The White of the Wampum: Possibilities for Indigenous-non-Indigenous Relationships in Canadian Settler Narratives (circa 2012) and Indigenous Storywork by Steven McLeod A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Affairs in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in English Language and Literature Carleton University Ottawa, Ontario © 2020, Steven McLeod ii Abstract The Two Row Wampum is held up to inspire relationships between Indigenous and non- Indigenous peoples in Canada that are rooted in respect and responsibility. However, Indigenous-non-Indigenous relations have been characterized by the deracination of Indigenous relational self-determination. In this dissertation, I juxtapose settler colonial representations (circa 2012) with Indigenous stories of Indigenous-non-Indigenous relationships. I offer Foucauldian discourse analyses of selected settler colonial representations to show how these representations displace and erase Indigenous relational self-determination. I also look beyond the constraints of settler discourse to readings of Indigenous narratives guided by storywork. Storywork is an Indigenous method of reading stories as pathways towards respectful relationships between all beings of creation. These pathways are grounded in what Vanessa Watts calls place-thought, Indigenous understandings of the relational knowledge embedded in the living network of relations that make up Indigenous traditional territories. I focus on 2012 because of the intensity of settler discourse and Indigenous resistance during this year. In 2012, the Canadian government and the CBC produced commemorations of the War of 1812, the CBC’s 8th Fire documentary and website were featured on CBC.ca, and national media produced representations of Indigenous activism that emerged in 2012 under the banner of Idle No More. I show how these selected settler colonial representations legitimize liberal democratic forms of governance and advance the demands of the neoliberal capitalist resource economy. The problem is that these political and economic discourses often iii undermine and efface Indigenous relational self-determination. I juxtapose settler representations of the War of 1812 with Odawa scholar Cecil King’s historical account, Balancing Two Worlds (2013); national media representations of Indigenous activism with Lee Maracle’s novel, Sundogs (1992); and 8th Fire’s representation of reconciliation with The Eeyouch of Eeyou Itschee (2010-2015), a documentary series produced by the Cree peoples of Quebec about their relations with settler governments. Through this engagement, I aim to unsettle settler colonial productions of state sovereignty, liberal democratic institutions, and global market capitalism and to gesture towards possibilities of Indigenous-non-Indigenous relationships rooted in traditional understandings of the white of the Wampum: relationships based in respect and responsibility between self-determining peoples. iv Acknowledgments This project stretches across ten years of relationships that have inspired and sustained me (2009 – 2019). I would not have had the fortitude to continue this project without the love and support of my mom, dad, sisters, stepfather, Jean-Guy, and uncle Pat. Nor would I have continued in my studies were it not for my oldest friends, my brothers, who will not tolerate any doubts I have about myself. Of course, Ottawa would be empty and I would have no sense of home here without my love and partner, Gisell Castillo, my “besties”, Laura Birch and Carole- Anne Charlebois, and my “furbabies”, Chinook and Tia. Home is the love you share with your relations. I have received so much support and guidance from people at Carleton University that it would be impossible to account for everyone. For their mentorship early in my studies, I thank Professors Sukeshi Kamra and Armand Ruffo. I thank the students of the Ojigkwanong Centre for both making me feel like part of the community and for teaching me so much. To Troy Bernard, my supervisor at IMS, thank you for the support. Finally, I am indebted to Professors Brenda Vellino, Miranda Brady, Jody Mason, Jennifer Henderson, and Armand Ruffo for the time, intelligence, and energies they gave to me and this project. I would never have been able to construct and hone the analyses I present here without their hearts and minds. Brenda all but carried me and this project when I could no longer continue. She restored in me the hope that I could complete it. For her kindness and commitment, I am so thankful and humbled. v Table of Contents Abstract ......................................................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgments ........................................................................................................................................ iv Table of Contents .......................................................................................................................................... v Introduction .................................................................................................................................................. 1 Settler Colonial Discourse Critique ......................................................................................................... 12 Resurgence, Place-Thought, Grounded Normativity .............................................................................. 18 Storywork ................................................................................................................................................ 22 Circa 2012: Why a Single-Year Study? .................................................................................................... 27 Chapter Previews .................................................................................................................................... 34 Chapter 1: Unsettling the Tragedy of Tecumseh: ....................................................................................... 46 The Historical and Political Context of 1812 ........................................................................................... 51 Settling the State..................................................................................................................................... 55 Behind Wry Grins: Been There, Won That and the containment of Indigenous nationhood ............. 61 The Ambivalence of Mair’s Play .............................................................................................................. 64 Indigenous Governance Traditions ..................................................................................................... 68 A Vanishing Race? ............................................................................................................................... 78 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................................... 98 Chapter 2: Re-storying Canada: Lee Maracle’s Sundogs, Oka, Idle No More, and The Possibilities of Indigenous-non-Indigenous Relationships ................................................................................................ 100 One novel, two stories. ......................................................................................................................... 108 The First Story: Indigenous Resistance as Aboriginal Counterpublic .................................................... 110 Indigenous Resistance as an Aboriginal Counterpublic .................................................................... 115 The Second Story .................................................................................................................................. 124 Relationality, Resistance, and Respect .............................................................................................. 124 Idle No More ......................................................................................................................................... 135 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................................. 143 Chapter 3: The Economics of Reconciliation: CBC’s 8th Fire and The Eeyouch of Eeyou Istchee Documentaries .......................................................................................................................................... 145 The 8th Fire Documentary ..................................................................................................................... 152 vi Supporting Themselves and Standing Alone .................................................................................... 152 Developing the Land ......................................................................................................................... 160 The Irreconcilability of the Osoyoos ................................................................................................. 165 The 8th Fire Website: Opportunities for Settler Public Understanding and Solidarity .......................... 173 The Eeyouch of Eeyou Istchee ............................................................................................................... 176 Celebrating the Grand Council of the Crees ..................................................................................... 178 Storying Nation-to-Nation