Miyo Wahkotowin: Self-determination, Colonialism and Pre-reserve Nehiyaw Forms of Power by Matthew Wildcat B.A. (Hons.), University of Alberta, 2006 A Thesis Submitted in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF ARTS in the Faculty of Human and Social Development ! Matthew Wildcat, 2010 University of Victoria All rights reserved. This thesis may not be reproduced in whole or in part, by photocopy or other means, without the permission of the author. ii Supervisory Committee Miyo Wahkotowin: Self-determination, Colonialism and Pre-reserve Nehiyaw Forms of Power by Matthew Wildcat B.A. (Hons.), University of Alberta, 2006 Supervisory Committee Dr. Taiaiake Alfred, (Indigenous Governance Program) Supervisor Dr. Waziyatawin (Indigenous Governance Program) Departmental Member iii Abstract Supervisory Committee Dr. Taiaiake Alfred, (Indigenous Governance Program) Supervisor Dr. Waziyatawin (Indigenous Governance Program) Departmental Member This thesis explores whether reviving pre-reserve Nehiyaw forms of power represents a strategy of self-determination. To start, an understanding of colonialism is advanced based on the idea that colonialism is an intersectional process that involves both the actions perpetrated from a settler society unto Indigenous peoples, and the legacy of dysfunction that is left with Indigenous peoples as a result of colonization. Second, an understanding of pre-reserve Nehiyaw forms of power is developed, with a focus on how the interaction of legitimacy and authority can be used to explain pre-reserve Nehiyaw forms of power. Finally, I examine if reviving pre-reserve Nehiyaw forms of power represents a strategy of self-determination that addresses the intersectional nature of colonialism. I argue that it does, but in order to revive pre-reserve forms of power we must displace band councils as the site where we imagine a revival of pre-reserve Nehiyaw forms of power. iv Table of Contents SUPERVISORY COMMITTEE ......................................................................................................................II ABSTRACT .......................................................................................................................................................III TABLE OF CONTENTS ................................................................................................................................. IV ACKNOWLEDGMENTS..................................................................................................................................V CHAPTER 1 - INTRODUCTION AND RESEARCH OUTLINE ..............................................................1 INTRODUCTION OF THESIS.................................................................................................................................1 RESEARCH AGENDA.........................................................................................................................................10 PERSONAL BACKGROUND ...............................................................................................................................12 RESEARCH RATIONALE....................................................................................................................................16 RESEARCH PURPOSE ........................................................................................................................................17 RESEARCH QUESTIONS ....................................................................................................................................18 RESEARCH METHODOLOGY.............................................................................................................................22 CHAPTER 2- COLONIALISM AS AN INTERSECTIONAL PROCESS ..............................................29 INTRODUCTION AND GENEALOGY OF THOUGHT.............................................................................................29 CONQUEST AND INTERSECTIONAL ANALYSIS ................................................................................................34 CONCLUSION ....................................................................................................................................................46 CHAPTER 3 - POWER, AUTHORITY, LEGITIMACY, AND PRE-RESERVE NEHIYAW SOCIETY ............................................................................................................................................................47 INTRODUCTION.................................................................................................................................................47 DEFINITIONS: POWER, AUTHORITY, AND LEGITIMACY.................................................................................48 Power ..........................................................................................................................................................48 Authority .....................................................................................................................................................50 Legitimacy...................................................................................................................................................52 KICHI-MANITOU, THE GREAT MYSTERY .......................................................................................................54 CHILD REARING AND THE GROOMING PROCESS..............................................................................................60 THE INTERACTION OF LEGITIMACY AND AUTHORITY ...................................................................................65 Plains Indigenous people as generalists...................................................................................................66 Primacy of Conscience ..............................................................................................................................71 The People are the Bosses .........................................................................................................................75 Fluidity of Authority...................................................................................................................................80 CONCLUSION ....................................................................................................................................................87 CHAPTER 4 - REVIVING PRE-RESERVE NEHIYAW FORMS OF POWER...................................88 INTRODUCTION.................................................................................................................................................88 BAND COUNCILS AND INDIGENOUS SELF-DETERMINATION ..........................................................................89 PRE-RESERVE FORMS OF POWER AND CONTEMPORARY BAND COUNCILS ..................................................98 PRE-RESERVE FORMS OF POWER AS A PATHWAY TO SELF-DETERMINATION............................................107 CONCLUSION ..................................................................................................................................................116 BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................................................................118 v Acknowledgments To start I would like to thank my family for all the love, help and support they have given me, in particular my parents Brian Wildcat and Pam Cooke. Any success I have achieved is a reflection of my family far more so than myself. I would like to thank the faculty, staff and students with Indigenous Governance program for providing a spectacular academic environment to study, learn and research in. I look forward to continuing collaboration in the future. I would like to thank all the Indigenous peoples whose land I was on during my studies in Victoria. I would like to thank all the other Faculty members at the University of Victoria who provide support to Indigenous Governance and its students. I would like to thank my former colleagues at Maskwachees Cultural college who have helped me grow as a person. I would like to thank all the community members from Muskwacis who have taken the time to share with me over the years. I would like to thank the staff and Faculty with the Faculty of Native Studies at the University of Alberta who gave me my start in the field of Indigenous Studies. I would like to thank the Ermineskin Education Trust Fund for the their sponsorship and support they have given me throughout my undergraduate and graduate studies. I would like to thank the University of Victoria and SSHRC for the financial support they provided me in my second year. I would like to thank all the other people who I have been able to have honest and sincere discussions about politics with over the years. Finally, I would like to acknowledge people involved in the struggle and give my profound appreciation of the commitment so many display in making the world a better place. Chapter 1 - Introduction and Research Outline Introduction of Thesis When addressing the issue of Indigenous self-determination one necessarily faces two tasks. First, identifying what inhibits Indigenous self-determination; usually done through a combination of articulating the historical and contemporary circumstances that have lead to and perpetuate a lack of self-determination among Indigenous peoples. Second, one attempts to offer a solution to the problems that inhibit self-determination, or put another