Indigenous people in the USA and Canada

Anglais – topics in british and north america studies

indigenous studies in canada and the united states

names can have great power = the power of naming used by colonizers was a great power over the natives

its time for the natives in north america to reclaim their name and the power of naming themselves

→ canada : indians + bribes

→ called themselves first nations , native bands

→ rename themselves today indigenous peoples of canada , native nations

→ native activists : people of the turtle island

→ in the usa : indians

→ renamed themselves native americans, native peoples of america , american indians , american navajos , american lakota, indian...

western myths about the natives

the power of evocation and representation used by colonizers

the noble savage as seen by westerners who were seeking to return to « the golden age »

→ western explorers believed they had stepped back in times to the « original » times of the earth

→ the noble savage

→ a peaceful native (no original violence) who killed only to eat or to defend his family

→ the brave = a spiritual , mystic guardian of the land

→ he lived in harmony with nature (golden age)

→ the icon of america’s wilderness (a child or a creature of nature)

→ as if he was part of « wildlife » himself

→ often represented by european artists as having some « natural » skills to survive in nature

the savage indian « a good indian is a dead indian »

→ at the beginning of the 17th c, first clashes with bative warriors fighting for their land to push away the european invaders

→ in the 19th c , with the conquest of the west : natives were called « redskins » and described as blood thirsty creatures carrying

→ a long-lasting stereotype (=the longest legacy) in popular american culture (pop culture) through paintings,photographs and hollywood films

the « vanishing indian » / « to kill the indian in the child »

mid 19/20 c

→ canadian and american authorities hoped that the indians will soon be eradicated or at least vanish culturally

→ they belonged to the past

→ a dying race

→ all must be assimilated to western ways and culture with the help of residential schools, the end of the conquest of the plains with bloody battles against the lakota-sioux now parked on reserves

→ a time when archeologists and anthropologists stole artefacts and totem poles to sell them to museums before the indian race became extinct

the hollywood indian

→the « wild west show » with buffalo bill and sitting bull in the late 19th c

→ stereotypes of the plains indians = celebrating the conquest of the wild west by white americans

→ completely ignoring the cultural diversity of the many tribes in north america

→ representation of the savage indian and triumph of the cowboys / settlers culture

→ change in representation in the 1990s = indian = a powerless romantic character

→ 21st = defending the natives view = providing a native perspective on the history of the conquest of the west

21 st century / people of the land

→ recognition of the value of their native animistic philosophy

→ their tribal and ancestral wisdom much sough after

→ tourists in « sweat lodge » seeking holistic or healing experiences / sweat lodge to cleanse the body, mind and soul

→ natives = conversation with western nations around nature preservation and sustainable solutions to protect the environment

→ western nations now learning from natives frugality natives collective sustainable economy + natives respect towards mother earth

claiming theri self-determination in the 1970s

→ self determination = indigenous peoples claimed the rights to control their lives and their natives culture

→ some public demonstrations

→ restoration of tribal community through self-government

→ cultural renewal (sundance, ghost dance)

→ control over reservation land development

→ control over education (teach their language)

...