Indigenous Policy Journal of the Indigenous Studies Network,

Vol. XVIII, No. 2, Summer, 2007.

INSURGENT EDUCATORS:
DECOLONIZATION AND THE TEACHING OF
INDIGENOUS-SETTLER RELATIONS

Emma Battell Lowman

e.j.b.lowman@warwick.ac.uk
http://warwick.academia.edu/EmmaBattellLowman
 Indigenous Policy Journal Vol. XVIII, No. 2, Summer, 2007
Emma Battell Lowman

Introduction: Colonialism in Education, and Anti-Colonial Educators

History is alive and its wounds require our recognition and attention.1

Despite the oft-repeated ideals of tolerance, inclusion, and multiculturalism, in

which the Canadian nation takes great pride, a 2005 report found that, racism towards
Indigenous peoples in Canada is the norm, not the exception.2 So where is Canadian
society going wrong? One place to begin looking is the field of history.3 The act of
teaching history, particularly in post-secondary institutions in North America, cannot be
separated from wider implications of power and politics; history and the teaching of
history has become a crucial field of political struggle.4 This is true, particularly in the
case of the study of the history of Indigenous-Settler5 relations. Today, there is no dearth
of historical and critical materials being produced by Indigenous scholars, and by Settler
scholars in consultation with Indigenous communities, and yet the Indigenous perspective
is rarely given more than passing attention even in history courses designed to deal with
Indigenous history. Clearly, lack of information is not the problem,6 so what is? As

1
Paulette Yvonne Lynette Regan, Unsettling the Settler Within: Canadas Peacemaker Myth,
Reconciliation, and Transformative Pathways to Decolonization (Ph.D. diss., University of Victoria, 2006),
43.
2
Ibid., 13, quoting a 2005 study by the Department of Canadian Heritage, A Canada for All: Canadas
Action Plan Against Racism.
3
This paper will focus on the teaching of history, for excellent discussion on the specific challenges of
writing the history of Indigenous peoples, or the history of Indigenous-Settler relations, please see Donald L.
Fixico, Ethics and Responsibilities in Writing American Indian History, in Natives and Academics:
Researching and Writing about American Indians, ed. Devon A. Mihesuah (Lincoln, NB: University of
Nebraska Press, 1998), 84-99.
4
Ibid., 24.
5
A note on terminology: throughout this paper the terms Indigenous and Indigenous peoples as defined
and explained in Taiaiake Alfred and Jeff Corntassel, Being Indigenous: Resurgences against Contemporary
Colonialism, Government and Opposition (2005): 597-614, 597. With regards to the term Settler: It is
not enough to simply state that Settler people are non-Indigenous, as is often done; this ignores the
complexity of Settler society and culture itself, preventing much useful analysis, as well as ignoring the many
people in contemporary imperial society whose identities are hybrid, or otherwise differently related to
imperial society. Settler people in this context include most peoples who occupy lands previously stolen or in
the process of being stolen from their Indigenous inhabitants, or who are otherwise members of the Settler
society which is founded on co-opted lands and resources. As such, applying the label of Settler does not
imply a moral or ethical judgment; rather it is a descriptive term that attempts to recognize the historical and
contemporary realities of imperialism that very clearly separate the lives of Indigenous peoples from the lives
of later-comers. Adam Barker, Being Colonial: Colonial Mentalities in Canadas Settler Peoples,
presented at the Re-Envisioning Relationships Conference 2006, Trent University.
6
Regan, Unsettling the Settler Within, 216, emphasis hers.

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noted by eminent educator and scholar in North American Indigenous thought, Vine
Deloria, [t]he goal of much of modern education seems to be socialization,7 and the
personal decisions and attitudes of the person teaching a history course on Indigenous-
Settler relations can have a huge impact on whether or not students are socialized into
perpetuating racist and oppressive practices and ideologies or not. Therefore, the person of
the history teacher8 becomes central to questions of historical interpretation and
presentation, and therefore, to questions of power, influence, and harm in the wider arena
of Indigenous-Settler relations. As such, in response to the question of who should teach
the history of Indigenous-Settler relations in Canada, this paper will argue not for a
specific type of teacher, but for a teacher with specific personal qualities.

Any discussion of Indigenous-Settler relations in the Canadian context must be

conscious of the use (and abuse) of different types of power; this inherently involves a
discussion of contemporary colonialism. Colonization is the attempt to draw different
peoples under imperial power, and thus under one hegemonic and homogenous form.
Inherently, colonialism (the ideology of colonization) is the opposite of diversity and
autonomy, and abrogates the freedom of perceived Others.9 Regan explains that one
method of confronting this is through historical study that involves Indigenous and other
peoples stories, as how Settlers choose to engage with and understand these stories
these alternative histories and testimonies- in relation to our own history as colonizers, can
work to either reinforce colonialism or support decolonization.10 In other words,
choosing to teach the history of Indigenous-Settler relations from a colonized perspective
entails support and propagation of oppression, and is therefore harmful to both teacher and
student. Conversely, revisiting the manner in which we choose to teach and personally
engage with the history of Indigenous-Settler relations, particularly as embodied in the
person of the teacher, offers exciting possibilities as [h]istory can provide a powerful lens
on the past through which the public becomes more conscious of our perceptions and

7
Vine Deloria, Jr., Transitional Education, 79, in Vine Deloria, Jr. and Daniel R. Wildcat, Power and
Place: Indian Education in America (Golden, CO: Fulcrum Resources, 2001), 79-86.
8
This paper will use the word teacher to refer to the various possible professional teaching positions within
Western post-secondary educational institutions. Possible positions or titles include, but are not limited to
teacher, instructor, and professor.
9
Michael Hardt and Antonio Negri, Empire (Boston, MA: Harvard University Press, 2001), xii-41.
10
Regan, Unsettling the Settler Within, 19, emphasis hers.

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beliefs our myths about the past impact the current political and social landscape.11
Therefore, the concept and process of decolonization and self-decolonization are critical to
moving towards a new peaceful and just relationship between Settler and Indigenous
peoples.12 This paper will argue that the person who teaches Indigenous-Settler relations
should be actively listening to and engaging with the Indigenous voice in the realm of
history, and should be actively involved in both personal unsettling dialogue and self-
decolonization, as well as engaging in relentless self-criticism and anarcheological
analyses in order to appreciate his/her privilege, power, impact on the lessons they teach,
and role in Indigenous-Settler relations. History is alive; and the history that is taught in
our post-secondary educational institutions is inseparable from the wider discussion and
struggles around Indigenous freedom.

Section One: The Indigenous Voice

Sometimes we are offered a gift that we do not want to accept. Perhaps we

do not recognize the gift because it feels like a burden, a heavy
responsibility that we dont quite know how to carry and we are afraid that
we will do so poorly acknowledging how our painful history together is a
burden we all carry, whether we admit it or not.13

The concept of the Indigenous Voice was introduced and explored with regards
to critiques and reflections on Boasian ethnographic work,14 where the inclusion of
Indigenous points of view, stories, or ideas was used as an enhancer (or exotic side dish) to
ethnographic and historical work being done by non-Indigenous researchers. This
superficial and unplanted use of the Indigenous voice does harm in that it encourages token
treatment of people(s). Use of the Indigenous voice without deeper understanding of its

11 Ibid., 74.
12
For more detail on this subject, please see Taiaiake Alfred, Wasse: Indigenous Pathways of Action and
Freedom (Peterborough, ON: Broadview Press, 2005).
13
Regan, Unsettling the Settler Within, 222.
14
John Van Maanen, "Realist Tales" in Tales of the Field: On Writing Ethnography (University of Chicago
Press, 1988).

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implications and without giving appropriate weight and serious consideration to kinds of
Indigenous knowledge and knowing, can lead to the Aboriginal under glass
phenomenon, with the result that the work and words of Indigenous peoples are actually
used in such a way as to encourage and propagate their objectification in the academy.
Further, perfunctory use of Indigenous materials or histories, or relying on Eurocentric
Settler-produced material on Indigenous peoples can easily lead to emphasiz[ing] colonial
narratives of victimization and grievance as the cornerstone of Indigenous identity.15
To avoid such dangerous pitfalls, teachers who seek to teach Canadian histories must
educate themselves about the Indigenous voice and worldview, and how to incorporate
Indigenous work16 into their understanding and presentation of historical materials in order
to be able to present a more balanced, informed, and just picture of Canadian history. In
the discussion of who should teach Indigenous-Settler history, the personal qualities of
the individual with regard to the understanding of and respect for Indigenous voice are
critical.

Key to understanding the role of the Indigenous voice in teaching the history of
Indigenous-Settler relations in Canada is the recognition that: [c]olonialism is not
satisfied merely with holding a people in its grip and emptying the natives brain of all
form and content. By a kind of perverted logic, it turns to the past of the oppressed people,
and distorts, disfigures, and destroys it.17 Not only has the history of Indigenous peoples
in Canada been distorted, disfigured and in some cases, destroyed; also at play is a strong
denial of Indigenous history from the Canadian historical consciousness. As Regan
explains:

By erasing Indigenous diplomacy, law and peacemaking practices from the

public consciousness, Settlers justify in our own minds the historical

15
Taiaiake Alfred and Jeff Corntassel, Being Indigenous: Resurgences against Contemporary Colonialism,
Government and Opposition (2005): 597-614, 606.
16
In this case, Indigenous work refers to scholarly work conducted in accordance with Indigenous values.
Who produces the work is less important that how the work is conducted. For example, a collection of
Indigenous oral histories produced by a Settler person with consultation and oversight by an Indigenous
community could be considered Indigenous work.
17
Alfred and Corntassel, Being Indigenous, 602, quoting Franz Fanon, The Wretched of the Earth (New
York: Grove Press, 1963), 210.

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appropriation of Indigenous lands and resources and the perpetuation of

contemporary colonial relations. The national history of Indigenous-Settler
relations as we currently tell it is the colonizers story and in it we Settlers
cast ourselves in the positive light as benevolent peacemakers. But there is
another peoples story, one that puts us where the light is not so flattering,
and our flaws are revealed.18

However, in teaching the history of Settler-Indigenous relations in Canada there is a

danger in allowing colonization to be the only story of Indigenous lives.19 What is
implied here is that neither a teacher ignorant of colonialism, nor one focused exclusively
upon it, truly understands Indigenous voice.

So what should a teacher who understands the importance of Indigenous voice

choose as the focus of their course? Deloria, in discussing courses in ethnic studies states
that we would be on very thin ice if we purported to teach what I regarded as the context
of Indian life.20 Instead, he suggests that concentrating on the history of the relationship
between Indigenous peoples and Settler peoples and institutions is far more useful and
appropriate in post-secondary educational institutions, as students of these institutions are
likely to be in policy- and decision-making positions in the future. This imperative to
teach a history of relationships has an important implications for the question of who
should teach this material. The teacher of Indigenous-Settler history, as it will necessarily
include history from both sides and from shared encounters, need not be Indigenous (or
Settler). It is, however, crucially important that the teacher be capable of presenting the
Indigenous perspective as well as the Settler perspective, and this is dependent on
experience and engagement, not on heritage.21 However, given that I am writing as a
Settler person, I will be directing the rest of this paper towards a theoretical Settler subject.
This decision is based on two considerations: first, Settler people in the Canadian context
possess power and privilege not accorded to Indigenous peoples, and therefore have more

18
Regan, Unsettling the Settler Within, 110.
19
Alfred and Corntassel, Being Indigenous, 601.
20
Vine Deloria, Jr., Spirit & Reason (Golden, CO: Fulcrum Publishing, 1999), 157.
21
Deloria, Spirit & Reason, 154-158.

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work to do in critically unpacking their role and influence in the teaching of history; and
second, at this time Settlers still hold the majority of instructor positions at post-secondary
educational institutions in Canada.

