Skip to main content
opinion

Mark Arcand is the Tribal Chief of Saskatoon Tribal Council.

Colonization in Canada has always been focused on tearing down who First Nations peoples are, and on trying to force the rejection, removal and suppression of our identity as Indigenous peoples.

That has been the effect of Canada’s racist laws, policies and practices that Indigenous peoples have faced: to snarl us up in inner and outer conflict and doubt about the meaning of being Indigenous. The residential school system was designed to do this by trying to take the “Indian” out of the child. The Indian Act attacks our identity by defining who we are – literally assigning us a number – and trying to break our systems of knowledge, family, community and governance.

Now, it is happening again, amid a worrisome trend in our society and the media by which non-Indigenous people have tried to arbitrate Indigeneity and “confirm” who is Indigenous or not. This is colonial, racist and wrong, and too often it is done by people who simply cannot decipher the truth of what it means to be Indigenous in Canada.

Certainly, work must be done to untangle the complexities of identity. And indeed, I know personally how complicated and confusing colonialism has made issues of Indigenous identity. I know there is a complex legacy in my own community, Muskeg Lake Cree Nation, where our chiefs and headmen were forced out by the Crown, some coerced into taking Métis scrip to extinguish rights, even though they were leaders when Treaty 6 was signed in 1876. Others were struck off the band list. Women and their children have been discriminated against for generations based on sexism and bias. Those adopted out by the provincial child welfare system are often denied access to their history.

We are in a messy period, with many voices and many claims. And there are some actual “pretendians” who are being exploitive, taking Indigenous-specific jobs or funds and benefitting from that without proper accountability. This must end.

But we need to be clear: This is our work – the work of Indigenous peoples, or First Nations and our governments.

Determining who we are can only be done by us. This is core to being sovereign as peoples, especially Treaty peoples, at the heart of self-determination. This is the only way to prevent repeating history with a new era of colonial definitions. So to all of those systems and structures, Crown governments and officials in Canadian society who want to keep trying to tell us who is or is not Indigenous, let me be clear: stop it.

Universities have also contributed to this, by acting as if being knowledge-holding institutions somehow gives them particular insight into Indigenous peoples and our knowledge. It does not. Universities are colonial institutions still grounded in Eurocentric knowledge systems – the very systems that colonized Indigenous people. It is fine to bring Indigenous academics together to discuss a topic, like what recently happened at the First Nations University of Canada. Still, they cannot act as the experts on defining Indigeneity, as they act as the experts on defining poetry, science or art. Recently, I was asked to advise the University of Saskatchewan on what immediate steps and protocols need to be put in place to confirm identity claims with First Nations governments correctly; this is the right approach.

What is needed now is to give full support to Nations and communities to sort this out internally based on our culture, values and beliefs, identity and membership. Let us lead, and we can confirm our kinship relations for those institutions that require confirmation in a proper process. If outsiders act as the arbiters of who belongs or is Indigenous, it will remain colonial, oppressive and culturally unsafe for our peoples to determine our identity. Our chiefs and leaders will guide organizations such as the Saskatoon Tribal Council to continue serving all Indigenous peoples in the urban setting and support those who require services grounded in cultural safety and humility, with respect and without discrimination.

Keep your Opinions sharp and informed. Get the Opinion newsletter. Sign up today.

Follow related authors and topics

Authors and topics you follow will be added to your personal news feed in Following.

Interact with The Globe