out how indigenous women are seen as submissive and how Pocahontas is actually loved for serving a white male.I think that it’s very important that you discussed how problematic the film Pocahontas is, because it is so popular. This stereotype leads to indigenous women being treated as submissive people, which is proven to give them a larger target for sexual violence. This stereotype is very problematic, and harms and dehumanizes indigenous women.

Sam

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I believe the use of Pocahontas is very interesting when studying Indigenous women because Disney movies are an important part of our childhood. When we are kids, we do not notice the negative messages and stereotypes within the movies. I do believe the reason the reason Pocahontas was loved is because she was a good servant to white people however, this should not have been the primary message of a children movie. This continues the stereotypes in our society that Indigenous women should be serving white men.This makes them much more vulnerable and starts this stereotype when we are very young.

Phil

Pocahontas is one of many very stereotypical Disney movies. It shows to young people that the way Pocahontas acts and dresses is the way that all native women are. The movie does not recognize the historical difficulties and discrimination that native women have suffered. Still today, indigenous women are the highest populated victims of rape and sexual assault. It's great that people are recognize the down falls in Pocahontas and the serious false stereotypes given to native women. Lydia

#Colonial Memory #Pocahontas #Indigenous Feminisms

(Re)mapping Land/Bodies

For this week’s blog entry I will be focusing mainly on the article by Mishuana Goeman entitled, “(Re)Mapping Indigenous Presence on the land in Native Women’s Literature”. I would like to go over the main points of the article before providing a real example in relation to the topic she discusses. To be as concise as possible I will present these notes in point form:

- the author describes how stories are a narrative tool

- Contemporarily, native identities are often attributed to a certain time and place

- Since colonialism, Native communities have been made to relocate and the federal government has segregated rural and urban communities

- this article centres on just how Native feminisms seek to reassess colonial mappings of space

- the manner in which colonizers have organized the nation in terms of geography directly creates a segregated and territorial-like land that claims its residents.

- Spatialization is directly related to race and gender that puts a stressor on the idea of difference

- Native feminists confront this reality as it is a Western scheme that keeps patriarchy in place

- So how have Native communities been affected by this spatialization?

- How can this space be reclaimed?

- The author discusses how the US government implemented a relocation program in which many Native peoples were moved away from their reservation and into large cities

- This destroyed families and identites

- The government used terms like “progress” and “modernization” to try to legitimize the re-rooting.

- “the goal of the program was to impose a patriarchal form of American citizenship onto American Indians”

- The ultimate goal was assimilation

- The actions of the government kept men in the most dominant position

- Women were forced into caregiving roles in their homes to assimilate to white women.

- However, since economically this was impossible they ended up most often caring for the children of white families

- Native feminists do clarify that they do not wish to reclaim space to return in to the “original” form--- but rather they want to “imagine space as a result of continuous, ongoing story telling”

- The disorganization of Native spaces has hand a huge impact on a loss of identity within Native communities

- Confronting the realities of current geographies, then, is a step in reclamation.

This piece by Lynne Allen was one I found while searching for Native Feminist art online. When looking at her work, it is important to understand her positionality. Allen is a member of the Standing Rock Indian Reservation in South Dakota, and can trace her heritage back six generations to the Wind Women of the 1830s. In all of her work she draws from her experiences as Native woman struggling with identity. Having all of her family members sent away to boarding schools, all sense of community and identity was washed away. This photograph is extremely powerful even on first glance. There is not a lot of information about this particular piece online, though using some of this weeks readings we can associate some of these themes with the piece. The photograph of the Wind Woman is tampered by several drops of blood found on the canvas. As was learned in Goeman’s article, Native Americans were moved away from reservation to “assimilate” to Western ideals. The imagery of blood upon the body of the Native American women is related to the both the oppressed positionality of a Native woman, but also the trauma this forced relocation put on Native communities. Allen has many other art pieces in which we can theorize the exact message she is aiming to get across, though the article by Goeman is an excellent starting point.

Follow this link for a statement from the artist:

http://www.lynneallen.com/artstatement.html

References:

Goeman, Mishuana R. “(Re)Mapping Indigenous Presence on the Land in Native Women’s Literature” American Quarterly 60.2 (2008): 295-302.

by Grace Di Cesaire

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Monique: I found the article by Goeman to be quite dense, but these point forms were very clear. I certainly think that conceptualizing Indigenous issues in terms of "spatialization" is valuable in understanding the power of assimilation both on a macro- and micro- scale. One of the points from the article I found to be interesting was that Indigenous women were forced to work in homes as housekeepers and maids, and learn to eat and cook in entirely new and foreign ways. This makes it clear that relocation entails more than just a simple movement from point A to B; Indigenous peoples were forced to abandon every aspect of the lives they once knew, and this was especially destructive. What did you find interesting about this article? Cheers! Monique Harvison.

