Decolonizing Through Poetry in the Indigenous Prairie Context By Michael Minor A Thesis submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies of The University of Manitoba In partial fulfillment of the requirements of the degree DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Department of English, Film, and Theatre University of Manitoba Winnipeg Copyright © Michael Minor 2016 ABSTRACT Many important developments have followed from the distinction being made between post-colonial and settler-colonial situations. This distinction has had implications that reach across disciplines, but have especially impacted the immerging field of Indigenous studies in Canada, which had previously been drawing, and to a certain extent continue to draw, on theories from post-colonial studies. I write this at the intersection of Indigenous studies and English literature building on the theories of decolonization in settler-colonial situations. I show that English poetry written by people in the Indigenous prairie context is one particularly active site of decolonization, in the sense that scholars such as Linda Tuhiwai Smith explain. Through the poetry of Louise Halfe, Duncan Mercredi, Gregory Scofield, Marie Annharte (Née Baker) I show how important elements of Indigenous culture are being translated into printed poetry. Furthermore, these poets are Indigenizing aspects of settler-colonial culture. I use Halfe’s poetry, especially her collection Bear Bones & Feathers, to show the ways in which Indigenous concepts of medicine can be translated into printed poetic form and bring healing for the injuries inflicted by colonialism. Scholars Jo-Ann Episkenew and Sam McKegney provide other examples of this practice and the theoretical underpinnings for literature operating as medicine. Mercredi’s poetry reveals that some of the oral character of Indigenous stories can be translated into poetry. Indigenous scholars such as Neal McLeod argue that Indigenous cultures have long engaged in the use of wit and metaphor that is so prolific in poetry. Scofield translates ceremony into poetry. Drawing in part on J.L. Austin’s notion of performativity, I show that Indigenous poetry is an active force within communities. I read Annharte’s poetry as an example of Indigenization and activism in which she destabilizes the authority of the English language. Francis challenges artistic genres to assert his own Indigenous perspective in much the same way ii many Indigenous people are choosing not to seek the recognition of the neo-liberal state in what Glenn Coulthard calls “the politics of recognition.” I explore the significant potential for decolonization in this writing by authors writing from Indigenous perspectives. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I acknowledge the funding that has made this research and dissertation possible: Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Doctoral Award, the C.D. Howe Memorial Fellowship in Creative Writing and Oral Culture, the Canadian Consortium for Performance and Politics in the Americas SSHRC Funding, and the University of Manitoba, Faculty of Arts Graduate Award. I also acknowledge the support of the Departments of English, Film, and Theatre and Native Studies for the many ways in which they have supported my research. My heartfelt thanks go out to my supervisor Dr. Warren Cariou for his patient and conscientious guidance. Thanks also to Dr. Alison Calder who guided me through the first two years of the degree and has remained a faithful member of my committee throughout. Thanks to Dr. Niigaan Sinclair for stepping into the role on the committee at the last minute. A very special thanks to the late Dr. Renate Eigenbrod whose guidance and thoughtfulness shaped the early stages of this thesis and whose work continues to influence my thinking. This thesis is in part dedicated to her memory. I am also very grateful for the support of my friends who are equal parts inspiration and support: Sam and Samantha; Christy and Andy; and Tim and Emily. You have all played indirect, but very important roles in the completion of this thesis. Thanks to all of my extended family for the good times and good food throughout this degree. Love and thanks to my partner Steph who has lived through this degree with me. Unless you decide to do your PhD someday, I will never be able to repay you for walking with me through all the poverty and existential crises. I hope it is worth it. Finally, thank-you to our son Ruben. You came along just in time to see this finished. I hope you will realize what an inspiration you have been. iv This dissertation is dedicated to the victims and survivors of settler-colonialism in Canada. Also, to the fond memory of Dr. Renate Eigenbrod. v Decolonizing Through Poetry in the Indigenous Prairie Context TABLE