Indigenous people's cultures and traditions have been suppressed for a long time owing to cognitive imperialism and European colonization. Despite the colonial policies disadvantaging these people, they have continued to thrive and are attempting to restore their cultural heritage. In this essay, I explore the issues that have shaped the indigenous people and the steps that are being taken to reintegrate them into mainstream society.
Summary of Battiste's Main Argument
Battiste (2000, p. xvi) argues that for the last five centuries, indigenous peoples have been labeled as backward, primitive, and inferior. Colonial masters were keen on erasing their languages, identities, and cultures by using social institutions and legal frameworks to create new colonized identities. These new identities are considered oppressive as they denied the indigenous communities a chance to advance their heritage.
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The article focuses on indigenous knowledge, which is considered an integral and vital mode for transmitting oral traditions. Battiste (2000, p. xviii) notes that the Canadian Supreme Court recognizes indigenous knowledge as a legitimate way of spreading knowledge consciousness and history. For this reason, the writer feels that there is a need to embrace indigenous knowledge for scholarly, research, and academic purposes.
Battiste (2000, p. xxi) questions the Eurocentric system that is adapted to address educational equity among the indigenous people. The system has imperial underpinnings, which would perpetuate exploitation, oppression, genderism, and other forms of marginalization. There is a need to embrace a system that promotes the healing of the colonized indigenous communities around the world.
Analysis
The article provides significant insights into the issues facing indigenous communities' around the world. The author's arguments are vital since they provide multiple approaches to help the colonized indigenous people to heal from centuries, discrimination, and marginalization. The author's perspective is supported by Morin (2020a) who provide a first-hand experiences of indigenous peoples. Alsena White was forced to attend a residential school, which alienated her from her family and in turn cultural heritage. Morin notes that Canada's Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) was launched in 2008 to compensate former indigenous students like Alsena for sexual and physical abuse they underwent. This initiative is a step in the right direction as it confirms Battiste's call to reintegrate the indigenous knowledge in mainstream society.
Battiste's article focuses on ways of helping indigenous people to heal from traumatizing and discriminative colonial policies. The article establishes that the policies created a vacuum in indigenous communities set up as children were separated from their homes. Morin (2020b) focuses on April Wiberg, a 37-year-old Cree First Nation member, found herself caught up in the prostitution business. April came from a broken home considering that her mother, too, went to residential school, something that brought about trauma (Morin 2020b). A lack of a family to fall back on appears to be a significant contributor to continued discrimination and alienation from indigenous heritage. Mitchell (2012) highlights the importance of family in shaping individuals outcomes in life as a source of motivation, nurturance, socialization, and support. There is a need to implement the ideas that are presented in Battistes's article while studying Canadian families. Families are the basis of the community, and their values, histories, cultural underpinnings, and heritage define the community. There is a need to change one's perspectives about what constitutes a family in these times of rapid social and technological changes. The family should be expanded to accommodate diversity and strive to achieve equality and promote social justice for all
Reasons for Taking the Course
This course made me think about the centrality of families in determining one's life course and outcomes. The articles and readings have helped me to appreciate my family more, considering that some individuals have found themselves at the mercy of society. In as much as modern families have become dynamic, I feel that they provide the members with love, guidance, and nurturance.
References
Battiste, M. (2000). Introduction: Unfolding the lessons of colonization. In Reclaiming indigenous voice and vision (pp. xvi-xxx). UBC Press.
Mitchell, B. A. (2012). Family matters: An introduction to family sociology in Canada (3rd ed.). Canadian Scholar's Press Inc.
Morin, B. (2020a). 'Just another Indian': Surviving Canada's residential schools. Aljazeera Media Network . https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/indian-surviving-canada-residential-schools-200321120015080.html
Morin, B. (2020). Pipelines, man camps, and murdered Indigenous women in Canada. Aljazeera Media Network . https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/pipelines-man-camps-murdered-indigenous-women-canada-200412064302356.html
