Learn, Teach, Challenge: Approaching Indigenous Literatures

by Deanna Reder (Editor), Linda M. Morra (Editor)

Overview

This is a collection of classic and newly commissioned essays about the study of Indigenous literatures in North America. The contributing scholars include some of the most venerable Indigenous theorists, among them Gerald Vizenor (Anishinaabe), Jeannette Armstrong (Okanagan), Craig Womack (Creek), Kimberley Blaeser (Anishinaabe), Emma LaRocque (Métis), Daniel Heath Justice (Cherokee), Janice Acoose (Saulteaux), and Jo-Ann Episkenew (Métis). Also included are settler scholars foundational to the field, including Helen Hoy, Margery Fee, and Renate Eigenbrod. Among the newer voices are both settler and Indigenous theorists such as Sam McKegney, Keavy Martin, and Niigaanwewidam Sinclair.

The volume is organized into five subject areas: Position, the necessity of considering where you come from and who you are; Imagining Beyond Images and Myths, a history and critique of circulating images of Indigenousness; Debating Indigenous Literary Approaches; Contemporary Concerns, a consideration of relevant issues; and finally Classroom Considerations, pedagogical concerns particular to the field. Each section is introduced by an essay that orients the reader and provides ideological context. While anthologies of literary criticism have focused on specific issues related to this burgeoning field, this volume is the first to offer comprehensive perspectives on the subject.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781771121859
Publisher:	Wilfrid Laurier University Press
Publication date:	07/15/2016
Series:	Indigenous Studies
Pages:	485
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.80(h) x 1.50(d)

About the Author

Deanna Reder (Cree-Métis) is an associate professor in the Departments of First Nations Studies and English at Simon Fraser University. She serves as editor for the Indigenous Studies series at WLU Press and was one of the founding members of the Indigenous Literary Studies Association. She teaches and publishes on Indigenous theory, life writing, pop fiction, and gender and sexuality.

Linda M. Morra is a full professor in the English Department at Bishop’s Universityand the forthcoming Craig Dobbin Chair of Canadian Studies at UCD (2016-2017). She and Deanna Reder co-edited Troubling Tricksters: Revisioning Critical Conversations (WLU Press, 2010). Her most recent book, Unarrested Archives: Case Studies in Twentieth-Century Women’s Authorship (2014), was a finalist for the Gabrielle Roy Award. Canada.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements xi

Introduction Deanna Reder Linda Morra 1

I Position

1 Introduction Deanna Reder 7

2 Iskwewak Kan' Kl Yaw Ni Wahkomakanak: Re-membering Being to Signifying Female Relations Janice Acoose 19

3 "Introduction" from How Should I Read These? Native Women Writers in Canada Helen Hoy 37

4 Teaching Aboriginal Literature: The Discourse of Margins and Mainstreams Emma LaRocque 55

5 "Preface" from Travelling Knowledges: Positioning the im Migrant Reader of Aboriginal Literatures in Canada Renate Eigenbrod 73

6 Strategies for Ethical Engagement: An Open Letter Concerning Non-Native Scholars of Native Literatures Sam McKegney 79

7 A Response to Sam McKegney's "Strategies for Ethical Engagement: An Open Letter Concerning Non-Native Scholars of Native Literatures" Robert Appleford 89

8 Situating Self, Culture, and Purpose in Indigenous Inquiry Margaret Kovach 95

9 Final Section Response: "The lake is the people and life that come to it": Location as Critical Practice Allison Hargreaves 107

II Imagining Beyond Images and Myths

10 Introduction Linda M. Morra 113

11 A Strong Race Opinion: On the Indian Girl in Modern Fiction E. Pauline Johnson 121

12 Indian Love Call Drew Hayden Taylor 129

13 "Introduction" and "Marketing the Imaginary Indian" from The Imaginary Indian: The Image of the Indian in Canadian Culture Daniel Francis 139

14 Postindian Warriors Gerald Vizenor 155

15 Postcolonial Ghost Dancing: Diagnosing European Colonialism James (Sákéj) Youngblood Henderson 169

16 The Trickster Moment, Cultural Appropriation, and the Liberal Imagination Margery Fee 189

17 Myth, Policy, and Health Jo-Ann Episkenew 201

18 Final Section Response: Imagining beyond Images and Myths Renae Watchman 215

III Deliberating Indigenous Literary Approaches

19 Introduction Natalie Knight 221

20 "Editor's Note" from Looking at the Words of Our People: First Nations Analysis of Literature Jeatinette C. Armstrong 229

21 Native Literature: Seeking a Critical Centre Kimberly M. Blaeser 231

22 Introduction. American Indian Literary Self-Determination Craig S. Womack 239

23 "Introduction" from Towards a Native American Critical Theory Elvira Pulitano 255

24 Afterword: At the Gathering Place Lisa Brooks 267

25 Gdi-nweninaa: Our Sound, Our Voice Leanne Simpson 289

26 Responsible and Ethical Criticisms of Indigenous Literatures Niigaanwewidam James Sinclair 301

27 Final Section Response: Many Communities and the Full Humanity of Indigenous People: A Dialogue Kristina Fagan Bidwell Sam McKegney 309

IV Contemporary Concerns

28 Introduction Daniel Morley Johnson 317

29 Appropriating Guilt: Reconciliation in an Indigenous Canadian Context Deena Rymhs 325

30 Moving beyond "Stock Narratives" of Murdered or Missing Indigenous Women: Reading the Poetry and Life Writing of Sarah de Vries Amber Dean 341

31 "Go Away, Water!" Kinship Criticism and the Decolonization Imperative Daniel Heath Justice 349

32 Indigenous Storytelling, Truth-Telling, and Community Approaches to Reconciliation Jeff Corntassel Chaw-win-is T'lakwadzi 373

33 Erotica, Indigenous Style Kateri Akiwenzie-Damm 393

34 Doubleweaving Two-Spirit Critiques: Building Alliances Between Native and Queer Studies Qwo-Li Driskill 401

35 Finding Your Voice: Cultural Resurgence and Power in Political Movement Katsisorokwas Curran Jacobs 423

36 Final Section Response: From haa-huu-pah to the Decolonization Imperative: Responding to Contemporary Issues Through the TRC Laura Moss 429

V Classroom Considerations

37 Introduction Deanna Reder Linda M. Morra 439

38 The Hunting and Harvesting of Inuit Literature Keavy Martin 445

39 "Ought We to Teach These?": Ethical, Responsible, and Aboriginal Cultural Protocols in the Classroom Marc André Fortin 459

40 Who Is the Text in This Class? Story, Archive, and Pedagogy in Indigenous Contexts Warren Cariou 467

41 Teaching Indigenous Literature as Testimony: Porcupines and China Dolls and the Testimonial Imaginary Michelle Coupal 477

42 "Betwixt and Between": Alternative Genres, Languages, and indigeneity Sarah Henzi 487

43 A Landless Territory?: Augmented Reality, Land, and Indigenous David Gaertner 493

44 Final Section Response: Positioning Knowledges, Building Relationships, Practising Self-Reflection, Collaborating across Differences Sophie McCall 499

Works Cited 503

About the Contributors 539

Index 547