of CONTENTS Abstract ii Acknowledgements iv Table of Contents vi Introduction 1 Chapter One: Poetry as Medicine 26 Chapter Two: Poetry as Stories 59 Chapter Three: Poetry as Ceremony 103 Chapter Four: Indigenizing as Activism 142 Chapter Five: Indigenizing Genre 184 Conclusion: “Stay calm and decolonize” 234 Works Cited and Consulted 251 vi Introduction Many of the recent developments in Indigenous studies stem from the observation that countries like Canada, the United States, New Zealand, and Australia are not post-colonial. Descendants of european settlers are the majority in these countries. The discourse of decolonization in a settler-colonial situation does not mean the emigration of settlers back to europe. Rather, it suggests a new way of living within existing demographic realities. The groundbreaking work of Linda Tuhiwai Smith argues that decolonization presents the possibility of escaping colonialism. For Smith, and for other scholars of Indigenous studies, decolonization is primarily a task that can be carried out in the arena of writing and language. Smith writes, Decolonization must offer a language of possibility, a way out of colonialism. The writing of Maori, of other indigenous peoples and of anti/post-colonial writers would suggest, quite clearly, that that language of possibility exists within our own alternative, oppositional ways of knowing. (Smith 204) Smith’s second sentence outlines the basic principle of decolonization that this thesis will be drawing on. The core of decolonization in a settler-colonial situation is that Indigenous peoples infuse their “own alternative, oppositional ways of knowing” into settler-colonial technologies, such as writing. This “way out of colonialism” redresses many of the deepest injuries inflicted on Indigenous peoples without forcing the descendants of european settlers back to europe. This thesis demonstrates that decolonization is the practice of adapting elements of Indigenous cultures into european media so that Indigenous cultures can thrive in settler-colonial societies. Indigenous artistic adaptation is an important response to colonization. Smith suggests that the main reason adapting Indigenous epistemologies into contemporary research methods is so effective is because it was these imperialistic research methods that allowed for widespread colonization in the first place. These european epistemologies continue to control Indigenous peoples. Smith argues that Indigenous peoples 1 must claim their own tools of research because, in the hands of settler society, “The mix of science, cultural arrogance and political power continues to present a serious threat to indigenous peoples” (102). Rather than a hostile takeover of these research technologies, Smith emphasizes that a shared strategy amongst Indigenous peoples should be adopted to counteract the dangers of imperialism. She writes, “What is more important than what alternatives indigenous peoples offer the world is what alternatives indigenous peoples offer each other” (109). Smith argues that to decolonize is to “create something through the process of sharing [...] to reconnect relationships and to recreate our humanness” (110). Decolonization is not a war-like process that seeks to replace one imperial power with another, but a process that re-establishes “humanness” through collaboration and connectedness. This thesis takes this general phenomenon of decolonization and explores a more specific instance of decolonization through poetry in the Indigenous prairie context, which includes the Métis, Cree (Nêhiyaw), and Ojibway (Anishinaabe). Primarily, this thesis will examine the poetry of Louise Halfe, Duncan Mercredi, Gregory Scofield, Marie Annharte (née Baker), and Marvin Francis. I argue first that print-based poetry, a medium of european settler origins, decolonizes by acting as medicine, by telling stories, and by conducting ceremony. These three Indigenous values are translated into poetry by these artists. However, they also approach the non-Indigenous notions of activism and genre within artistic practices from an Indigenous perspective. Indigenous poetry becomes a meeting place where the Indigenous cultural practices of medicine, stories, and ceremony are connected with Indigenized approaches to activism and conceptualizations of genre. Indigenous people are finding many ways to adapt their traditional ways of life into the realities of settler-colonialism. As Vine Deloria, Jr. says in the introduction to his seminal work Custer Died For Your Sins, “we have seen the appearance of young people 2 who have found a way to blend the requirements of modern industrial consumer life with traditional beliefs and practices” (Deloria xii). As many influential Indigenous scholars have been arguing for decades, thriving within settler-colonial