Faun Ember Rice
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Time and Story in Sahtú Self Government Intercultural Bureaucracies on Great Bear Lake by Faun Ember Rice A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts Department of Anthropology University of Alberta © Faun Ember Rice, 2016 Abstract This thesis explores aspects of self-government in Délı̨nę, NT, Canada, a Sahtú Dene community of approximately 550 people. Délı̨nę’s Final Self Government Agreement (FSGA) was passed by the federal government of Canada in 2015, and the research for this thesis coincided with the beginning of Délı̨nę’s one-year transition into self government. The FSGA follows the Sahtú Dene and Métis Comprehensive Land Claim Agreement of 1993, and the region falls within Treaty 11. This thesis’ primary question is: What are the shared stories about the future of self-government that people in Délı̨nę tell?S ubsidiary questions and themes that emerged from the research process include: How does the history of the Sahtú region inform contemporary negotiations, agreements, and the stories told about them? How do new roles created by institutions of governance impact the people who hold them? How does the text of a self-government agreement diverge from the ideas that people have about self-government? Using a combination of collaborative ethnographic methods (including participant observation, qualitative interviews, and community feedback) the material for this thesis was gathered over the course of two months, August to September of 2015. All interviews were conducted in English, though many in Délı̨nę speak Sahtú Dene (North Slavey or Athapaskan). Field data were analyzed using a qualitative coding technique then combined with a regional and topical literature review to produce the document to follow. I open with a discussion of methodology, followed by a partial history of self- determination and colonialism in Délı̨nę, from time immemorial to the beginnings of land claim agreements. Next, the Canadian state’s legal approach to self-government negotiations is examined, providing a background for some of the legal obstacles that ii Indigenous communities may face. I highlight a few key sections of the text of Délı̨nę’s Final Self Government Agreement before identifying four different ways of thinking about the future of self-government and intercultural bureaucracies, as discussed by participants in Délı̨nę. The four different approaches to self-government’s future inform accompanying stories that help individuals in the Sahtú region frame what it means to be traditional, modern, or negotiate the two, in occupation, language, economy, and lifestyle. The first identified story is that self-government is a bubble created for culture to occur within, and that the bubble may shrink or pop if the people on its edges are worn down. The second story is that Dene values, languages, and lifestyles will eventually replace colonial history and values using self-government as a framework to do so. Third, people may invoke a commitment to excel both as Dene and as bureaucrats but keep the two roles separate, being “strong like two people.” Fourth, many in Délı̨nę have faith in their community’s spiritual strength and the prophecies that will allow it to withstand exterior pressures and change those who visit for the better. This thesis’ presentation of history informs its discussion of current hurdles, structural challenges, hopes, and plans for Indigenous self- government. All three chapters are intended to be descriptive rather than prescriptive, but they conclude with thoughts about how the stories presented may be useful for people working in intercultural bureaucracies in Canada. Anthropology has been largely critical of the impact of land claims and self- government agreements on Indigenous communities’ ability to self-determine (see Coulthard 2007; Dokis 2015; Irlbacher-Fox 2009; Nadasdy 2003 for some key examples). This thesis acknowledges the structural difficulty of Indigenous self- iii determination in a colonial state, but focuses on the ways in which Sahtú Dene peoples are reinventing and inverting the dynamics of marginalization. Positioned at a unique time of transition where both hopes and trepidations about self-government’s future were running high in Délı̨nę, this thesis sketches pictures of the community’s self-envisioned paths. Self-government narratives impact human actions, policy, and lifestyles; this thesis chronicles them for their social presence and the lessons that can be derived by reflecting on them. iv Preface This thesis is an original work by Faun Rice. The research project, of which this thesis is a part, received research ethics approval from the University of Alberta Research Ethics Board, Project Name “Self-Determination in Délı̨nę: Cultural and Linguistic Revitalization in a Legal and Spatial Context,” Study ID: Pro00053105 on March 12, 2015. Additionally, Faun Rice received a Northwest Territories Scientific Research License from the Aurora Research Institute, Project Name “Self-Determination in Délı̨nę: Cultural and Linguistic