Self Determination Wildcat Analysis

Wildcat’s article “The Question of Self-Determination” explains that self-determination is when one freely chooses to act or think a certain way. He then examines in great detail the question of what does self-determination really mean for Indigenous Peoples? Wildcat states that Indigenous self-determination commences with consideration for the relations around us whether they are political, social, economic or spiritual in nature. The article also explains that education is in and of itself an assimilation process as it forces differently minded people to conform to the dominant Western culture. It is clear that this is where problems have been arising because one culture cannot determine what is best for another culture. Wildcat proposes
Wildcat explains that through the Indigenous perspective power is a qualitative aspect, which shapes our thoughts, desires, habits, and actions. This point of view is different from that of the Western world, where power is quite often seen as a quantitative measure of wealth or education. Wildcat makes an interesting statement when he explains that many non-Native persons saw Indigenous North American societies possessing something they found to be admirable and lacking in their own Western societies: generosity and social well-being. It is apparent that although the Indigenous and Western worldviews were vastly differently in many areas there was much that could still be learned from one another. In the section place, Deloria mentions the importance of finding meaning in a place if humans as a whole want to improve conditions on this planet. The importance of place is not simply the connection of things, resources or objects to one another, but it is where processes of collaboration between other living beings or other non-human beings can occur. On the concept of personality, Deloria explains that each of us is never exactly in the same place as someone else, our personalities and our experiences are unique to us. She further describes that because the world is so diverse the best place to start understanding this reality of differences is with critical reflection within our own experiences, which is crucial because self-determination also requires reflection. It is through this process of critical reflection that self-determination is reflected in two important senses. The first being we must have an understanding of who we are and our unique role in the world. The second is to focus on the relations and connections that influence who we are and our personality. Wildcat then