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  • Sewing a shirt on a button: The pseudoarchaeology of 1491 (Pt. 2)

    Monks Mound

    In part one of my critique of the book 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus by Charles C. Mann, I noted how Mann’s writing was influenced by a political agenda common in Native Studies — one that denies the developmental gap that existed between aboriginal and European societies before contact. More advocate than scientist, Mann is a purveyor of what’s known as “pseudoarchaeology,” a practice where evidence is selected to support a preconceived conclusion.

    Having generally described pseudoarchaeology’s main characteristics and rhetorical strategies in part one, I will now turn to Mann’s specific claims about the “civilization” of Cahokia, and how they reveal indicators of pseudoarchaeology, both in 1491 and in a number of its sources. I will do so by examining the available archaeological evidence with respect to the following four questions:

    1) Was Cahokia a “city” of 15,000 people?

    2) Were the mounds in Cahokia constructed by human beings?

    3) What were the dwellings in Cahokia like?

    4) Was Cahokia a “busy port”?

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  • When will Aboriginal issues get on the radar of Winnipeg mayoral race?

    According to the most recent Census, the “census metropolitan area” of Winnipeg “had the largest Aboriginal population of any city in Canada in 2006” at 68,380 people. (Rounding out the top 3 cities are Edmonton at 52,100, and Vancouver at 40,310.)

    That works out to 10 per cent of Winnipeg’s population. And a good chunk of that population — comprised of First Nations, Métis and Inuit individuals — is made up of fairly recent additions/arrivals:

    Between 2001 and 2006, the Aboriginal population in Winnipeg grew by 22%, from 55,895 to 68,380 people. The Métis population of Winnipeg grew by 30% over this time period, while the First Nations population grew by 13%.

    A tenth of the population is no tiny pocket of people. Which makes me wonder: why has there seemingly been no discussion of Aboriginal issues in this city’s mayoral race so far?

    An admittedly cursory look over the similarly cursory website for incumbent Sam Katz revealed no specific mention of Aboriginal people or how broader civic issues might specifically concern or affect them. An equally quick survey of his main challenger’s site, that of Judy Wasylycia-Leis, also came up dry in this regard.

    The vote is 7 weeks away. That’s still a fair bit of campaign time left, but it’ll go by quickly, no doubt. Will Aboriginal issues be left by the wayside? Let’s keep our eyes and ears open for what, if anything, the two candidates put forth in the way of policy proposals that address the specific needs of Winnipeg’s Aboriginal population.

    Meanwhile, why don’t we give Sam and Judy a hand? Whether you’re a Winnipegger or not, consider this your chance to lead the discussion on what kinds of policy and services any North American city with a large Aboriginal population should offer its First Nations/Métis/Inuit citizenry.

    In fact, let’s just open the discussion right up and ask: should there even be an Aboriginal-specific component to mayoralty campaigns in cities with large Indigenous populations? If so, what might these Aboriginal-specific issues be?

    We eagerly await your comments.

    POST-SCRIPT: Of course, there are other Winnipeg mayoral candidates and I am utterly guilty of leaving them off my radar. The other 4 people in the running for the mayor’s chair may be found at WinnipegElection.ca.

    Looking over their sites, I found only one reference to Aboriginal people, in the Discussion section of candidate Avery Petrowski’s Facebook group ‘Avery for Mayor.’ It was under his platform plank ‘Law Enforcement,’ wherein he mentions the need for “Increasing public relations training to [police] officers. Especially with Aboriginal Issues.”

    UPDATE: Sept 13, 2010

    Lo and behold, the Winnipeg Free Press reported today that Wasylycia-Leis promised that, if elected, she

    “would use city workers to mentor or train [120] at-risk people and ex-offenders to help the city re-pave back lanes, prune trees, board up derelict buildings [etc.] … She suggested Ottawa and Manitoba may help out through job-training programs for Aboriginal youths at risk of becoming involved in gangs.”

    Sam Katz’s reported response: that “the city already funds a variety of Aboriginal job-training programs.”

    UPDATE: Sept. 14, 2010

    One factor obviously constraining any political promises are the jurisdictional limits placed on any Canadian city, i.e., limits on the kinds of laws they can enact and enforce. Consulting the City of Winnipeg Charter Act, we see that its “spheres of jurisdiction” or authority (listed in Part 5) include:

    • Public Convenience (i.e., public nuisances)
    • Health, Safety and Well-Being
    • Activities in Public Places
    • Streets
    • Activities of Businesses
    • Buildings, Equipment and Materials
    • Construction in Floodway and Floodway Fringe Areas
    • Waterways
    • Water
    • Waste
    • Public Transportation
    • Ambulance Services
    • Fire Protection
    • Police
    • Arbitration in Collective Bargaining with Police Services

    Thus far, crime — and therefore the capacity to deal with it via the police — seems to have emerged as the campaign’s number one issue. It certainly gains quick and easy traction with the media desperate for any angle of interest to audiences.

