The Right to Enjoy and the Responsibility to Understand: Reading Indigenous Literatures as a Settler Written by Alex Gallaway It’s human instinct to avoid a feeling of displacement at all costs, and for good reason, too. Nobody wants to feel as though they’re intruding on something they aren’t a part of – it naturally makes us feel like an imposter, a burden. While Indigenous literatures are an essential piece of Indigenous Resurgence in a field that is often settler-dominated, there are still several people, even avid enjoyers of storytelling and literature, who distance themselves from these works. It wasn’t difficult to notice that the Indigenous Literature classes I took this…
The announcement by President Mahon was a victory for Nathan Crow and to many students on campus who aligned with his mission to prevent Widdowson from speaking publicly to the University of Lethbridge students. To Widdowson, this was merely another roadblock she would have to overcome.
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The Meliorist, along with our University of Lethbridge partners, recognizes the first National Day of Truth and Reconciliation. We encourage everyone today to take time and look into the history, impacts, injustices, and current events surrounding Indigenous communities. While the unmarked graves are a recent revelation, the trauma from these events has impacted Indigenous communities for generations. The Meliorist is committed to raising Indigenous voices and perspectives while working with Indigenous partners, and all Canadians, on the path towards truth, justice, and reconciliation. This article was written by Rebecca Martin WARNING: This story contains distressing details. The Indian Residential Schools Resolution Health Support Program hotline (1-866-925-4419) and the 24-hour national…
This article was written by Liam Devitt The land that we call ‘Canada’ was not always called so. The history of Canada is the history of settler colonialism—the sustained project of the displacement and replacement of this land’s Indigenous peoples with white colonizers to further the goals of white, imperial capital. As much as some would like to ignore it, this is Canada’s past and present. This month’s essay will provide a short introduction to settler colonialism as a term, and relate it directly and critically to national myths. This essay is in no way intended to be expansive or exhaustive in its examination of settler colonialism. Rather, my hope…
This article was written by Laurel Scott I love reading books. I also love watching movies. And who doesn’t try to convince people to watch and read the things they like and find important? This led me to the decision to start a monthly column, The Reading and Watching List, in which every month with regards to a particular theme I will create a list of notable books and movies that I think deserve your attention. I hope this sounds as interesting as I think it is, and although I feel I have good taste, maybe you have suggestions of books or movies that you think deserve to be on…
This article was written by freelance contributor Chris Millard With Wet’suwet’en, Canada currently faces its biggest challenge of reconciliation to date. Before going any further, I would like to state that I do not speak for the Wet’suwet’en nation. I do not speak for any Indigenous nation. They are not homogenized. They are sovereign. They have their own laws, practices, and interests. It is my responsibility as a white settler on Treaty 7 territory to learn more about Indigenous ways of life present in this region—and every region—and to respect their practices. There are blockades on railways across the nation, shutting down CN Rail in parts of the country for the…
In a letter dated June 19, 1918, A. Desnomie, an Indigenous soldier wrote: “…as we all say here, we never retire but recoil.” His writings reflect a sense of pride in fighting for England and Canada. Speaking about the other Indigenous soldiers with him, Desnomie notes that they were “all well and ready to get after the Fritz again.” Indigenous soldiers participated in the Great War in comparable numbers to Anglo-European Canadians.