Revitalization in a Legal and Spatial Context,” No. 15702 on July 06, 2015. The Northwest Territories Scientific Research License was issued with consent from Délı̨nę First Nation (Chief and Council), the Charter Community of Délı̨nę, the Délı̨nę Renewable Resource Board, and the Délı̨nę Land Corporation. v Acknowledgments This thesis was completed thanks to numerous friends, colleagues, and family members. Over the year of fieldwork, research, and writing I was lucky to have great support from many people and institutions. I would like to take the time to thank just a few of them here. First, the community of Délı̨nę, NT was very kind to host me for two months. Bernice and Morris Neyelle, along with their whole family, were wonderful and warm hosts who I can’t thank enough for their hospitality. Danny and Gloria Gaudet, Walter Bayha, Ed Reeves, Fibbie Tatti, Michael Neyelle, Gary Elemie, Edith Mackeinzo, Elsie Vital-Swanson, Steven Iveson, Raymond Taneton, Paulina Roche, and Deborah Simmons were all very supportive of my role as a student in Délı̨nę, and I would like to thank all of them for their time, energy, and friendliness. There were many other people in Délı̨nę who were very welcoming and supportive – all of the ladies who sew together at Aurora College, all of the elders who allowed me to listen to their stories, everyone involved in the place name mapping project, and far too many more to name. Mahsi cho. At the University of Alberta, I am particularly grateful for the continued support and supervision of Andie Palmer. I am also thankful for my thesis committee members, Mark Nuttall, Sarah Shulist, D’Arcy Vermette, and Joseph Hill, along with professors Jean DeBernardi and Marko Zivkovic; all of them are excellent teachers with an abundance of faith in their students. On an institutional and administrative level, I would also like to gratefully recognize the University of Alberta Department of Anthropology for supporting tuition and research trips, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada for the Canada Graduate Master’s Scholarship, Student Aid Alberta, the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research, the Northern Scientific Training Program, and UAlberta North. Each granting agency made this degree and thesis possible with its support. To friends and family: Kaitlin O’Brien was the very first one to read my first, messy, thesis draft. I owe her endless thanks for all her feedback and support. Will Tanenbaum was a close second, and might have won had I made him an audiobook version. Nadia Ady kept me on track during evenings of writing, Miriam Gross listened to me bounce ideas around, and I am lucky to know countless more fantastic people who put up with me during this time. Not least amongst them, my family read my blog, checked in on me via email, flagged grammatical mishaps (a huge thanks to Tara Nixon), and asked only good questions. Finally, my CILLDI family has been a formative part of my life and this thesis, and I hope that everyone there will continue to keep in contact. vi Contents Abstract ii Preface v Acknowledgments vi List of Figures viii Glossary of Terms ix Chapter One: Context and Regional History 1.0 Introductıon 1 1.1 Methods 3 1.2 History and Literature Review: Shaping Text and Context 10 1.3 Time Immemorial: Long Ago Stories 12 1.4 Traditional Governance: Consensus and Experience 16 1.5 Sahtú: Great Bear Lake 19 1.6 Traders, Missionaries, and Explorers: Learning to use Snow Shoes 21 1.7 Hand Games, Drums, and Dances 24 1.8 Treaty 11 27 1.9 The Early 20th Century and Port Radium 28 1.11 Skidoos and Pipelines: The Post-War Landscape 31 1.12 Regional History: Conclusion 37 Chapter Two: Modernity, Colonialism, and Recent Legal History 2.0 Introduction: Indigenous bureaucracies 39 2.1 Modernity and Indigeneity: Terms in Action 42 2.2 Traditional by Law: Legal Implications of Tradition and Modernity 46 2.3 Origins and Challenges of Indigenous Self-Government in Canada 52 2.4 Délı̨nę’s Final Self-Government Agreement 57 Interlude: First Snow 64 Chapter Three: Picturing Self-Government in Délı̨nę First Nation 3.0 Introduction 68 3.1 The Bubble: Gatekeeping or Sacrifice 72 3.2 Dene Transformations of Colonial Institutions 80 3.2a Dene transformations of Ecology, Environmental Policy, and Property 81 3.2b Dene transformations of Governance, Language and Laws 89 3.3 We are becoming “Strong Like Two [Different] People.” 96 3.4 Prophecy and Authority 104 3.5 Chapter Three: Concluding Thoughts 108 Conclusion 112 References 115 Cases Cited 125 vii List of Figures Figure 1: Yamoria's Three Pelts seen from Tulita 14 Figure 2: Cemetery looking out on lake 23 Figure 3: Drumming in the Cultural Centre 38 Figure 4: Skies Over Saoyú-Ɂehdacho 67 Figure 5: The Prophet House 82 Figure 6: Fishing on Sahtú 88 Figure 7: Reflections on Sahtú 111 viii Glossary of Terms Délı̨nę: Translated by the community as “where the water flows,” Délı̨nę is the newer official name of the charter community of Fort Franklin, though it existed as a place name for the region where Great Bear River feeds into the lake long before the settlement.