Grace:

I agree that the Indigenous women being forced into working as housekeepers was powerful in the manner that it promoted assimilation. This portion of the article actually made me think of the movie "The Help", directed by Tate Taylor. These black women were also forced into working as caregivers for white families, and in turn had to abandon their own families in order to keep them afloat. I do not mean to bring about this example to as to imply that the situations involve the same histories or what not, but it is interesting to look at. In both cases their identities were suppressed to allow for the domination of the white population. Apart from that, I think it is important to consider the use of language that fuelled assimilation. Any ideas?

Grace Di Cesare

Justine: I find it interesting, when you look at the larger scale of assimilation exactly how assimilating Native women into white culture by employing them a maids plays into the disorganization of Native Space. I don't know if any of you were in Gnds 320 Last year (HIV/AIDS movement) but we had a guest lecturer from a Native Community in Kingston and she put on a very moving visual about how Native society was essentially dismantled piece by piece through colonialism and assimilation. An interesting point she made was on how the role of women was completely eradicated, which served to eliminate a great deal of history and knowledge from within the community because there was no one to pass on the stories. I also think the point you bring up about The Help is an interesting one too Grace. The role the black women played in the movie has actually been characterized as the often portrayed 'Mammy'. It dates back to the early to mid 1900s where many black women worked for white families taking care of their children. Its most popularly noted in the move Gone With the Wind if any of you have seen it. And basically, that role served the same purposes as that the Aboriginal women played as maids and caretakers as well--which was to remove them from their communities and cultures while at the same time utilizing them in a way that benefitted the dominant white culture. By removing them, they took away women, mothers, storytellers, teachers and a large and very fundamental aspect of Native culture.

Justine

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I found the attempts of assimilation by the government disgusting. They tried assimilating children by enforcing boarding schools and then adults by forcing them to work in white people's homes. This assimilation has had a tremendous impact on their culture today. Many negative things have come about due to the assimilation attempts by colonizers. Substance abuse, sexual violence and gender discrimination are all problems which can now be found in Native communities which were not there before assimilation. After all the damage created during the colonization, there should be a severe price to pay by the government and church in order to facilitate the healing of Native communities

Phil

The Authentic Indian

One of this week’s readings was Marcia Crosby’s Construction of the Indian Image, which regarded the topic of difference and the Western Construct of the Native image is discussed. Within her writing, Crosby, details her experiences as an aboriginal woman realizing her heritage through a western Eurocentric education system. In her discussion of the Imaginary Indian, she talks about how the image has been constructed in away that opposes it to Western culture; as vulnerable and dying out. According to Crosby, the result of this construct is a minimization of the presence of aboriginals within the societies in which they are marginalized. Western society, in its narratives regarding native culture, claims to be historically inclusive and modern, however, according to Crosby, these narratives only serve to appease Western interests. These narratives deny Aboriginals space anchoring them to imagery, authentic and archaic Indian culture-not subject to change, while any and all change is recognized as disintegration of the culture.

I found Crosby’s article interesting for multiple reason. The first was its correlation to the week’s topic on the ‘Gaze.’ Throughout feminist discourse, a recurring theme is one regarding ‘gaze.’ Within our Canadian culture, those of us outside Aboriginal culture hold the gaze. It is a place of power within society because those who possess the gaze have the power to mold the world to the perceptions they find ideal. In Crosby’s article, the western gaze is part of a systemic oppression against aboriginal culture. Through western gaze, we force Aboriginal people into fitting the ideal perceptions we as a society conjures. In Crosby’s case, the ‘authentic Indian.’ The authentic gaze negates development and change within aboriginal culture because it perceives change as the culture dying out.

A good example of this is with the creation of Navajo blankets. In the documentary Weaving Worlds the trade around Navajo blankets is looked into. The documentary features both women in the Navajo community, and people in the cities and towns around them who are involved in the very lucrative trade.

The women, traditional weavers of the cloth, put a great deal of time and effort into their creations, and take them to local auctions to be sold to a mostly white clientele. It is difficult for them though, despite the demand for the Navajo cloth—predominantly that which is authentically woven in the traditional custom. The women make very little profit for their work. Additionally, resellers and larger trading companies will take the blankets of the women for a certain price and then resell them at even higher prices. The situation is highly ironic given the mass press the Navajo community has received not because of this issue but with Urban outfitters. It’s somewhat disturbing that people outside the native community would put so much money into an item that they want to be as authentic as possible yet, when the same community they get those products from is suffering economically, or socially, they don’t care. It ties back to what Marcia Crosby spoke about in her article in which Western exploration or interests in native culture and history only suits western history. The Navajo blankets are only as popular and expensive as they are because those who are well crafted in making them are perceived to be dying out. The culture is thought to be disintegrating so the older and more authentic the cloth, the better it is. Of course when it comes to looking at the reason the culture is dying out—threat to their lands, agriculture, cattle (because of rising up electric plants in the area), those reasons aren’t important. Further more the insistence on trade in Navajo blankets that is traditional, or older relegates Navajo culture to something that is strictly historic. It denies the younger generation their space within contemporary society, because it denies them the chance to participate in the culture and art of their ancestors in modern ways. The western obsession with preserving older Navajo blankets and Navajo culture blinds it to modern Navajo issues—such the one they face with Urban Outfitters.

