Aural Traditions: Indigenous Youth and the Hip-hop Movement in Canada A Dissertation Submitted to the Committee on Graduate Studies in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctorate of Philosophy in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences TRENT UNIVERSITY Peterborough, Ontario, Canada © Copyright by Karyn Recollet 2010 Indigenous Studies Ph.D. Graduate Program May 2010 * Library and Archives Bibliotheque et 1*1 Canada Archives Canada Published Heritage Direction du Branch Patrimoine de I'edition 395 Wellington Street 395, rue Wellington OttawaONK1A0N4 Ottawa ON K1A 0N4 Canada Canada Your file Votre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-64088-3 Our file Notre reference ISBN: 978-0-494-64088-3 NOTICE: AVIS: The author has granted a non­ L'auteur a accorde une licence non exclusive exclusive license allowing Library and permettant a la Bibliotheque et Archives Archives Canada to reproduce, Canada de reproduire, publier, archiver, publish, archive, preserve, conserve, sauvegarder, conserver, transmettre au public communicate to the public by par telecommunication ou par Nnternet, preter, telecommunication or on the Internet, distribuer et vendre des theses partout dans le loan, distribute and sell theses monde, a des fins commerciales ou autres, sur worldwide, for commercial or non­ support microforme, papier, electronique et/ou commercial purposes, in microform, autres formats. paper, electronic and/or any other formats. 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While these forms may be included Bien que ces formulaires aient inclus dans in the document page count, their la pagination, il n'y aura aucun contenu removal does not represent any loss manquant. of content from the thesis. 1+1 Canada ABSTRACT Aural Traditions: Indigenous Youth and the Hip-hop Movement in Canada Karyn Recollet In my dissertation I discuss Native emcees' use of hip-hop music to critically engage their contemporary environments by creating new ways of speaking about themselves, their relationships to cities, and their collective historical memory of traditionally Indigenous lands. The contemporary urban poetry of hip-hop emcees pieces together a collective memory of space and time through contextualizing Indigenous lived experience such as the residential schools which have perpetuated a passed-down grieving. Through examining the lyrics and the narratives of individual emcees, this project illustrates their collective insights and memories, exposing the activism and intelligence embedded within emcee voicing. My work reveals that emcee practices of mimicry, parody, comedy, wordplay, and the ethic of 'keepin' it real,' disrupt 'discourses of dominance'(Vizenor, 1994), and introduce new ways to speak about the cities as Indigenous space. This project utilizes a fusion of methods including interviewing and discourse analysis to identify how urban spaces are being thought about, navigated, and negotiated. My project includes emcee testimonials that reveal the critically conscious and transformational voicings of hip-hop emcees participating in an oral-based movement which resonates with the oratorical genius and activism of past and present Indigenous leaders. The writing style of this dissertation adopts a storytelling methodology, interweaving poetry, activist, and scholarly writing to mirror the creative dialogue produced within emcee prose in formulating counter-narratives that shape new visions of what it means to be Indigenous in a contemporary urban context. ii DEDICATION This dissertation is dedicated to young artists in the hopes that you know how much you are loved and supported in voicing Eekwolity and hope. You embody the movement with courage, dignity and critical awareness, while pushing boundaries and transforming the ways in which we perceive our realities. in ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Within our historical memory, names have been erased, and voicings have been suppressed. Given this history, it is very important to me that I name in order to acknowledge the generous and wise people that have helped me throughout this dissertation process. The emcees inspiring the work have shared their creative process and their visionings of how the world could be better. I would like to acknowledge, first and foremost, the emcees and artists who have provided honest and powerful narratives. These artists include: Eekwol, Daybi, Theresa Seymour, Wab Kinew, Joey Cappo, Ostwelve, Quese Imc, Kinnie Starr, Rex Smallboy, Carrielynne