In Place/Of Solidarity: Acknowledgement and Reciprocity with/in Indigenous and Asian Canadian Writing by Janey Mei-Jane Lew A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements of for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Ethnic Studies in the Graduate Division of the University of California, Berkeley Committee in charge: Professor Sau-ling Wong, Chair Professor Colleen Lye Professor Beth Piatote Professor Shari Huhndorf Summer 2018 © 2018 Janey Mei-Jane Lew All rights reserved 1 ABSTRACT In Place/Of Solidarity: Acknowledgement and Reciprocity win/in Indigenous and Asian Canadian Writing by Janey Mei-Jane Lew Doctor of Philosophy in Ethnic Studies University of California, Berkeley Professor Sau-ling Wong, Chair In Place/Of Solidarity argues the exigence of developing Asian Canadian critical praxes that align and move in solidarity with Indigenous sovereignties and radical resurgence movements. In the dissertation, I analyze a body of literary texts by contemporary Indigenous and Asian North American writers whose works contain instances of reciprocal representation. I argue that actions proceeding from and grounded in praxes of acknowledgement and reciprocity constitute openings to solidarity. By enacting Asian Canadian studies explicitly with decolonial solidarities in the foreground, I argue that Asian Canadian studies may not only work in ethical alignment with Indigenous knowledges and methodologies, but may also enliven and reconstitute the solidarities upon which Asian Canadian studies is premised. Bringing Asian Canadian studies into dialogue with scholarly work from Indigenous studies and recent research on Asian settler colonialism within a transnational Asian (North) American context, this dissertation considers reciprocal representations across a number of literary works by Indigenous and Asian Canadian women. Analyzing key texts by SKY Lee, Lee Maracle, Marie Clements, and others, and writing self-reflexively into the analysis through Trinh T. Minh-ha’s concept of “speaking nearby,”1 I theorize forms of relational critical praxis based on acknowledgement and reciprocity. The project takes up key urges read in the undercurrents of Asian Canadian studies to argue that even as 1. See Nancy N. Chen, “Speaking Nearby: In Conversation with Trinh T. Minh-ha.” 2 the field grapples to enunciate its own coalitional position from which to initiate solidarity, it needs concurrently to deterritorialize and resituate Asian Canadian agency on new grounds. The goal of this project is to posit a praxical framework for enacting Asian Canadian creative solidarity that: first, moves in alignment with Indigenous resurgence and sovereignty movements grounded in place; second, is animated by a love-based ethic for research, writing, and activism that hails from legacies of intersectional, Women of Colour, and Indigenous feminisms; and finally, shifts from analyzing Asian Canadian settler-colonialism to illuminating practices of and directions for Asian Canadian unsettling and solidarity. i For the matriarchs, 梁劍好 and 許用金 . ii “And of course I am afraid, because the transformation of silence into language and action is an act of self-revelation.” (Audre Lorde) “She walks out carrying the light that will burn through all the complicated violence she’s been taught to call love.” (Ariel Gore) iii TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .................................................................................................. iv PREFACE ......................................................................................................................viii “In Place: Situating My Questions” INTRODUCTION .............................................................................................................. xi CHAPTER ONE ................................................................................................................ 1 Love Letter to Asian Canadian Studies: A Literature Review CHAPTER TWO .............................................................................................................. 25 Dispossessing SKY Lee’s Disappearing Moon Café CHAPTER THREE ........................................................................................................... 48 A Politics of Meeting: Reading Intersectional Indigenous Feminist Praxis in Lee Maracle’s Sojourners and Sundogs CHAPTER FOUR............................................................................................................. 77 What’s Left to Say After Sorry? History, Prophecy, and the Ethics of Reconciliation in Marie Clements’ Burning Vision CHAPTER FIVE .............................................................................................................. 