Trailer for Documentary

An example of Navajo blanket distributors.

Ebay Listings of Navajo Blankets

(As you can see, some of them go well into the thousands, which indicate a high demand. Notice that even some of the most expensive rugs are relatively recently made, therefore older rugs are even more valuable.

World Record for Navajo Blanket:

I'm happy for the guy with no leg, but I wonder what the original maker of that blanket got in return for the amount of work they laboured into that blanket. We can recognize artists like Vangoh, and in some ways redeem the rough lives they had when alive, but for all those native peoples who suffered through colonialism. Nobody is interested in finding out the story behind its creator--and I think in some ways it's really symbolic of how we classify native people's today. yes there's a certain amount of guilt with some non-aboriginals, but instead of recognizing them in their contemporary setting, we try to conjure up heroic images of their histories, and in that way we really objectify them. We make them nothing more than hand-woven cloths.

by Justine

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DISCUSSION

Monique: Wow! I found Justine's analysis to be spot-on in the way that she draws a link between the Western fascination with the type of navajo cloth that can be found at Urban Outfitters, and problematic perceptions about Indigenous culture as dying. They are inexplicably linked! Urban Outfitters is touted for being "trendy", "exotic", and "different", and the demand for native-style clothing has everything to do with appropriating this "traditional" clothing from a dying-out peoples, and nothing to do with respect for their culture. I would further argue that the situating of Indigenous peoples in the past is a strategy that aims to effectively ERASE these peoples from THE PRESENT, thereby freeing contemporary Western communities from any responsibility for the ongoing effects of colonialism and re-colonialism. Thoughts?

Cheers! Monique Harvison. ps. the tags below made me laugh!

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I believe the fashion trends including Navajo clothing is very harmful to Native culture and the perception it gives about them. I believe these trends recreate the stereotypes of Native communities being different then what societies expectations is. I believe wearing the traditional Native outfits is a sign of disrespect because they have special meanings within their community and people who buy this clothing will do so in order to look different without having any knowledge of its heritage or meaning.

Phil

#navajo #feminism #this is kinda long #sorry for that #I got caught up googling #navajo blankets

Legal Subversions

My blog entry will be about legal subversions existing within the Aboriginal women population, specifically focusing on Joyce Green and Cheryl Suzack’s articles. My blog entry will be based on the readings given in class for the topic legal subversions.

Joyce Green’s article called “Balancing Strategies: Aboriginal Women and Constitutional Rights in Canada” talks about how many aboriginal women are often uncomfortable with using the colonial constitution and legal systems to defend their rights as aboriginal women. Theoretically, Aboriginal women have obtained a benefit, along with white and other women, from the equality guarantees given in the Charter and from the emerging conventions. Yet, Green acknowledges that Aboriginal women’s organizations suffer from poor funding and exclusion from political processes. Many aboriginal women and women’s organizations are important political and social forces in Canada as their support and litigation enhance human rights, of which Aboriginal rights and women’s rights are important components. Green stresses that Aboriginal women’s political interventions can only broaden and deepen our understanding of human rights.

The second article that is focused on legal subversions is Cheryl Suzack’s article called “Emotion Before the Law”. The author specifically focuses on a figure that she called the Aboriginal-woman-as-feeling-subject which represents a standpoint in her chapter. She calls this figure the Aboriginal-woman-as-feeling-subject because she performs contradictory political work.

In submitting to the law’s authority to regulate identity, she shows how law overlooks aspects of Aboriginal women’s gendered experience; in storytelling before the law, she generates a new understanding about how identity as defined by the Indian Act matters to Aboriginal women. The figure of the Aboriginal-woman-as-feeling-subject marks a process of meaning making the connection of Indigenous feminist politics to stories about Aboriginal women’s social disempowerment. The author discusses cases that provide an awareness of what the Indian Act identity means to Aboriginal women and thus to develop gendered understandings about gender discrimination that show how this legislation has introduced new forms of emotional harm.

by Lydia

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DISCUSSION

Monique: What I found interesting about Green's article was her criticism of the court's rejection of emotional testimony. She criticizes the court's objective, fact-based logic, but the way I see it, the law MUST be standardized in order to be just. If the emotion of all subjects were taken into account, how could the courts sort out those who were being authentic from those who were being dishonest in attempt to sway the system in their favour? Do you agree with me, or should the courts be more sympathetic to the emotional pleas from Indigenous women, and thereby, all peoples? Cheers! Monique Harvison.

