Well, it’s disturbing first and foremost. But it’s also quite interesting. It’s interesting in the sense that, as a settler, it really does open your eyes to a different way of seeing the world and doing things. The best thing I could compare it to would be when I learned about how the ancient Greeks thought about sexuality and sexual orientation. It was like a bomb went off in my head, destroying the heteronormativity that my own culture accepted. And I, for one, never much understood where “two spirit” came from. That one was like a huge mystery to me, so it’s fascinating and encouraging to learn about how it has its roots in Indigenous cultures. (Funny enough, that might explain why it’s so maligned, which brings me to my next point.)
On the other hand, this is all disturbing, and a little bit depressing. I mean, all of that stuff was boxed in by settler-colonialism, which really gets to the crux of your question. Settler-colonialism made me quite angry before, and I’m still angry about it. However, this module has brought out a feeling of loss and sadness. How much richer our society/ies might have been were those aspects of Indigenous culture preserved and cherished! But instead of honouring them, we repressed them… and I can’t help but wonder, why? Sure, for power and control. Sure, to justify the hierarchies that propped up the colonial project in Canada. Yes, these are abhorrent reasons, but they at least make sense given colonists’ motivations. But why would that matter?
This is why I feel like my own cultural iceberg was a bit cynical. I can’t honestly put stuff like freedom, democracy, equality, etc. at the base of that iceberg because, in light of this history, that’s just simulacra, to allude to Baudrillard. It is a copy without a source, a tree without roots. Where are these values honestly manifest in my culture and its decisions? Historically, it’s often been a load of talk, or it’s been action with a “but” at the end. It’s enough to drive you into the arms of nihilism, which begs the question how indigenous people must cope with this. It was their culture that was persecuted, not mine. That is their tragedy. The tragedy of my own is that it doesn’t live up to its own press, and rings hollow when you examine it closely.
reflection ref: politics