Indigenous Self-Representation in Canada, the US and Mexico
Indigenous Self-Representation in Canada, the US and Mexico
The Centre for Canadian Studies Student Platform presents:
Native America
Indigenous Self-Representation in Canada, the US and Mexico
23 & 24 February 2012
University of Groningen, the Netherlands
In North America, where the dominant culture has created a fixed definition for “native” individuals, subjectified peoples are (re)empowering their voices and making themselves heard above the racializing racket. Through literature, film and other art forms, and through legal claims for lands crucial to their identity, how are the indigenous peoples of Canada, the United States and Mexico questioning discourses and actively affirming their presence?
This conference aims to explore current research in a variety of fields, from linguistics to politics and from anthropology to literature, focusing on issues of self-representation in native communities in Canada, the United States and Mexico. While acknowledging the politic and social differences present in the relations with native communities in these three countries, this conference also strives to create an interdisciplinary atmosphere that encourages a transnational view of current issues in Native North America, from Nunavut to Chiapas.
The conference also endeavors to discuss and dispel existing myths and stereotypes of the indigenous peoples of the Americas. How are native communities throughout the continent defining their identities on their own terms…
- Culturally? How are Native artists and writers (through literature, film, performance and visual arts) using image, language and cultural memory to dispel stereotypes of their peoples?
- Linguistically? How does the revitalization of indigenous languages provide a platform for increased cultural and political autonomy? For nations who have lost their language, how can they rework the “colonial languages” for use as vehicles of self-representation?
- Politically? In 1999, Nunavut became a recognized political entity of Canada. Official policy-making involves Inuit Qaujimajatuqangit (IQ), or traditional Inuit knowledge. How does the territory present an example of Native self-representation in the political theatre? What are its limitations?
- Commercially? How are native communities negociating the demand of the usually non-Native consumer who is attracted to “authentically Native/Ethnic” artifacts and therefore reinforces stereotypical, totalizing images of “the Indian”? How does this commercialization of “authenticity” in turn affect native cultural identity?
- Economically? How are indigenous nations negociating corporate interests in their land and resources that would develop their economies while retaining their cultural identities and healthy ecosystems?
Proposals for contributions (abstracts of no more than 250 words and a short biography) from Ph.D. candidates and researchers are welcome through 15 November 2011 at the following e-mail address: studenten.canada.let@rug.nl. Papers will be published after the conference.