Grace:

I completely agree with you. In a perfect world I would like to imagine when an emotional testimony is functional, and can potentially help protect a greater number of people, however it would seem misplaced in current court proceedings. If the court were going to try to accept emotional testimonies they would have to be incredibly diligent doing so. Perhaps a level of diligence that is unattainable. The line would be hard to draw from being fair to the positionally of Indigenous women, and then going to far over the line where we end up in the grounds of oppressing other groups, and establishing a legal system that is very biased and uneven.

Grace Di Cesare

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I agree with Grace that accepting emotional testimonies would probably end up creating more problems. There would be no way of knowing if a person is being honest or not. Someone committing a murder could easily give an emotional testimony with reasons he committed this crime. The decision of courts would develop into if the judge likes the person being accused or not, instead of the crime committed.

Phil

In this weeks readings and course material, the primary aspect we focused on was Confronting Sexual Violence. Statistics have shown that women are more often the target of sexual abuse. Another very alarming statistic was that since the 1990's, spousal abuse has been on the rise. With all the new technology available to us, there exist no reason we can not find ways to help reduce or even eliminate sexual abuse in our society. While doing the readings, several aspects stuck out in my eyes. First of all, while reading Tina Beads article, several things she mentioned opened my eyes. She talks about how several children in her aboriginal community would be taken from their family. They were taken from their family without any good reason, no abuse or mistreatment. Beads believed that these decisions were based on racism because people expected bad behavior from aboriginals. Beads follows by explaining that the reason aboriginal women are more endangered is because men will sexually assault women who are in the same social class or lower. Due to the belief that aboriginal women were lower class this would mean that men thought they could take advantage of them. Beads explains that the best way to help lower or eliminate sexual assaults among aboriginal women is to educate and allow women the right to get birth control even if it goes against their religion.

Another reading I found interesting was the article written by Andrea Smith. She explains that the reason aboriginal women may be targeted by white men because of their ability to give birth. The only way to keep aboriginal communities alive and well is by women giving birth to aboriginal kids. White men sexually abusing aboriginal women would be based on their needs to eliminate these communities. Smith also talked about the most shocking aspect of these readings,a video game based on sexually abusing aboriginal women. This game was being marketed in 1982 by Stuart Kasten, where the game would reward the player when they raped a native or aboriginal women.

To end this post, I will post a poem written by Driskill which talks about her experiences as an Indigenous woman:

This is a Warrior Song From one poor Skin to another And I don't know what I'm lookin' for But I know I've found you These words will shuffle across concrete Will float across the Rockies To the Smokey Mountains We were stolen from We were stolen from We were stolen from our bodies We were stolen from our homes And we are fighters in this long war To bring us all back home And this is a Warrior Song From one poor Skin to another And I don't know what I'm lookin' for But I know I've found you U-ne-la-nv-hi U-we-tsi I-ga-gu-yv-he-yi Hna-quo-tso-sv Wi-yu-lo-se But I know I've found you [End Page 50] And this is a Warrior Song From one poor Skin to another And I don't know what I'm lookin' for But I know I've found you

by Phil

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DISCUSSION

Monique: This post got me thinking about practice of eugenics (def'n: the attempt to "improve" the genetic composition of the human race through extermination of a certain group of people) as it pertains to the Indigenous community. I had never taken the time to explicitly think about this before, but I have no doubt that Indigenous peoples have been fighting against systematic attempts at extermination in the name of eugenics since colonization. Firstly, as noted above, the high frequency of the rape of Indigenous women, perpetrated by white males, could be understood to be a means of "whitening the Indigenous race". Furthermore, most of us have heard of the systematic forced sterilization of Indigenous women in hospitals and doctors' offices that happened in the first half of the 20th century. These horrific crimes against humanity, in my opinion, have blatantly eugenic motivations. Can you think of any other injustices that have been perpetrated against Indigenous women for presumably eugenic aims? Cheers, Monique Harvison.

Grace:

Yes, it seems that as much as possible, society tries to "suppress the Indigenous in us". By this I simply mean the manner in which we are so ready to deem someone to be less or more Indigenous depending on their exact bloodlines.-- and having strict regulations to become "status Indian". Monique I think you have rightfully pointed out how rape can be considered a "means of whitening the Indigenous race". As we have previously mentioned in our weekly discussions, there is a long standing history of the white men trying to come between the Indigenous men and women-- thereby attempting to dilute Indigenous unity.

