Hip Hop As a Contemporary Expression of Métis Culture and a Conduit to Literacy

Lakehead University Knowledge Commons,http://knowledgecommons.lakeheadu.ca Electronic Theses and Dissertations Electronic Theses and Dissertations from 2009 2017 "We're rapping, not trapping": hip hop as a contemporary expression of Métis culture and a conduit to literacy Fowler, Lucy http://knowledgecommons.lakeheadu.ca/handle/2453/4169 Downloaded from Lakehead University, KnowledgeCommons “WE’RE RAPPING, NOT TRAPPING”: HIP HOP AS A CONTEMPORARY EXPRESSION OF MÉTIS CULTURE AND A CONDUIT TO LITERACY by Lucy Fowler A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Education FACULTY OF EDUCATION LAKEHEAD UNIVERSITY THUNDER BAY, ONTARIO © Lucy Fowler 2017 Abstract There exists a common essentialized discourse about Indigenous peoples in Canada that has communities frozen in time, leaving Métis culture represented through sashes, jigging, and the fur trade. However, across the country, Métis youth are expressing themselves through hip hop culture. This thesis explores the impacts that being involved in hip hop culture, particularly the creation of hip hop, can have for the Métis young adult participants and the implications for education. It asks how hip hop culture and hip hop pedagogies can have a stimulating effect on Métis students’ educational experiences. The study uses an Indigenous métissage methodology (Donald 2009), and qualitative interview methods along with participants’ hip hop creations – rapping, beatboxing, and graffiti art—to story their hip hop engagements. Three themes emerged: how hip hop can 1) be a vehicle for identity and identifying, 2) build relationships and community, and 3) connect students to school. This study demonstrates the value that hip hop creation and consumption can hold for Métis students, and contributes to the growing body of work surrounding Indigenous hip hop in Canada. i Acknowledgements I would like to first thank my supervisor, Dr. Leisa Desmoulins of Lakehead University. Leisa empowered me to focus my research on hip hop and fought for its academic relevance. She believed in my work, my writing and myself, and showed exceptional patience while waiting for drafts. I would also like to thank Dr. Paul Berger, the Chair of Graduate Studies and Research in Education at Lakehead University. Paul never failed to champion me, and always answered my three a.m. anxiety driven emails with kindness. I would like to offer my thanks to Dr. Lisa Korteweg (committee member, Lakehead University), Dr. Connie Russell (Internal Examiner, Lakehead University) and Dr. Awad Ibrahim (External Examiner, University of Ottawa). You each brought clarity and added depth with your insightful comments. My work would not be as strong without your help. I am grateful to Mitch Case, President of the Métis Nation of Ontario Youth Council, for his unwavering support for this work (even if he can’t stand to listen to hip hop music himself). I am also grateful to the Métis Nation of Ontario, the Thunder Bay Métis Youth Council and all of my dear friends from within the MNO Community. You are such a wonderful group of people who challenge and encourage me to grow. I hope to make you proud. I would also like to thank the rest of the Red Rising Magazine Collective, for which I am so privileged to be a part. You are all some of the most incredible, brilliant, beautiful Indigenous folks and non-Indigenous accomplices I know and I learn from you each constantly. I have had the great pleasure of working with Dr. Michael Hart (University of Manitoba) for the past year, and I am so thankful for all of his guidance and his strong belief in my future role in the world of academia. I would also like to thank Dr. Niigaanwewidem Sinclair for opening the ii door to academic teaching. That opportunity has shaped my future and I am very grateful for your faith in me. To my friends and family – I love you. My grandparents (both Cowie and Pease) have had an immense influence on my life and my work. I would not have the confidence or strength that I do if it were not for you. My aunties and uncles and cousins offer me kindness when I need it and a ribbing when I need that instead. Special thanks for guidance in the world of academia to Auntie Yvonne, Auntie Dorothy and Uncle Peter, and special thanks for guidance in living my life well to Auntie Muriel. Calvin, thank you. Mitaku oyasin. Steph (and Alex!), Zack and Faith – I am so happy to have you in my life. My sisters, Lila and Mackenzie – I want every choice I make in my life to be one that makes your lives better and brighter. Distance from each other in months or kilometres could never dim the immense love I have for you both. And lastly, my mom, Laura. You have made so many sacrifices for me over the years, and I can never begin to repay that debt. I only hope you know how grateful I am to be your daughter. iii Table of Contents Abstract ........................................................................................................................................ i Acknowledgements ..................................................................................................................... ii Key Terms ..................................................................................................................................... 1 Chapter One: Introduction .......................................................................................................... 3 Personal Introduction .................................................................................................................. 3 Background of the Problem ......................................................................................................... 5 Problem Statement ...................................................................................................................... 7 Methodology ............................................................................................................................. 11 Theoretical Framework ............................................................................................................. 12 Design of Research ................................................................................................................ 13 Methods ................................................................................................................................. 13 Data Analysis ......................................................................................................................... 14 Limitations ................................................................................................................................ 14 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................. 15 Chapter Two: Literature Review .............................................................................................. 17 Hip Hop Ways of Knowing, Seeing, and Being........................................................................ 17 Hip Hop’s Spheres of Discourse ............................................................................................... 18 Indigenous Hip Hop in Canada ................................................................................................. 20 Essentialized Identities .............................................................................................................. 22 Cognitive Imperialism and the Privileging of Knowledge .................................................... 24 Cognitive Imperialism within Research and Teacher Education .......................................... 25 Métis Education ......................................................................................................................... 29 Changing Literacies ................................................................................................................... 31 Hip Hop Pedagogies .................................................................................................................. 34 Hip Hop Pedagogies as Culturally Responsive ..................................................................... 35 Conclusion ................................................................................................................................. 38 Chapter Three: Methodology .................................................................................................... 39 Problem Statement .................................................................................................................... 39 Research Questions ................................................................................................................... 39 Conceptual Framework ............................................................................................................. 40 Methodology ............................................................................................................................. 42 iv Methods ..................................................................................................................................... 43 Data sources. ............................................................................................................................. 44 Participants. ............................................................................................................................... 46 Data Collection. ........................................................................................................................

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