As demonstrated by Regan, the denial of Indigenous histories constitutes a subtle,

yet effective form of violence against Indigenous peoples and precludes Settlers from
examining our own legacy as colonizers and perpetuators of violence not peace.22
Inherently, then, to honestly and respectfully include Indigenous voice in the teaching of
Indigenous-Settler relations not only helps to eliminate this violence, but also forces Settler
(and Indigenous) peoples out of the comfortable places created by colonial lies. Consider
that, contrary to many Settler assumptions, in the Canadian context, there is a profound
doubt among indigenous peoples about the value of being incorporated into the national-
multicultural context.23 This demonstrates that Indigenous voice can be personally
challenging; it implies that there is no one common conception of singular Canadian
history or of singular Canadian national identity. This lack of definition (or of definitive
narrative) and the level of complexity this approach involves can be unsettling to many
teachers, which is the second quality that must be possessed by a teacher of Indigenous-
Settler relations: a willingness to be personally unsettled and to fearlessly engage in
unsettling dialogue as part of the teaching process.

Section Two: Unsettling

If we are content to remain where all is safe and quiet and serene, we shall
dedicate ourselves, as teachers have commonly done in the past to a role of
futility.24

22
Regan, Unsettling the Settler Within, 142.
23
Richard J.F. Day, Gramsci is Dead: Anarchist Currents in the Newest Social Movements (Ann Arbor, MI:
Pluto Press, 2005), 86.
24
M.D. Lawson and R.C. Petersen, Progressive Education: An Introduction (Sydney: Angus and Robinson,
1972), 36, quoting George S. Counts (1932).

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As unquestioning participants in colonization and colonialism, many (if not most)

Settlers operate daily from a position of comfort, power and privilege denied to
marginalized peoples. 25 It is difficult to begin to understand these currents of power and
privilege because dominant ideas tend to take on an appearance of naturalness and
inevitability that renders them relatively impervious to critique.26 Further, it is personally
uncomfortable to consider the possibility that our privilege comes at the expense of other
people. The challenge and the discomfort of confronting these issues serve for many as
impediments to honest analysis of social history, as well as self-analysis. However, the
harm of unquestioningly following (and profiting from) colonization and colonialism is
now very apparent, and the need to confront these issues is becoming ever more urgent as
relationships between Indigenous and Settler peoples reach new critical impasses.27
Teachers of Indigenous-Settler history are inherently involving themselves in this
confrontation, and there follow implications for their personal comfort.

Another valuable role of the work of Indigenous scholars and thinkers, in addition
to the previously discussed roles, is that this work can present views from outside this
Western/Settler hegemonic paradigm, acting as a sort of revealing mirror and making
visible ideological constructs we accept as natural and neutral. However, it is very difficult
and sometimes painful to question our national myths, and the way we profit from the
marginalization of others, and to begin to think differently about the way our society
works, from within comfortable positions of power. For this reason, the process of being
uncomfortable is essential for non-Indigenous people to move from being enemy to
adversary to ally.28 It is from being unsettled, from asking questions about our moments
of discomfort in this dialogue that we have the opportunity to learn, question and find new
ways of thinking. Further, these moments of unsettling are opportunities for discovery and
for making space for new and different narratives and truths. In Unsettling the Settler

25
Exploration and discussion of Settler and White privilege and power in Western society falls outside the
bounds of this paper, for more information on this discourse, please see Tim Wise, White Like Me:
Reflections on Race from a Privileged Son (Brooklyn, NY: Softskull Press, 2005).
26
Day, Gramsci is Dead, 46.
27
As demonstrated by resurgences of Indigenous communities, renewed commitment to Warrior societies,
and Indigenous-Settler conflicts over land and resources in Canada. For more on this subject, please see
Alfred, Wasse.
28
Regan, Unsettling the Settler Within, 27.

