Bridges By Grid Foer: Summary

Chelsea Vowel in her book Indigenous Writes speaks about how with the shift of more Aboriginal peoples moving from isolated environments where the notion of being allowably indigenous comes into play. The concept details how Canadians are used to seeing Indigenous peoples through a very pigeon-holed view of their culture and identity. More often than not, this view comprises of Indigenous peoples expressing their culture “within the context of cultural celebration” (68).

Unique traditions, language, beliefs and values all comprise Indigenous culture. It is critical that a meaningful appreciation of their culture

     While reading this book I found myself making notes on how I disagree with certain topics but I didn’t realize until I was about half way through that there were many good points made. Some of the good points I did notice can be found in every chapter

Chelsea Vowel's book "The Myth of Progress" (2016), explains that Canada has a long way to go to overcome the harmful and prevalent stereotypes about Indigenous people. The author supports this argument by discussing how the portrayal of Indigenous peoples in Canadian media has hardly changed over the last 200 years. Based on the language and subject matter, it's clear that the intended audience of this piece is Canadians both Indigenous and non-Indigenous.

Popular culture has shaped our understanding and perception of Native American culture. From Disney to literature has given the picture of the “blood thirsty savage” of the beginning colonialism in the new world to the “Noble Savage,” a trait painted by non-native the West (Landsman and Lewis 184) and this has influenced many non native perceptions. What many outsiders do not see is the struggle Native American have on day to day bases. Each generation of Native American is on a struggle to keep their traditions alive, but to function in school and ultimately graduate.

During the end of the nineteenth century, the United States had formed policies which reduced land allotted to Native Americans. By enforcing these laws as well as Anglo-American ideals, the United States compromised indigenous people’s culture and ability to thrive in its society.

In this research paper, I will be explaining how western colonialism and racism destroyed the reputation of aboriginal peoples in Canada. The reason why I chose this topic because it shows the strong relationship to anthropology and after taking aboriginal studies 30, it also shows that I have a clear understanding about the history of aboriginal peoples in Canada, the struggles they have been through over the past decade and the challenges they still face today in modern day society. I’ll be addressing these issues in a couple of paragraphs on the discrimination and the inequalities of these “minorities” and how they had to assimilate into European culture, leaving their way of life behind them.

These stereotypical binaries of the childlike and savage Indian are directly linked to the narratives of white settler society and colonization. Essentially, by classifying all First Nation cultures under a monolith of a few stereotypes the white setter society claimed dominance over the First Nation peoples as they created the lens through which the First Nation’s history and identity would be read. The influence of the press and government policies lead to the acceptance of these stereotypes as defining truths about First Nations people which aided the settler societies in solving the Indian problem by destroying what it meant to be Indian. In this way, the stereotypes not only developed the idea of assimilation to save the Indian, but they

Vance (1995) stated, “For nearly 500 years there has been a very oppressive, dishonest and manipulative message being voiced by the dominant white Angelo culture towards Native Americans, This has caused a great distrust, anger and conflicting attitudes for the Native American community” (p.1).

Discrimination of Aboriginal culture and way of life has also been a pressing issue during the years between 1945 and 2010. Canada, as nation that promotes equality, has done a terrible job demonstrating it. False stereotypes and perceptions of Native American people are very common in society today and back then. It is most common in the media because it is seen by almost everyone and has a considerable influence on peoples perspective on an idea, whether their aboriginal or not. Media reaches everywhere, from movies to the new and from advertisement to literature, it gets coverage. In the media aboriginals only ever get minor roles with a lack of identity in their characters, but when they are recognized, they are seen as

Thomas King’s The Inconvenient Indian tells the story of Indigenous people in Canada and the United States, it challenges the narrative on how Indigenous history is taught and explains why Indigenous people continue to feel frustrated. King’s seeks to educate the reader as he provides a detailed accounts of the horrific massacres Indigenous people endured, yet he simultaneously inserts humorous moments which balances out the depressing content and enhances his story. The books highlights the neglect and assimilation that Indigenous were subjected to and how their survival was seen as an inconvenience to western culture. King directs his message at a Euro-centric audience to offer an accurate explanation of Indigenous culture and

in British Columbia and the Chicago’s World’s Fair”, explains how the Canadian colonialism’s selfishness affected the Kwakwakawakw’s life. The white’s expectation of the Aboriginal to be authentic in ‘their way’, not in the Aboriginal’s way prevented the Kwakwakawakw from inventing their own future; the white categorized the Aboriginal people with their own definition of Indian-ness and authenticity. According to the article, only the ‘vanishing Indians’ have the Aboriginal rights; however, the white’s invasion and frequent interference forced the Aboriginals to be modernized. The white’s demand for tradition to the Indians who will naturally be modernized

According to traditional Indigenous teachings, creation stories, and oral histories, Indigenous peoples have occupied the land, recognized today as the nation of Canada, since time immemorial. This long, deep connection to the land is central to Indigenous identity and culture. Further, in Indigenous worldview, the land is to be understood as a living spirit that is to be shared, celebrated, and respected. However, upon the “discovery” of the New World by Europeans, this understanding of the land, and the lives of the Indigenous peoples who occupied it, was forever changed by the forces of colonialism.

). With Brazil’s different states, governance, and culture, “Vargas felt that ‘the need for a strong, unifying identity was paramount’ (Shaw, 29)”. He also states, “‘nationalism presupposed that all Brazilians identified with a common destiny, with its roots in a shared past’”(Shaw, 29). So, Vargas had to find a way to unify the country. Since force was not a viable option, he attempted to ameliorate the country by instituting change into certain parts of Brazil. The country improved, surprisingly, under Vargas’s rule. But something was still missing in the unified Brazil. It lacked a national identity, one that would bring everyone together and transcend race and social class. Music and dance was known to unify Brazilians, “The white, middle

As stated by Kroff (2015), ‘Indigenous culture is based on respect, for the land and for their elders. Not showing respect is one of the biggest mistakes non-Indigenous people do