Reclaiming Nêhiyaw Governance in the Territory of Maskwacîs Through Wâhkôtowin (Kinship)
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Western University Scholarship@Western Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository 4-24-2017 12:00 AM E-kawôtiniket 1876: Reclaiming Nêhiyaw Governance in the Territory of Maskwacîs through Wâhkôtowin (Kinship) Paulina R. Johnson The University of Western Ontario Supervisor Regna Darnell The University of Western Ontario Graduate Program in Anthropology A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the equirr ements for the degree in Doctor of Philosophy © Paulina R. Johnson 2017 Follow this and additional works at: https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd Recommended Citation Johnson, Paulina R., "E-kawôtiniket 1876: Reclaiming Nêhiyaw Governance in the Territory of Maskwacîs through Wâhkôtowin (Kinship)" (2017). Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository. 4492. https://ir.lib.uwo.ca/etd/4492 This Dissertation/Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by Scholarship@Western. It has been accepted for inclusion in Electronic Thesis and Dissertation Repository by an authorized administrator of Scholarship@Western. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Abstract The Nêhiyawak, Four-Body People, known as the Plains Cree, reside in the territory of Maskwacîs. Of the Four Nations that encompass Maskwacis, this study focuses on Nipisihkopahk, also known as Samson Cree Nation and is located 70km south of the city of Edmonton in Alberta. Governance for the Nêhiyawak lies in the philosophical and spiritual teachings passed down through generations of ancestral knowledge especially in discussions relating to wâhkôtowin, kinship, ohtaskanesowin, origin, and the teachings from Wîsahêcâhk, Elder Brother, who taught the Nêhiyawak about morality and self through oral narratives. As relationships between the settler state of Canada and Indigenous Nations create dialogue concerning authority and autonomy, this study discusses the methods utilized through community collaboration for the process of enacting traditional governance. As it stands, Samson Cree Nation follows the band council system that was enforced by The Indian Act. Forwarding the collective memory of the Nêhiyawak through their cultural knowledge, this study follows the journey of Nipisihkopahk as they forward the resurgence of traditional governance through their own laws rooted in the idea that we are all related, and this extends not only to the human world. Kisê-manitow, Creator, gave the Nêhiyawak wiyasiwêwina, laws, of how to conduct our self morally and ethically, revealing further the mindset of the people. Insights into the Creation story allow this study to delve deeper into the philosophical and spiritual values aligned within ceremony. Through this understanding of what it means to be Nêhiyaw, the study will also reveal key philosophical insights into Treaty and how better understandings can shape the diplomatic discussions between Indigenous Nations and the settler-state. Concepts of miyo-pimâtisiwin, the good life, and pimâcihowin, livelihood, allow for the ability to understand how the Nêhiyawak connect to land, culture, and family. The Elders agreed that already published oral narratives and teachings would be utilized, since the intellectual property and ownership belongs to the Nêhiyawak Nation. The significance of this study is to allow Nêhiyaw indigeneity to come forward and allow for the well being of the citizens of Samson Cree Nation outside of the domination of colonial policies to occur. This study presents the process in how meaningful relationships should occur between researcher and community. Keywords Governance, Maskwacîs, Nipisihkopahk, Nêhiyaw, Nêhiyawak, Plains Cree, Indian Act, Band Councils, Mental Health, Elders, Elder Brother, Wîsahêcâhk, Oral Narratives, Relationality, Law, Legal Studies, Indigenous Law, Treaty, Relationships, Indigeneity, Indigenous, Resurgence, Colonization, Decolonization, Liberation, Kinship, Family, Collaboration. ii Acknowledgments My dear friend, Bronson Wilson, I am forever grateful to have known you. You are the very reason I have entered this path. Words cannot express how much you mean to so many. It is with the deepest and heartfelt gratitude that I acknowledge those that made this study possible. To the Elders I have come to know and learn from: Nohkôm Cecilia Saddleback, Nimosôm Victor and Nohkôm Sophie Bruno, Nimosôm George and Nohkôm Celina Saddleback, and Nimosôm Jerry Saddleback, and Derwin Okeynan. Grandpa Chris, I love you so much. To all of you, for all that you have given me and the support and wisdom you have shared I can never repay what you have taught me, and how you have guided me. Your words echo within my daily thoughts and how I treat and revere our world. To Mr. Joseph (Joey) Deschamps you have been part of my learning for over a decade and it is with your encouragement that I find myself here. To Mr. Clarence Whitstone, thank you so much for sharing your knowledge with me, and thank you and the Elders at the Treaty 6 Governance office in Onion Lake. To my father, Paul, I am nothing without you. To my mother, Luci, thank you for the support and guidance. Paula, you have been my best friend for so long, thank you for continuing to be my defender as my older sister. Pauline, never settle for less than what you deserve. Paul II, it will always be worth the risk. To Pam and Josh, thank you for encouraging me throughout my life. For protecting under my desk as I wrote, thank you Okimâw. To Jordon Munizzi, thank you for always listening, and giving me advice as I ask you the most off handed questions. Maybe one day I will be Prime Minister. To Natahnee Winder, thank you for reflecting home. Megan Caldwell, Lacey Fleming, Diana Moreiras, Bimadoshka (Annya) Pucan, Laura Kelvin, Jordon Brant, Molly Sparhawk, and Victoria Skelton, my dear friends, you are amazing. My friend, Dr. Michael Polushin, I gave it the college try. To my advisor, Dr. Regna Darnell, you are my protection, my role model, and my friend; I have the utmost admiration for you and will always remember that you took on iii so many battles for me but you never once let me think I was worth any less. You are part of my Nation forever. To Dr. Susan Hill you are so kind and brilliant. I am so very lucky to have met you in my first graduate course. To learn from you has been an honour and a privilege. For your support in every facet of my life, I am thankful. To Dr. Andrew Walsh thank you for allowing me to learn through new perspectives that enhanced my understanding of self. To my uncle Brian Lightning for assisting me with Nêhiyawêwin, ay ay. To Samson Cree Nation, thank you for the opportunity to enact change for our own good and well-being. Special thanks Samson Cree Nation, and the Justice and Legal Department, and councilors Kirk Buffalo and Patrick Buffalo. For the generous funding to bring forward this study: I thank the American Philosophical Society and the Phillips Fund for Native American Research, The University of Western Ontario Regna Darnell Graduate Award for Fieldwork in Sociocultural Anthropology, and the National Indian Brotherhood. Special thanks to Nipisihkopahk Education Authority and Indspire for ten years of support. To the University of Western Ontario’s Anthropology department, thank you for letting me share my knowledge and insights to those who listened. To the Franz Boas Project for letting me expand outside the framework of the project. Special thank you to Dr. Heidi Stark, Dr. Gerald McKinley, Dr. Cathy Chovaz, and Dr. Michael Coyle for their insights during the thesis examination. To those that I often see; I hear you, I feel you, and I thank you. To those that walked this earth before me, I am here because of you. Creator, you have given me opportunities and support throughout my life, I look to you for guidance wisdom and sight. iv Table of Contents Abstract ................................................................................................................................ i Acknowledgments.............................................................................................................. iii Table of Contents ................................................................................................................ v List of Figures .................................................................................................................... ix List of Appendices .............................................................................................................. x Preface................................................................................................................................ xi Chapter One ........................................................................................................................ 1 1 The Nêhiyaw Search for Truth and Justice .................................................................... 1 1.1 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 3 1.2 Pakoseyimowin ekwa Ahyaminawin: Hope and Prayer ....................................... 10 1.3 Mihchetoskan ekwa Wahkohtahew: Blood Lines and New Ties ......................... 17 1.3.1 The Kêhtê-ayak: The Old Ones ................................................................ 26 1.4 Nêhiyawîhtwâwin, the Four-Body Culture, is Intergenerational, Collective, and Lived .............................................................................................................. 28 1.5 Nêhiyawêwin ekwa cahkipewasinahikewin: Respecting the Four Body Language and Syllabic Text.................................................................................