Entry:
This CBC News article speaks of the power of reconciliation and how focusing on and discussing commonalities can create a community bond. In Canadian cities, newcomers and Indigenous people often live amongst each other and share a similar socio-economic class but members of each community fail to connect due to ignorance, misinformation and stereotypes perpetuated by the dominant population. However, with an effort made to create opportunities for face to face meetings and a consciously candid interaction, myths can be dispelled, historical truths and cultural traditions can be shared, thus creating an integrated community of mutual respect and understanding that eliminates the competition born out of an “us” versus “them” binary.
Rationale:
Transnational Feminisms critique concepts conceived in our capitalist, competitive culture and seeks to explore the intersectionality of heteropatriarchal oppressions. It is important to bear in mind that many newcomers to Canada were Indigenous to their homeland and were displaced due to acts of political strife, militant infiltration, war, imperialism, genocide, land expropriation and contamination, climate change, etc.
With ally ship, a strength in numbers phenomenon can occur between minority populations that can provide a voice to truths, knowledge and practices that can shake up current neoliberal norms. It is this sort of alliance, with the leadership of our Indigenous population, that is essential in exploring, nurturing and promoting alternative ways of being that could facilitate harmony amongst humans and humans and nature and restore a sense of balance that respects Mother Earth.
Keywords: reconciliation, intersectionality, Indigenous
Author: LM
Thank you so much for sharing this fascinating article and your insight on it. As we dive into conversations of borders and migration it is sometimes forgotten how people are divided within borders. In my current volunteer work (and hopefully my future career) I work with newcomers to Canada and while striving to stay aware and sensitive to the issues these people face as migrants and refugees, I also want to remain cognizant of whose lands we are on. It can be really tricky and often feels wrong to be welcoming people to this place where I am a settler on unceded territory. I like how the article draws those connections between newcomers and Indigenous peoples here and I think…
Your commentary on this issue is insightful and thoughtful. What I appreciate most about it is your ability to connect immigrant identity with Indigeneity in two ways. First, you observe that both groups live in similar conditions with one another but do not connect due to dominant societal attitudes, and secondly you suggest that immigrants may be displaced Indigenous people themselves. This is important to consider within transnational discourse, because it disrupts the binary which separates colonialism from migration, while bearing in mind that much of the territory that is so militantly bordered by the state is stolen Indigenous land. Finally, I appreciate how you integrate Indigenous ways of knowing and land-focused decolonization into your rationale. This proves that protecting…