Victor, Dallas Arcand, Joey Stylez, Jb the FirstLady, Mathew CreeAsian and Wabs Whitebird, Blu and Plex. Through their abilities in 'keepin' it real,' these brave emcees are continuously carving out spaces for us to move in our environments. During the time of writing, I have witnessed many stories shared by strong women whose shared experiences have helped me to nurture myself and those around me while writing. Moments shared with these women have been very meaningful to me and I am tremendously grateful for their generosity in spirit. These women include: May Cotter, Vicki Cotter, Rena Ermine, Edna Manitowabi, Verna St. Denis, Marrie Mumford, Natasha Beeds, Kerry Bebee, Linda Bebee, Vanessa Bebee, Buffy Sainte-Marie, Barb Rivett, Patricia Monture, Molly Blyth, Lynne Davis, Jennifer Kriesberg, and Naja and Swelen (The Weaverbird Collective). I can only hope to contribute songs, stories, and ideas into the world as lovingly and passionately as you all have. I would also like to acknowledge William Kingfisher my friend and colleague for providing much encouragement through sharing ideas, thoughts, and gentle wisdoms. iv Shawn Recollet, thank you for coming into my life and for your kind support during the final stages of this project. I hope to always have you at my side. I am especially and eternally grateful for my mother Vicki Cotter. I cannot begin to express how much you mean to me and how blessed I feel to have your love and support. I could not have done this without you. This dissertation is the culmination of time and much critical attention provided by my committee members: Dr. Lynne Davis (supervisor), Dr. Molly Blyth, and Dr. Neal McLeod. I would also like to thank Dr. Kimberly Blaeser for her diligent review of the manuscript and vital suggestions. I am filled with gratitude for all of your support and I will carry your advice forward into the next stages of my life. v TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstract ii Dedication iii Acknowledgements iv Table of contents vi Glossary of terms viii Introduction: Hip-hop's Stories of Survivance 1 Stories of survivance 1 Emcee treatise 4 Chapter One: As she Approaches the Mic - Research, Process and Language. 7 Research goals 7 Methods 9 Discourse analysis as a storytelling methodology 9 Interviewing 13 Language 17 First Nations/Aboriginal/Native/Indigenous 19 Terminology and foundational concepts 22 a) Gerald Vizenor's and Keith Basso's conceptual contributions 22 b) Concepts related to Indigenous 'movement' 26 c) Emcee concepts 35 Introduction to research topic 36 My postionality in relationship to the research 40 Ethical space 41 My research process 45 Indigenous scholarship and Indigenous poetics 45 Chance 52 Performance pedagogy 53 Chapter summaries 57 Chapter Two: Emcees Who-Stories Travel - Emcee Storytelling Techniques and Use of Language 60 Youth and the urban context 60 Relocations and removal 61 The marginalization of Indigenous space and Indigenous spatial consciousness 64 The ahistorical Indian:Youth as threat to 'safe' city spaces 65 Quese IMC: story(ing) the movement 69 Introduction to emcee language and storytelling process 72 Urban Indigenous border crossing 82 vi Chapter Three: Origin Stories & Orality - Indigenous Voicings of 'the Struggle' 87 Genealogies of emcee messagings 88 Origins of hip-hop: socio/cultural context 90 Hip-hop stories of origin within the academy 95 Hip-hop in the prairies and places north of the border 97 African and Native Indigenous oralities: relationships and practices 102 Indigenous hip-hop's internal tensions - the struggle for authenticity 123 Chapter Four: The Transgressional Space of Hip-hop Imbued with a Native/ Indigenous Flavour 144 The spaces from which emcees speak 144 The significance of emcee voicing 160 Cree-ation 164 Emcee transgressions: hip-hop strategies for movement 184 Ruptures through wordplay 199 'Know u'r history': an analysis of temporal & spatial geographies 202 Crew-speak: the hidden text 216 The local: a contested space 220 Chapter Five: Now You See Me, Now You Don't - Rapping Presence While Bordering Absence 227 The authentic Indian 228 Essentialism 228 Transgression & border crossing 232 Aboriginality pushed outside of history 233 Illuminating difference 246 Youth as threat? /or/ dangerous environments? 262 Chapter Six: Caucasian Features or Cheekbones that Cut Glass - Emcee Namings, Identities and Cross-Bloodedness 268 Epilogue: 'Soul Travelling' with Abandon- From Wagon Roads to 'Red Noise' 282 The colonial weight is heavy: