Amplifying Indigenous Voices
It is essential to see voice as a complicated phenomenon. There is no unified subject that can be identified as 'Indian'. Indigenous voice(s) is a complex matter of gender and multiple consciousness[es]... Each of the distinct First Nations, such as the Mohawk, Cree, Dene, Métis, Saulteaux, Mi'kmaq, Gitksan and so on, have their own languages and traditions.
As Canadians increasingly begin to recognize Indigenous people, new forms of misrepresentation have emerged to obscure unique circumstances, identities, gender, and specific calls to justice. Monture-Angus recognized this and calls for deeper engagement with the multiplicity of Indigenous knowledges. Monture-Angus is also speaking to Indigenous people, encouraging an exploration of tensions in our own thinking around nationhood, colonialism, and racialization. Embracing the complexity and diversity of our lived experiences is foundational to designing a decolonial future.
Learn more and take action:
- Rise and indigenise with Sarain Carson-Fox (opens in new window)
- "How to Steal a Canoe", (external link, opens in new window) a short video by Leanne Betasamosake Simpson
- CBC Indigenous' Original Voices (external link, opens in new window) videos and language map
- Patricia Monture-Angus (2008). Women's words: Power, identity, and Indigenous sovereignty. (external link, opens in new window) Canadian Woman Studies 26(3/4): 154-159.
Recognition for us is about presence, about profound listening, and about recognizing and affirming the light in each other as a mechanism for nurturing and strengthening internal relationships to our Nishnaabeg worlds. It is a core part of our political systems because they are rooted in our bodies and our bodies are not just informed by but created and maintained by relationships of deep reciprocity.