    And as Aboriginal people know all too well, justice (including its application and administration) is a very real concern on both sides of the equation, whether we are victims of crime or offenders. My question is, have the factors that have led Aboriginal people to experience disproportionate rates of victimization/imprisonment been properly understood and identified by any of the mayoral candidates? If so, to what extent do their recommended policies improve the situation?

    [ Image via deonandan.com ]


  • Disrobing the Politics of Cultural Difference

    A new voice has entered the fray in the mediaINDIGENA-hosted debate over theoretical understandings and practical implications of culture — in particular, the contentious idea that cultures can and ought to be compared and evaluated against one another.

    Here, the intellectual and political dispute centers around federal policy regarding First Nations in Canada, a debate that’s been controversially re-ignited by the book Disrobing the Aboriginal Industry: The Deception Behind Indigenous Cultural Preservation. Among the book’s core arguments: the assertion that on-going “native problems” have a “cultural basis.”

    That was too much for mediaINDIGENA‘s Niigonwedom Sinclair, who penned a review highly critical of Disrobing. That prompted a rebuttal by one of Disrobing‘s co-authors, Dr. Frances Widdowson. In it, she criticized Sinclair’s citation of Charles C. Mann’s 1491: New Revelations of the Americas Before Columbus. Mann subsequently responded. Last week, Widdowson counter-responded.

    Now, University of Manitoba sociology professor Dr. Christopher Powell shares his extended critique of Widdowson’s most recent post and related comments.

    * * *

    After reading Dr. Widdowson’s interpretation of my comment about her most recent piece, I asked mediaINDIGENA whether I might be permitted space for a longer response, and I am grateful to have this opportunity to more fully address her arguments.

    In making their argument against Canada’s so-called “Aboriginal industry” — allegedly comprised of self-serving non-Indigenous lawyers and bureaucrats (and some Indigenous political leaders) who enrich themselves by encouraging Indigenous peoples to invest time, money and energy into the misguided pursuit of land claims and self-government — Widdowson and Howard chose to describe Indigenous cultures as ‘inferior’ to those of the European colonizers. In posts on this very site, Widdowson has called Indigenous peoples “savages” and “barbarians,” an attitude she has tried to present as scientifically justified.

    As a social scientist myself, I therefore have a personal concern with how Widdowson invokes science to justify her own politics. Allow me then to state here my own political agenda: to do my best to ensure that readers of this website not make the mistake of believing that the only choice before them is to either buy into a view of science that devalues Indigenous culture, or to ignore/devalue science itself.

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  • More youth, less education: What’s wrong with this picture?

    Some recent tweets by RezSuperstar and YorkAboriginalU have alerted me to a disturbing, decade-long trend in federal support for First Nations students.

    According to the Chiefs of Ontario‘s Summer 2009 newsletter, an internal Indian and Northern Affairs Canada audit published last spring January reveals a less-than-rosy picture regarding the number of Status Indians attending post-secondary (i.e., university and college) institutions in Canada.

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  • Why are First Nations still paying Harmonized Sales Tax (HST) in Ontario?

    Remember when I said that, beginning Sept. 1, the province of Ontario was going to be honouring point-of-sale tax exemptions for its (8%) portion of the 13% Harmonized Sales Tax (HST)?  Well, it seems some retailers didn’t get the message.

    While shopping today, I flashed my trusty Secure Certificate of Indian Status at both Walmart and Home Depot and was denied the 8% exemption at both places.

    At Walmart, the clerk told me she wasn’t sure that they were going to be giving the exemption, while at Home Depot I was told politely to hang on to my receipt since their system hadn’t yet been updated to give the exemption.

    Turns out I’m not alone.  Wawatay News is reporting that many other First Nations people in Ontario are being forced to pay the full HST by retailers.

    According to the article, Anishinabek Nation Grand Council Chief Patrick Madahbee has a message for those retailers:

    “That was part of the deal we negotiated with Ontario: they accepted responsibility for ensuring that all businesses in the province complied with their tax regime. We showed Ontario that we were prepared to take to the streets to fight for our rights. We are also prepared to fight for our rights in stores and malls, if necessary.”

    [ Image via HSTpetition.com ]