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Decolonizing the Colonial Mind: a Personal Journey of Intercultural

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Decolonizing the Colonial Mind: a Personal Journey of Intercultural Decolonizing the Colonial Mind: A Personal Journey of Intercultural Understanding, Empathy, and Mutual Respect by Gregory W.A. Saar A Thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies of The University of Manitoba in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree of MASTER OF ARTS Department of Religion & Culture University of Manitoba Winnipeg Copyright © 2020 by Gregory W.A. Saar Saar 1 Dedication To my wife, Joyce, whose confidence in me, encouragement, and support, have always been important in everything I choose to do. To my Granddaughter, Rebekah, who, while in her first year at the University of Manitoba, uttered the words: “Grandpa, why don’t you take a class too?” To my other grandchildren Kaleb, Quintin, Alexis, and Clark, for the many ways in which they enhance my life. I hope I can play some small part in ensuring the five of you have the bright and fulfilling future you all deserve. I am confident that each one of you is capable of realising your dreams. In Memory of our daughter, Heather, who met the difficulties she faced with fortitude, courage, and determination, all the while retaining her sense of humour; an inspiration to all who were privileged to know her. Saar 2 Acknowledgements I want to express my appreciation to those without whose mentorship and assistance this theses would still be confined to the recesses of my mind. I begin with my appreciation of Dr. Renate Eigenbrod, (1944-2014) who, as Department Head of Native Studies at the University of Manitoba, took the time to interview me. It was she who suggested that I begin by meeting with Dr. Mark F. Ruml at the University of Winnipeg. Dr. Ruml not only agreed to meet with me, but to become my advisor as well. In a subsequent meeting with Dr. Carlos Colorado (UofW), Dr. Kenneth MacKendrick (UofM), and Dr. Ruml, I discovered that Dr. Ruml had already been advocating for my acceptance into the Joint Masters Program in Religious Studies. When Dr. Colorado and Dr, MacKendrick agreed to my acceptance into the program, Dr. Ruml’s continued advocacy, forbearance, and ability to retain his sense of humour throughout the trials of mentoring me, as well as his gift for comprehending and helping me make sense of my thoughts, have proven invaluable to me up to, and including, my defense and subsequent editing to arrive at this final version. I enjoyed the classes I attended and thank those professors for their time and ability to present the material in a cohesive, comprehensive, and comprehensible fashion. They are, in alphabetical order: Dr. David Drewes, Dr. Danielle C. Dubois, Dr. Justin Jaron Lewis, Dr. Kenneth MacKendrick, Dr. Sherry Farrell Racette, and Dr. Mark F. Ruml. Thank you as well with Patricia M. Ningewance for her patience as I tried to learn “Gookom’s Language,” and to Elder Dan Thomas for giving me the opportunity to experience a Midewiwin Sweat Lodge, and for sharing some of the teachings and symbolism. Thank you for Dr. David Drewes, Dr. Kenneth MacKendrick, and Dr. Chris Trott for joining Dr. Ruml for my theses defense, and for their helpful comments and assistance. Saar 3 There are many others to thank for their assistance throughout. Linda Albanese (UofM), Rachel Berg (UofW), Rose Fiorillo (UofM), and Sara Payette (UofM) have always been helpful as I navigated the administrative maze. If I left anyone out, my memory has failed me. Please accept my apology. Saar 4 TABLE OF CONTENTS DEDICATION 1 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 2 TABLE OF CONTENTS 4 CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 5 Positional Statement 5 Terminology 14 A Call to Action 16 Thesis Goals 20 Methodology 24 CHAPTER TWO: Exploring the European Spiritual Mind-Set Prior to Contact 30 CHAPTER THREE: Indigenous Pre-Contact Spiritual Precepts 73 Haudenosaunee 73 Anishinaabe 86 Dakota/Lakota/Nakota 100 Blackfoot 107 Haida 120 CHAPTER FOUR: Post-Contact Indigenous Spiritual Responses 129 CHAPTER FIVE: Those That Survived: Reclaiming Indigenous Spirituality 167 CHAPTER SIX: Similarities and Important Differences in Spiritual Approaches 205 CONCLUSION: Writing a New Narrative for the Future 248 BIBLIOGRAPHY 271 Saar 5 CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION Positional Statement The following thesis is an articulation of a personal journey reflecting upon a lifelong process of decolonizing my colonial mind.1 In the chapters that follow I offer somewhat of a “roadmap” of my personal journey in self-decolonizing. In sharing what I have experienced both in life and learning, I invite those who read it to consider embarking on such a journey for themselves. I previously felt I had a healthy appreciation of Indigenous culture and spiritual concepts, along with knowledge that was gained from my personal experiences with Indigenous people, classes I have taken, and additional reading that my desire to learn more lead me to pursue. In other words, I felt I possessed more than a general knowledge of Indigenous spirituality. So, for me, the most difficult aspect of committing myself to a decolonisation process was coming to the realization and admitting that it is a process I must involve myself in at a deep and personal level, learning, not only through deliberate research of the available written material, but, importantly, through experiencing Indigenous spiritual approaches by attending ceremonies (in which I have some limited introductory experience) and listening to Elders. I have come to realise that knowledge in the Indigenous Weltanschauung belongs to a different category than those normally found in academia. I situate myself within my research as a seventy-one year old Caucasian male, with a history of Euro-Western academic training in the selfsame Christian tradition (in the general sense) that was espoused by the first European persons who set foot on Turtle Island; the 1 Note that because this thesis focuses on my personal journey, my thesis examiners gave the reading of it much more latitude than would be afforded a typical MA thesis. There are interpretations that the examiners may not have agreed with and places where the examiners normally would have requested more sources to support my assertions, but this thesis is intended to be an articulation of my understanding, my perception. Saar 6 tradition which has been instrumental in marginalising, discounting and dismissing Indigenous spiritual concepts, approaches to life, and belief systems. I currently have a B.A. in Philosophy and Political Science from The University of Alberta, as well as a Master of Divinity, and a Master of Sacred Theology, both from Lutheran Theological Seminary in Saskatoon. After my ordination into the ministry in 1977, I served as a Parish Pastor in the Lutheran Church in rural and urban settings in Alberta and Manitoba until 1994 when the congregation I was with could no longer afford a pastor’s salary. After that, I was considered retired and continued with a rural congregation that I had been serving since 1992 as a second congregation. I was also called upon to serve in various other congregations who were temporarily without a pastor. A change of church policy after some time led to retired pastors being dropped from the roster, meaning they could no longer serve in a congregation, even temporarily. The rural congregation I had been serving subsequently voted to become an independent Lutheran congregation so that they could still retain me as their pastor and not run afoul of official church policy. When their furnace stopped functioning a few years ago and they could not afford to replace it, we ceased gathering for regular Sunday worship services. Since I retired from being a full-time pastor in 1994, I have been employed full time in property management. In 2016, I shortened the portfolio of properties I managed so that I could teach the class “Introduction To Indigenous Spirituality” for the Winter Term at the University of Winnipeg, but have since resumed all previously held property management responsibilities and added more. Situating myself within my research has always been an important aspect in all my knowledge-gathering to this point in my life and is critical in this field. As Kathleen Absolon put it: “I want my words to reflect my way of thinking, being and doing, and it’s difficult at times to Saar 7 balance what I think I’m supposed to write with my sense of self, so I get knotted up inside.”2 I, too, have experienced a similar sensation in countless situations where I felt like critiquing the official dogmas and policies of the church, but knew my future might be in jeopardy if I did. I also need to acknowledge the difficulties I faced from both the institution and the congregation when I was bold enough to vocalise my critique. It is imperative, therefore, that I acknowledge the influences, sometimes conflicting, that have impacted who I am and who I see myself as. If these influences are not acknowledged, it could not only adversely impact my research, but my analysis and presentation of it as well. “When listeners know where the storyteller is coming from and how the story fits into the storyteller’s life, it makes the absorption of the knowledge that much easier.”3 If I am to gain any knowledge and/or share it in the hope that others will come to share that which I have gained, I need to be honest with myself and others about the influences that have shaped my life and thinking, as well as the nature, scope and purpose of my research. I need to communicate, not only my openness to learning, but that I am not a researcher who will view everything from a pre-conceived Euro-Western perspective, then write from that perspective, ignoring or remaining indifferent to the cultural and spiritual thoughts, concepts, and knowledge Indigenous spiritual traditions are meant to convey.
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