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within Regan explains that the basis for her work is the hope that Settlers will become
deeply unsettled in our minds, our hearts, and our spirits so that we can finally take the
genuine leap of imagination necessary to make space for Indigenous peoples of this land
whose history, presence and humanity we have denied for so long.29 This leap of
imagination makes space for honest consideration of the shared history of Indigenous-
Settler relations because, as Regan explains,

[w]ithout facing our true history as perpetrators of violence, there can be no

genuine transformative new relationship with Indigenous peoples We
cannot gloss over the darker aspects of our history nor should we ignore the
complexity of our shared past that reveals paths we have denied and
forgotten.30

Unsettling provides the opportunity to challenge dogmatic ideologies and the national
myths that in too many cases pass for and direct history teaching and presentation.31 As
Day explains, [t]o work a history in this way is to work against it, to refuse to accept the
basic assumptions that allow it to function. It is to move away from history as such,
towards a genealogical account that offers new narratives with new kinds of social,
political, and economic relations in mind.32 This unsettling revisiting of history must
stem from the teachers own personal unsettling experiences. As Corntassel and Alfred
note, decolonization and regeneration are shifts in thinking and action that emanate from
recommitments and reorientations at the level of the self.33 Thus, it is not enough for a
teacher to help create unsettling moments for students; the teacher must be willing to be
unsettled personally.

29
Ibid., 281.
30
Ibid., 266.
31
The Settler myths and rituals that shape the contours of our history exemplify the virtues and practices of
pioneer spirit, civilizing new frontiers and settling empty lands, in which Indian archetypes also play a
central role. Mythical archetypes of Indigenous peoples as violent warriors, noble savages, victims of
progress or more recently, beneficiaries of race-based rights, are deeply ingrained in the Canadian
national psyche, reinforced in popular culture and media representations. Regan, Unsettling the Settler
Within, 85.
32
Day, Gramsci is Dead, 46.
33
Alfred and Corntassel, Being Indigenous, 611.

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In addition, while uncomfortable, it is important to realise that in the Canadian

context, socialized as we are into dominant colonial ideologies, [n]one of us are immune
from the grasp of patriarchy, racism, and homophobia34 and that believing at any point
that we have completely overcome the implications of those pervasive ideologies can
dangerously affect oppressed peoples with whom we interact, either personally, or in the
classroom. This, then, leads to the third point of this paper: a teacher of Indigenous-Settler
relations must be relentlessly self-critical.

Section Three: The Necessity of Being Self-Critical

By focusing on the other, while exempting ourselves from critical analysis

and reflection, Settlers cling to the comfortable notion that we know our
past and that it is behind us. With regard to our relationship with
Indigenous peoples, nothing could be further from the truth.35

According to Deloria, Education in the English-American context resembles

indoctrination more than it does other forms of teaching because it insists on implanting a
particular body of knowledge and a specific view of the world.36 As discussed earlier, if
that particular body of knowledge and way of seeing the world is rooted in colonialism and
colonial assumptions, the teacher risks perpetuating harm by implanting a colonial
worldview when teaching from such a position. Wildcat highlights a problem specific to
educational institutions when he notes that [t]he problem of professional expertise in
institutions of higher education is that expertise is thought of as culture-free or value-
neutral.37 However, it is clear that when considering the history of Indigenous-Settler
relations in Canada, we all have a position in the discussion, the history and the historical
legacy, and therefore no discussion can be purely objective, and certainly cannot be

34
Day, Gramsci is Dead, 197.
35
Regan, Unsettling the Settler Within, 108.
36
Vine Deloria, Jr., Knowing and Understanding, 42, in Vine Deloria, Jr. and Daniel R. Wildcat, Power
and Place: Indian Education in America (Golden, CO: Fulcrum Resources, 2001), 41-46.
37
Daniel R. Wildcat, Practical Professional Indigenous Education, 114, in Vine Deloria, Jr. and Daniel R.
Wildcat, Power and Place: Indian Education in America (Golden, CO: Fulcrum Resources, 2001), 113-121.