Grace Di Cesare

Justine: This is probably one of the saddest entries to read, because it shows just how brutal sexualization within a colonial context can be. I also feel like the articles speaks to the overarching theme of the body as well as women's rights to their bodies and their own spaces.

Justine

BLOG POST #3 Decolonizing Gender and Sexuality

In this week's readings we learned about decolonizing gender and sexuality through the opinions and thoughts of many interesting authors that discussed issues in the past that are also present today. Chris Finley's "Decolonizing the Queer Native Body and Recovering the Native Bull-Dyke Bringing "Sexy Back" and out of Native Studies' Closet" discussed colonizations effect on Native peoples sexual beliefs and how this group of people is still oppressed because of history today. Some key points Finley brought up were:

- In Native Studies, gender is more heavily discussed than sexuality because sexuality is a difficult, unapproachable topic.

- There is shame and uneasiness when discussing sex and sexuality and this originates from residential boarding schools where children were sexually abused and had there beliefs on there own culture's sexuality taken away.

- Colonialism took away Native sexuality and their beliefs and assimilated them into normative ones, taking away acceptance for things like two spirited peoples

- Sexual Violence is a large issue for Natives which is another result from colonialism

- Finley also brought up that Non-native pedophiles target native children because there is less change that they’ll be brought to justice.

This reading really demonstrates just how much colonialism took away from Native sexuality. It shows how Native people are still negatively affected today from colonialism and assimilation. Any feminist can identify that it is extremely important to reflect on how tragic it is to lose ones sexual identity and be forced to have labels and to be told who you love is wrong. This reading is extremely important to this class because it not only demonstrates that this is still an issue today, but offers the thought of resolution or "how to get sexy back"

It's so easy to still find cases of racism, harrassment and oppression in the media and online today. The NorthEast Two-Spirit Society is still fighting to get rid if this type of racism against two spirited people. More feminist groups and equal rights groups need to join together and help them with this struggle.

Above is a photo is of Thomas Moore, a young native boy before and after his entrance into a Residential school. This picture is really important to this weeks topic of decolonizing gender and sexuality because from these two photos you can see the impact colonization and assimilation had on this boys gender and sexuality. His name has been changed, his clothes changed, his hair was cut and even his stance is different. The difference in the background's in each photo should also be noted. This picture demonstrates the severe impact residential schools had on Native children and it's effects are still seen in the Native community today.

Some important quotes to take away from Michelle Cameron's “Two-Spirited Aboriginal People: Continuing Cultural Appropriation by Non-Aboriginal Society" are:

- "The term two-spirited has a specific cultural context, and removing it from that context simply because one likes the meaning of it is an act of colonization and must be resisted. " (Cameron, 123)

- "Aboriginal sexuality was based on multiple genders, at least three, but up to six." (Cameron, 124)

- " As Fiona Meyer-Cook and Diane Labelle state, "Two-Spirited people are seen in the same light as sin and sexual abusers" (39)" (Cameron, 124)

- Aboriginal two-spirits have identities that operate outside of the western dichotomy of sex orientation and gender. Many of the words for two-spirited were lost from various First Nation groups due to the imposition of Christianity, and dominant society." (Cameron, 126)

Pocahantas Myth

Pocahantas is an extremely popular children's Disney movie that contains racist behaviour and promotes beliefs colonialism created. Finley discusses the wrongful portrayal of Native women in this movie by demonstrating that Disney is promoting myths like :

- Native women cannot make choices for themselves

- they cannot control their bodies or sexuality

- Native women should reproduce with white men,(therefor there children would be considered white)

- it is natural and normal for Native women to love white men and to want them to conquer their bodies and culture

In Finley's reading these myths and many others are discussed and proven that this is not a proper representation of history and how native women were treated and definitely not an active portrayal of what they wanted.

by Sam

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DISCUSSION

Monique: One of the things that stood out to me from this post was your quote: "Aboriginal sexuality was based on multiple genders, at least three, but up to six." (Cameron, 124). How interesting! Western culture seems to just be becoming tolerant of the LGBTQ community and look how progressive Indigenous communities have been all along. What else do you think Western society can learn from Indigenous communities?

Cheers! Monique Harvison.

Grace:

I really liked this weeks reading by Finley. I had not previously considered the affect of colonialism on sexuality. Colonizers made the Native men out to be "unmanly" and less desirable than the white man and assured that the Native women remained available for their pleasure. Progressive Indigenous communities that pre-date Western ones are extremely eye-opening. Even today, the West needs to give up their enforced taboo about sex. For example, on the radio the other day I heard a song in which they bleeped out the word "sex". I think that we need to start becoming more open about sex and different sexualities. We are teaching future generations to be insecure and scared about sex. In doing so we prevent them from wanting to learn about safe sex. The openness that progressive Native communities have towards sex should be admired. Anyone agree?

