A War Between Stories: Leisure, Colonialism and My Struggles To
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A war between stories: Leisure, colonialism and my struggles to reconcile my Indigeneity by Daniel Henhawk A dissertation presented to the University of Waterloo in fulfillment of the thesis requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Recreation and Leisure Studies Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, 2018 © Daniel Henhawk 2018 Examining Committee Membership The following served on the Examining Committee for this thesis. The decision of the Examining Committee is by majority vote. External Examiner Dr. Audrey Giles Professor, University of Ottawa Supervisor(s) Dr. Troy Glover Professor, University of Waterloo Internal Member Dr. Mark Havitz Professor, University of Waterloo Internal-external Member Dr. Craig Fortier Assistant Professor, Renison University College Other Member(s) Dr. Bryan Grimwood Associate Professor, University of Waterloo ii Author’s Declaration I hereby declare that I am the sole author of this thesis. This is a true copy of the thesis, including any required final revisions, as accepted by my examiners. I understand that my thesis may be made electronically available to the public. iii Abstract This dissertation is concerned with oppression and “the reach of imperialism into our heads” (Smith, 2012, p. 63). It is concerned with the “war between stories” (Delgado, 2012, p.2419) between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Peoples and thus the narrative character and the narrative space of such struggles. The purpose of this dissertation is two-fold. Firstly, to expose the tensions of oppression that surround leisure, sport and recreation in the Six Nations of the Grand River community through an Indigenous critique of the stories and narratives of three community leaders in the Six Nations community. The subsequent purpose is to convey the struggles I’ve experienced, as an Indigenous person, moving through this research process, struggling to understand my Indigeneity and the connection between notions of Indigeneity and leisure. Grande (2004) puts forward the critique that “unless the relationship between culture and the socioeconomic conditions within which it is produced is recognized, the so-called at-risk conditions common to peoples living under siege will persist” (p.19). She argues for an educational reform that must happen concurrently with an analysis of colonialism and the material reality that perpetuates it. To honour her call, it is thus imperative to gain an understanding of how leisure is connected to ongoing colonialism and the perpetuation of a material reality that has far-reaching consequences for how we perceive and understand the world. To do this, it is my contention that stories are central to understanding the connections between leisure and ongoing neo- colonialism as well as how we make sense of the role within Indigenous lives and struggles for decolonization, Indigenization, sovereignty, and self-determination. iv Acknowledgements First, and foremost, I would like to thank my wife, Katie, for all her support throughout this journey. She helped me through many struggles, celebrated with me at various milestones and encouraged me through many doubts. I would not have finished if it wasn’t for her love and compassion. Katie, we survived! Thank you! I love you! To my supervisor, Dr. Troy Glover, who supported and believed in me throughout this process. Troy's understanding, and patience, helped me immensely to navigate the many challenges of doctoral studies and of being an Indigenous scholar in the academy. Thank you, Troy! You are a great mentor and have become a great friend. To my family, my mother, Doris, my late father, Sidney, my sister Cheryl and her partner Bruce, and my brother Greg. As well, to Glen & Vanda McNeil, Curtis and Cathy McNeil and their children, Sam, Beth and James. Words will never be enough to express my gratitude for all your unconditional love and support throughout this process. Thank you so very much. I love you all. To my committee members, Dr. Mark Havitz and Dr. Bryan Grimwood. Thank you both for your support, for sharing words of advice, your experiences and wisdom throughout the years. You both made this experience that much better and I am very grateful to you both. To my friends and colleagues who have enriched my life and challenged me throughout this experience: Dr. Karen Fox, Dr. Marcelo Diversi, Dr. Jasveen Rattan, Dr. Sundeep Banwatt, Pooneh Torabian, Richard Norman, Dr. Amy Chapeskie, Angela Brayham, Meagan Barkans, Mike Fuss, Katie and Andy Pauhl, Dr. Kim Lopez, Dr. Nadina Imamovic-Ayer and Dr. Felice Yuen. To the faculty and staff of the Department of Recreation and Leisure Studies. Many thanks for the immense support and encouragement they provided to me through three degrees. Thank you to Dr. Sue Shaw, Dr. Diana Parry, Dr. Sherry Dupuis, Dr. Brian Smale, Dr. Ron McCarville, Dr. Heather Mair, Dr. Sue Arai, and Dr. Steven Mock. Special thanks to Tracy Taves and Sandy Heise for helping me navigate the paperwork and everything they do for students. Finally, I would like to acknowledge the Grand River Post-Secondary Education Office and Indspire for their financial support. Specifically, Nia:wen to Lana Martin for all her help since I started this journey a long time ago with my undergraduate degree. v Table of Contents Examining Committee Membership ............................................................................................... ii Author’s Declaration ..................................................................................................................... iii Abstract ........................................................................................................................................... iv Acknowledgements ......................................................................................................................... v Introduction ..................................................................................................................................... 1 Purpose ............................................................................................................................................ 6 Situating Myself ........................................................................................................................ 10 The Six Nations of the Grand River .......................................................................................... 14 Literature Review .......................................................................................................................... 19 Leisure, Research and Indigenous Peoples ............................................................................... 19 Leisure Research ....................................................................................................................... 21 Leisure and Colonization ........................................................................................................... 29 Leisure, Work and Time ............................................................................................................ 39 Indigenous Self-Determination and Sovereignty ...................................................................... 47 Indigenous Identity and Democracy .......................................................................................... 48 Engaging an Indigenous Research Paradigm ................................................................................ 57 An agenda for Indigenous Inquiry ............................................................................................. 59 Research is ceremony ................................................................................................................ 62 Red Pedagogy ............................................................................................................................ 64 Critical Indigenous Pedagogy .................................................................................................... 66 vi Ethnographic Refusal ................................................................................................................ 68 Axiology of Indigenous Methodologies .................................................................................... 71 Insiders and Outsiders: Essentialism in Indigenous Research .................................................. 72 Critical Self-Reflexivity: Respect and Responsibility ............................................................... 73 Sovereignty & Self-Determination in Indigenous Research ..................................................... 77 Strategies of Inquiry ...................................................................................................................... 79 Narrative Inquiry ....................................................................................................................... 82 Performance Ethnography ......................................................................................................... 83 Talking Story: Talking Circles and Critical Reflexive Writing ................................................ 85 Participants ................................................................................................................................ 88 Protection of participants & anonymity .................................................................................... 89 Data Collection .......................................................................................................................... 90 The Performance