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culture- or value-neutral. Therefore, hand-in-hand with engaging in unsettling dialogue

and learning experiences comes the necessity of being relentlessly self-critical. One of the
problems with contemporary colonialism is that it changes shape, morphs and constantly
seeks new ways and means of asserting control.38 So in order to maintain a critical eye to
power structures, harmful national mythologies, and even simple complacency, one must
remain self-critical to avoid falling back into damaging hegemonic patterns and ideas. If
colonialism as a present reality is to be taken seriously, teachers must be aware that they
too can be targets of colonization (and re-colonization), and guard against this. To teachers
of Indigenous-Settler history, the call is clear:

Scholars who study the links between historical consciousness and public
history education as it relates to coming to terms with the past, call upon
historians to become more critically engaged in order to expose the roots of
racism, exclusion and oppression that shape North Americas past.39

To be clear, though, the goal of relentless self-criticism is not to arrive at a point of

absolute clarity, where everything is understood without ambiguity. The lesson which
Deloria shares is that [i]t is permissible within the Indian context to admit that something
mysterious remains after all is said and done.40 Part of the process of self-decolonization
and self-criticism is the understanding and acceptance that ambiguity, multiple
interpretations and multiple truths are not signs of failure (as they could be conceived in
the Western scientific paradigm) but instead, are desirable indicators of diversity, and
confirmation that the teacher him/herself has reached the point of being comfortable with
the limits of his/her own knowledge.

Day, in discussing the need to constantly reassess the shifting power relations
confronting radical activists, cites Foucaults concept of anarchaeology as a particularly
useful personal ethic. Simply, Foucault argues that in any situation even between two

38
Alfred and Corntassel, Being Indigenous, 601-605.
39
Regan, Unsettling the Settler Within, 72.
40
Vine Deloria, Jr., Higher Education and Self-Determination, 126, in Vine Deloria, Jr. and Daniel R.
Wildcat, Power and Place: Indian Education in America (Golden, CO: Fulcrum Resources, 2001), 123-133.

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aware, unsettled, decolonizing individuals there will be unavoidable power relations.

Foucault argues that the point is not to destroy or escape all power relations, but to
relentlessly interrogate them, to understand ones own place in them, and to be honest about
them both personally and in relations with others.41 This ethic of anarchaeology is
especially important to teachers, who are inherently asked to take on a position of both
authority and responsibility with respect to their students, their subject matter, and the
broader society beyond the classroom that is affected by how and what they teach. This is
doubly important for teachers of Indigenous-Settler history who are not only entangled in
power relationship in their immediate position, but also in their decisions on how to treat
complicated issues of power in their historical investigations.

This relentless self-criticism with an eye to the dynamics of power is important if a

teacher is to attempt to alter the personality of institutions which have long been
neglectful of -or openly hostile to- Indigenous interests. Deloria asserts that power and
place together create personality. Wildcat interprets this insight to mean, Delorias idea
of personality [is] the substantive embodiment, the unique realization, of all the relations
and power we embody.42 What is truly at stake when we question who should teach the
history of Indigenous-Settler relations in Canada, is the personality which this history will
embody. We have already noted that the specific form and role of Indigenous voice is both
crucial and difficult to balance effectively with other histories; we have also noted that
challenging deeply held Settler myths requires being personally unsettled by those things
which teaching of this kind will inevitably dredge up (in both the teacher and the students).
For a teacher, fulfilling these two requirements will most likely bring a teacher into
contact, and potentially conflict, with the existing personality the power relations
embodied in the place of an educational institution. Because of this, a teacher of the
history of Indigenous-Settler relations in Canada must be willing to constantly re-examine
his or her own beliefs, attitudes and opinions in a distinctly anarchaeological manner, to
ensure that the relations and power which they embody are those which seek to create a

41
Day, Gramsci is Dead, 136-167, based on Michel Foucault, Gouvernement des Vivants, Lecture
delivered January 30th, 1980 at Collge de France.
42
Daniel R. Wildcat, The Question of Self-Determination, 145, in Vine Deloria, Jr. and Daniel R. Wildcat,
Power and Place: Indian Education in America (Golden, CO: Fulcrum Resources, 2001), 135-150.