97 Bodies of Water: Asian Canadians In/Action with Water CONCLUSION .............................................................................................................. 121 In Place of Solidarity: Cartographies of Struggle and Dispossession WORKS CITED AND CONSULTED ................................................................................ 129 iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS There is so much to acknowledge and be thankful for. First thanks go to the Coast Salish Musqueam, Squamish, and Tsleil Waututh peoples on whose unceded, traditional, and ancestral lands I was born, raised, live, and learn. I hold my hands up to members of the Musqueam First Nation whom I have met through my work at UBC, but especially Gina and Larry Grant, for your warm welcomes, your teachings, and kindness over the years. As I was finishing, I had the opportunity to spend a month back in the East Bay, where this journey began. It was then I truly came to appreciate not only what a rare gift it is to have the solitary time to write but also the privilege of being and learning in Ohlone territories. Thank you to the land, the waters, and the people. Early work on this project was supported by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. Research support was also generously provided by the UC Berkeley Canadian Studies Program through its Edward Hildebrand Fellowships. A slightly different version of Chapter 3 “A Politics of Meeting: Reading Intersectional Indigenous Feminist Praxis in Lee Maracle’s Sojourners and Sundogs” was published in Frontiers: A Journal of Women Studies, vol. 38., no. 1 (2017): 225-259; copyright University of Nebraska Press; reprinted with permission of the publisher. An earlier version of Chapter 5 “Bodies of Water: Asian Canadians in/Action with Water” was published in Downstream: Reimagining Water, eds. Rita Wong and Dorothy Christian, Waterloo: Wilfred Laurier University Press, 2017: 217-240; copyright Wilfred Laurier University Press; reprinted with permission of the publisher. To my committee: You model for me not only impeccable scholarship, but also how to be human. Thanks to each of you for teaching me, guiding me, and especially for never giving up on me. Shari Huhndorf, your research and writing inspired me before we ever worked together, and your caring, sage advice sustained me through completing this project. Colleen Lye, I have been in awe of you since the first time we met, and each time we meet I leave energized by your brilliance; as I have gotten to know you, though, I am most grateful for your warmth and good humour. Beth Piatote, I could not have written this dissertation without you. You opened your door and introduced me to Native Studies when I had little to offer besides enthusiasm and vague questions. Throughout my time at Berkeley and well after, you have continued to welcome me in and enrich my ideas each time we talk. Most of all, you have shared so v much of your life as a writer with me and it urges me forward to speak my truth. Finally, to my chair, Sau-ling Wong: I came to Berkeley to study with you because you were one of my intellectual heroes, and of course it changed my life. I could not have hoped for a more caring, encouraging, generous, and patient mentor. You have been committed to me and my project through all of life’s interruptions, even when “Murphy” knocked on my door, set up camp in my house, and started moving the furniture around. When I finally needed a quiet place to write in the home stretch, you offered me a roof and even shared your Serena (who baked hot cross buns!) for a housemate. This dissertation is not what I originally imagined, but you gave me the courage to write it the way it needed to be written, and you have made it better in every way simply because I knew you would be reading it. Happy retirement! For my colleagues back home at the University of British Columbia, thank you for grounding my work. Respect and gratitude to my colleagues in First Nations and Indigenous Studies: Glen Coulthard, David Gaertner, Sarah Hunt, Linc Kesler, Sheryl Lightfoot, and Johnny Mack. Daniel Heath Justice, you once gave me the advice that putting your work out there is an act of both supreme humility and also of generosity. This advice has guided me whenever I get stuck, and I thank you for sharing such an important lesson about writing and reciprocity. To Dory Nason, I hold my hands up to your fierce, loving commitment to Indigenous feminisms, the ways you live this power every day, and the ways you selflessly share your passions and big heart with your friends, loved ones, colleagues, and students. In the last few years, I have also had the good fortune of being nurtured by the support of my colleagues at the Centre for Teaching, Learning, and Technology: Hanae Tsukada, Liz Otero, Erin Yun,