Grace Di Cesare

Justine: I think we should be careful not to characterize all Native American culture as all open to sex, especially in how we define sex. I think the quote that Sam used about the danger of taking terms like 'Two-Spirit' out of historical context, and also the quote about how two-spirits have identities that operate outside of the western dichotomy of sex orientation and gender is really important. Personally while I think their views on sexuality and gender were great---I don't want to fall into the trap of not acknowledging that those views and beliefs have developed along with the Aboriginal community (and of course the impacts that colonialism has had on those developing views), I feel like I should aslo mention that the Aboriginal community is in no way responsible for teaching western contemporary society about how to be sexually open minded, when people place that onus on Native culture it plays into the narrative that firstly appropriates the culture to appease Western interests, and as mentioned in other entires(Crosby), it denies Aboriginals space anchoring them to imagery, authentic and archaic native culture-not subject to change.

Grace I think that in the same way that Aboriginal men were made unmanly and seemingly undesirable, Native women's sexuality was also warped and misconstrued in a way that defeminized and shamed any and all expressions of sexuality.

This is a video that i think interestingly sums up the juxtaposition of 'traditional' native views on sexuality, against more modern (and of course not entirely representative) views within some societies today:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?list=PLB9A28696C5FE2579&feature=player_detailpage&v=lpKaP6-1Bus

Justine

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I believe it is very interesting how far a head Native communities were with accepting different gender identities. I find it very sad that when trying to assimilate and colonize their communities, Indigenous people were forced to learn not to accept LGBTQ community because that's what the white man believed. Instead of helping them develop as a stronger community, colonizers forced Indigenous communities to take a step backwards.

Phil

BLOG POST #2: JANUARY 31st 2013. INDIGENOUS FEMINISMS.

In this week’s course material we learned extensively about the complexity involved in understanding what is meant by “Indigenous feminism”. Cultural identity, decolonization and sovereignty all play a significant role in Indigenous feminist theorizing, although there is no single agreed upon definition of the concept. This week’s readings gave an overview of some of the difficulties that arise when individuals try to commensurate the aims of Indigenous sovereignty with those of feminism. As discussed by Huhndorf and Suzack, the feminist movement has historically been led by white, middle class women who have continuously dismissed the concerns of the Indigenous community (1). Conversely, Indigenous sovereignty claims identify colonial control over indigenous communities as being the central force that in fact introduced problematic tendencies, like management of women’s bodies and sexual violence, into these communities in the first place (Huhndorf and Suzack 2). If the reason feminist activism is necessary in the first place is due to white colonizers controlling Indigenous peoples, it is understandable that some Indigenous women would have a difficult time in joining the mainstream feminist movement. As discussed in class, the various waves of feminism have continuously engaged in colonizing behavior by excluding and dismissing Indigenous women’s issues of sovereignty and cultural identity as significant.

This discussion of the complexities around Indigenous acceptance of feminism got me thinking about the various ways that Indigenous feminism is “talking back” and taking action. One way is through projects such as the Boarding School Healing Project, discussed by Andrea Smith in this week’s readings (125). This project seeks to demand reparations for the continuing effects of boarding schools, as evidenced by the rampant gender and sexual violence that persists in many Indigenous communities worldwide. Although this injustice has been acknowledged by the governments of Canada and Australia, boarding schools have created a colonial legacy of violence in countries across the globe for which no apologies have yet been issued. In my research into the Boarding School Healing Project, I came upon this PDF document that provides a comprehensive discussion of the project’s aims and the historical injustices it seeks to remedy. http://www.boardingschoolhealingproject.org/files/bshpreport.pdf

Here are some of the highlighted areas of concern in the document:

1. Some countries that have had brutal histories of indigenous boarding school abuse have not addressed these legacies or provide opportunities for redress, such as in Russia or the United States. Without public acknowledgment of this history, it will be difficult to develop fruitful collaborations between states and indigenous peoples in establishing educational programs beneficial to all.

2. Funding for Indigenous education continues to be underfunded, particularly in geographically remote areas in Asia and Africa where boarding schools may not be publicly subsidized. Teachers are often poorly trained. In many areas, indigenous peoples do not receive education past the primary levels.

3. There is still a concern among many indigenous peoples that the purpose for indigenous boarding schools is to further the cultural eradication and assimilation of indigenous peoples.

4. In many areas, indigenous peoples are not actively consulted in the development of educational programs.

5. While there is an increasing emphasis on bilingual education in indigenous schools, this policy is of limited use if the affairs of that State are still conducted in the dominant language.

