Kanien Kehaka Indigenous People Sparknotes

Indigenous storytelling can be understood as a way of both resisting and amending the dominant colonial histories that inform the subaltern position of Indigenous people within Canada, alongside a means of reclaiming identity and sovereignty within a globalized neoliberal political economy. These practices are narratives of resistance, which symbolize the cultural, political and intellectual struggles of the Indigenous people in Canada, subsequently redefining their position within society. By examining the story of the naming of Canada told by the Kanien’kehaka people of the Haudensosaunee nation, we can see how the collective values of the group are conveyed and how the development of an ethic group boundary as defined by Fredrick Barthes
This story is important because it situates Indigenous people within the historic and contemporary nation building processes of Canada and connects their original claim to the land with the the colonial injustices of Europeans. In depicting Europeans as a settler population within Canada, Indigenous people are able to redefine their identity as intrinsically linked to their original land rights. This identification conflicts with the Eurocentric portrayal of Indigeneity, which treats Indigenous Canadians as Other. In addition, this self-segregation by Indigenous populations “…implies a high degree of solidarity among group members” (Rosenberg, 24). This is crucial in creating political unity and achieving collective political aspirations. This story, in reflecting the values of the Indigenous populations within Canada as connected to access to the land, can be linked to a variety of movements within the local political landscape of Canada such as, the idle no more movement and the recent opposition to the Northern Gateway pipeline development. All of which are concerned with the issue of Indigenous land