Necessary Challenges?
December 18, 2008
As I posted a few weeks ago, the Chair of the Canadian TRC, Justice Harry LaForme has stepped down. My initial response was that this did not bode well for the TRC, that if the three Commissioners could not work out their differences, how could they deal with the complicated task of reconciling a nation?
Upon further reflection, I think this current obstacle is indeed indicative of the process that will follow, that there will be many challenges faced. But, I’ve realized that this may be necessary. How could it be any other way? The legacy of the Indian Residential Schools is a troubled and traumatic history. The process in dealing with this history will necessarily face obstacles. The history is complicated, so the process will be as well. The TRC should not attempt to simplify this part of Canadian history, or subsume it under a grander narrative. The discussions that arise out of this process will be valuable. They will illuminate some the larger issues being dealt with through the Commission. Justice LaForme mentioned that one of his reasons for stepping down is because the other two Commissioners wanted to focus more on ‘truth’ than on ‘reconciliation.’ It seems clear that the Commissioners hold different ideas regarding the definition of these two terms.
It is easy to forget that the South African Truth and Reconciliation Comission, generally applauded for helping to deal with the crimes committed under the system of apartheid, faced many obstacles and challenges through its mandate. At the same time, it thrust the idea of reconciliation into the national and international spotlight.
The Canadian TRC will continue to face obstacles, and the Canadian public will continue to both criticize and praise the motives and processes it follows. As I continue to research the national and international contexts for the Canadian TRC, one issue continues to be raised: what kind of justice comes from a truth and reconciliation commission? There are no easy answers to this question.
Our Spirits Don’t Speak English
December 9, 2008
I stumbled upon this powerful interview with Andrew Windyboy recently. It highlights that the experiences of Aboriginal people with the Indian Residential Schools is by no means confined to Canada.
Reconciliation/Multiculturalism
December 6, 2008
I had hoped to go to the Native American Language in Crisis Panel today, but am instead nursing a cold. So, I’ve decided to catch up on some reading and work on my final papers. One of the books I am currently reading is called The Politics of Reconciliation in Multicultural Societies. Edited by Will Kymlicka and Bashir Bashir, the book is a compilation of essays exploring issues of reconciliation and multiculturalism in political discourses. Kymlicka and Bashir provide an excellent introduction to the issues explored throughout the book in their chapter “Struggles for Inclusion and Reconciliation in Modern Democracies.” They note that the politics of reconciliation and the politics of difference are often theorized in academic discourses as separate phenomena and write for the need for further research on the ways they intermingle and overlap. The essays in the book do indeed explore their entanglement and in doing so raise issues of religious/secular connotations of reconciliation; discourses of human rights; justice and jurisprudence as explored through Truth and Reconciliation Commissions; and representations of these phenomena in the space of the museum. In the context of the Canadian Truth and Reconciliation Commission, the book is a timely contribution to the dynamics of nation-building, history and international indigenous rights.
Native American Languages in Crisis: A Panel Discussion
December 1, 2008
The Native People’s Forum at NYU has organized a event entitled: Native American Language in Crisis: A Panel Discussion. It’s happening at 3pm on Saturday, December 6, 2008, Room 803, Kimmel Hall, 60 Washington Square South, NYC.
From their website: Silver Professor Mary Louise Pratt will moderate a panel discussion of this issue which, according to a recent informal survey, is rated by 70% of NYC Native Americans as their greatest concern.
Other panelists include:
Carrie Garcia (Desert Cahuilla/Luiseno, Cahuilla language speaker) California Indian Basket weavers Association, Board Secretary Saboba Cultural Resources Assistant Director
Paul Miranda (Cupeno/Desert Cahuilla Cupeno language speaker) Cultural Preservationists/Activist Miki Makihara. Asst. Prof. of Anthropology, CUNY. Linguistic Anthropology, Ethnography, political economy, and ideology of language. Rapa Nui cultural and linguistic heritage.
Mary Louise Pratt. Silver Professor of Social and Cultural Analysis. Latin American literature and linguistics, cultural theory, global processes affecting language diversity.
Wes Studi (Cherokee). Actor (Geronimo, Dances with Wolves) and Spokesperson for the Indigenous Language Institute (Santa Fe).