6. In areas where boarding schools may be necessary, there is the concern of how to address the social and family disruption that results when children leave their homes to attend schools on a residential basis.

7. In conflict-ridden areas, there are insufficient safeguards to ensure the safety of children in boarding schools, particularly girls.

8. For Nomadic peoples, even where is an attempt to build flexible school schedules around migratory patterns, these schedules are not set based on the specific patterns of particular groups.

9. While boarding schools may problematic, sometimes integrated public schools are equally problematic. In these schools, indigenous children often face extreme forms of racism and are subjected to culturally irrelevant or insensitive curricula.

10. There are often gender disparities in boarding school education. Boys are often more likely than girls to attend schools that emphasize academic education that enables economic opportunity.

Although there has been some recognition of the effects of boarding schools on gender and sexual violence in Indigenous communities, there is a need for a broad understanding of the issues pending awareness today. The Boarding School Healing Project is just one way that Indigenous feminism praxis is being carried out, and great leaps for Indigenous justice are close at hand if we can educate ourselves and align ourselves in solidarity with First Nations communities.

Works Cited

The Boarding School Healing Project. http://www.boardingschoolhealingproject.org/files/bshpreport.pdf

Huhndorf, Shari & Cheryl Suzack. “Indigenous Feminism: Theorizing the Issues”

Smith, Andrea. “Native American Feminism, Sovereignty and Social Change” Feminist Studies 31.1(2005): 116-132

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by Monique Harvison

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DISCUSSION

Monique: In reading about the tensions that arise when trying to make sense of Indigenous Feminisms, I found the key issue for many women to be: "should I fight for sovereignty, or women's rights?". Some women seem to think that fighting for one necessitates abandoning the other. As we have learned in class, this is not so! In fact, colonialism and patriarchy are inherently bound together, and in order to de-colonize we must deconstruct structures of patriarchy simultaneously. What did you find to be the central source of tension for conceptualizing the term Indigenous Feminisms, and how can this be overcome?

Cheers! Monique Harvison.

Grace:

Yes, Native women have often determined that given their intersectionality they can only fight one oppression at a time. Considering the history of boarding school and the consequential loss of identity and deterioration of culture, it is understandable that Native women aim their focus at first reviving their Native identities before moving onto their oppressions as female subjects of patriarchy. As Monique has pointed out and as we have learned in class, colonialism and patriarchy go hand in hand. Colonizers forced assimilation on the Native populations and in doing so brought their Western conceptions of male and female gender roles, which effectively suppressed women. It is hard to theorize about Indigenous Feminisms, and I am therefore not sure what exactly the mode of action in conquering their oppressions should be. Methods of de-colonization have been vastly discussed with academics in opposition with one another regarding the solution. Can any other group members provide some insight?

Grace Di Cesare

Justine: I've done some readings in my other class that discuss solidarity between Native women's groups and non-native groups seeking to help. This particular article calls for solidarity but on Native-terms. I agree with a lot of what it says, particularly on a emphasis on self-determination. The article calls for more ownership and self-government by aboriginal communities themselves in the decolonization movements however it also highlights the importance of the privilege that non-natives have within this movement, and calls for participation on their part to acknowledge this privilege as well as the flaws in teh system that continue the oppression of indigenous peoples.

Justine

BLOG POST #1. JAN 24TH. SITUATING INDIGENEITY. Indigenous Representations as a Fashion Statement.

In the world of popular culture, Native American headdresses have been an increasingly common fashion trend. Within tumblr itself, the negative appropriation of Native American identities on white models is quite common. In November 2012, Victoria’s Secret had one of their runway models wear a traditional Native American headdress which caused quite an uproar. The picture above is of Karlie Kloss, the model who accepted and wore the company’s design. Throughout history, headdresses have been worn to symbolize respect by Native American war chiefs. The headdresses were often earned through acts of courage or compassion. The headdresses are also used in Native American ceremonies, often accompanied by prayers. Though Victoria’s Secret has released statements to communicate their regret, this story still continues to spark controversy. Horrifyingly enough, some people getting involved in the issue are stating that the Native Americans should “get over it”, and thought that Kloss’ attire was simply artistic. Navajo Nation’s communicated that “We have gone through the atrocities to survive and ensure our way of life continues... Any mockery, whether it’s Halloween, Victoria’s Secret-- they are spitting on us. They are spitting on our culture, and it’s upsetting”. (http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/11/13/victoria-secret-apologizes-after-use-native-american-headdress-in-fashion-show/)

In GNDS 340 we have begun to learn about identity. In Hilary N. Weaver’s article, she describes three facets to identity: self identification, community identification, and external identification. In other words, one must discover the elements to their own being on a personal level, where that fits into to their community, and how this effects the federal bodies within which one belongs. As Weaver mentions, negative stereotypes have a powerful influence on identity. Native American communities have faced huge amounts of oppression since colonization. Their identities have often been defined for them, by those who have no basis for understanding. By taking elements of a traditional culture and using them to make a fashion statement on the runway, we are once again attempting to steal elements of such a diverse culture and make them our own. No attention is paid to the implications of the misappropriation of such a historic and fluid identity.

Our group finds a problem with the way that those who do not have the same positionality or experience as the Native Americans decide to appropriate someone else’s identity as their own, through wearing a headdress. Upsettingly, on the Huffington Post UK website, they created this poll which had some disturbing results:

Do you think it was racist for Victoria's Secret to use a headdress in it's lingerie show?

YES-------- 30.7%

NO---------69.3%

(http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2012/11/14/victorias-secret-apologises-racist-native-american-headdress-no-doubt-video_n_2129679.html)

If we fail to notice the problems within the use of Native American headdress in unrelated popular culture, we will continue the spiral of oppression against such a targeted community.

Navajo Clothing Line at Urban Outfitters

Similarly, the clothing store Urban Outfitters has launched a line of clothing supposedly derivative of Navajo dress. Sasha Houston Brown, a descendent of the Dakota peoples had this to say: “As a Native American woman I am deeply distressed by your company’s mass marketed collection of distasteful and racially demeaning apparel and decor. I take personal offence to the blatant racism and perverted cultural appropriation your store features this season as “fashion”.

Reference:

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2051370/Furious-Native-Americans-force-Urban-Outfitters-remove-Navajo-description-fashion-items.html#axzz2Jmh9vrfc

by Grace

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DISCUSSION

Monique:

This is a really interesting issue! In the context of what we have been discussing in class, these native appropriations are clearly problematic because they feature white women (who have benefitted from colonialism) appropriating Indigenous dress not out of respect for their culture and sacred symbolism, but for the "exoticism" that it adds to their personal style. What I find problematic is that this is entirely removed from Indigenous culture; there is no engagement with the issue of colonialism or an effort to show an understanding of the meaning behind the Native dress whatsoever. Do you find this to be problematic or not? For what reasons? How far do you think that "native appropriation" can go before it is too much? Are feather earrings, for example, OK? Cheers! Monique Harvison.

Grace:

I completely agree with you, Monique. I definitely disagree with both Urban Outfitters and Victoria's Secret's decision to use traditional Native American apparel to fuel an oppressive fashion trend for the sake of business. This blog post was a difficult one for me considering the density of the material, and as you rightfully pointed out-- where the line is drawn between what is acceptable and what isn't? We have to consider when it is appropriate to engage in the traditions of other cultures that we may be interested in, or even identify with on some sort of level. I think that the first step in assuring that we are not misappropriating one's identity is, as you mentioned, recognizing the history behind it. Victoria's Secret and Urban Outfitters blindly marketed a fashion trend without any acknowledgement of their privileged positionality through colonialism. The West has a long-standing history of taking what does not belong to them, and misappropriating Native American dress is a contemporary example of that.

Grace Di Cesare

Justine: This is an interesting topic to me, because I recently discovered a case of cultural appropriation happening very close to home. I don't know if you guys have ever visited the store modern primitive or not, but I recently went there with a friend and its was an eye opening experience to really take a step back and look at the ideas the store was basing itself on. It had a collection of culturally and religiously significant material from all over the world, but the store was run by an older white couple, we even engaged them qith questions about some of their objects--for example some religious hindu imagery or statues of Buddha, they never claimed to be selling any of their products under religious pretences however they seemed reluctant to acknowledge their positionality within the grander scheme of things. Much like this post and your comments talk about stores like modern primitive fail to recognize or even acknowledge the issue of colonialism, so yeah basically an example of these appropriations and it again shows how rampant and unchecked it is given just how many of us participate without sometimes realizing.

Justine

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I am personally extremely against people using religious or spiritual pieces as a fashion statement. I agree with some of the readings and believe that it spits on a the culture and true meaning of the object. To use the headdress in the Victoria's Secret fashion show is appalling to me. Headdresses were earned through native ceremonies, or things like acts of courage, not as a fashion piece. I think that this really does spit on the culture.

If anyone has a chance, watch the music video Ride by Lana Del Rey. During her lyrics "I'm tired of feeling like I'm f***ing crazy" she's wearing a Native headdress, dancing around a fire, and drinking. This is just another example of how the media is spitting on the Native culture.

Justine: I used to work at Modern Primitive, and I can admit at the time I had no idea of any religious or cultural meaning to most of the jewellery, which is really wrong. I should not have been allowed to sell those items. I think that it is very disturbing that they are selling religious cultural items, without knowing the true meaning. It is an example of ignorant colonialism in our society today.

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