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balanced and just relationship between Settlers and Indigenous peoples and interests. The
alternative is to risk being overpowered by the personality of the institution, with the result
of a slow decline back into colonial practice and undoing of previous efforts to include
Indigenous voice and personal unsettling in the teaching process.

Conclusion: The Insurgent Educator

After five centuries of contact, it does not seem too much to ask non-Indian
educators and institutions to come to grips with the reality that is the
American-Indian.43

In combining the three qualities discussed in this paper an understanding of the

Indigenous voice, the willingness to be unsettled, and a relentless self-criticism we
arrive at an elaboration of the concept which Regan has titled the insurgent educator.44
The insurgent educator is a teacher who intentionally engages in transformative education;
and not just transformative for the students, but for themself. An insurgent educator is
explicitly political, clear and honest about their view, biases and place in Indigenous-
Settler relations, and actively engaged in a struggle against the dominant paradigm (in this
case, of history as both the colonizers story and a potential tool of further colonization).
The goal is not to assimilate students into one established mode of thinking, but rather to
break the assimilation power of current educational practices. As Wildcat notes, [t]hat
education is an assimilation process ought to be intrinsically troubling for anyone with
democratic values.45

Ideas and understanding of the history of Indigenous-Settler relations in Canada

have great impact on how non-Indians view the claims for justice made by Indians,46 and
for that reason if no other, what is taught and the way it is taught in post-secondary

43
Vine Deloria, Jr., The Perpetual Education Report, 161, in Vine Deloria, Jr. and Daniel R. Wildcat,
Power and Place: Indian Education in America (Golden, CO: Fulcrum Resources, 2001), 151-161.
44
Regan, Unsettling the Settler Within, 15.
45
Wildcat, Higher Education and Self-Determination, 139.
46
Deloria, Spirit and Reason, 79.

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educational institutions in Canada is absolutely critical to true justice and recognition for
Indigenous and Settler peoples. As Regan expands, [i]f reconciliation in the 21st century
is to be something more than the falsely benevolent peacemaking of our ancestors, then
Settlers must become unsettled enough to step onto transformative pathways to dislodge
the Western delusions of cultural and moral superiority.47 To do so, unsettling dialogue,
engaging in relentless self-critical and anarcheological processes, and working to more
deeply understand and appreciate the Indigenous voice are all critical in the person of the
teacher of history. The teacher, learning and applying these ideas and qualities, will have
the potential to teach in such a way as to be an agent of positive change, of amelioration of
Indigenous-Settler relations, and to become a responsible and conscientious actor in
Indigenous-Settler relations. A teacher of Indigenous-Settler relations must understand, as
put forward by Leroy Little Bear, a Blackfoot scholar and philosopher, that we have all
been changed in some way by colonization historical and contemporary and the clashes
between Indigenous and Settler peoples:

No one has a pure worldview that is 100 percent Indigenous or Eurocentric;

rather, everyone has an integrated mind, a fluxing and ambidextrous
consciousness, a precolonized consciousness that flows into a colonized
consciousness and back again. It is this clash of worldviews that is at the
heart of many current difficulties with effective means of social control in
postcolonial North America. It is also this clash that suppresses diversity in
choices and denies Aboriginal people harmony in their daily lives.48

It is only by accepting that, regardless of personal want or desire, the teacher is already part
of a struggle around oppression either for or against that a teacher can take a class in
the history of Indigenous-Settler relations in Canada and transform it, as well as his or her
own position, from conscious or unconscious ignorance to a person who is able to open
themselves to new ideas, and to fight against the personality of an oppressive and powerful

47
Regan, Unsettling the Settler Within, 25.
48
Leroy Little Bear, Jagged Worldviews Colliding, in Reclaiming Indigenous Voice and Vision, ed. Marie
Battiste (Vancouver: UBC Press, 2000), 85.

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institution for an alternative history of and alternative, and brighter, future for Indigenous-
Settler relations.

Epilogue: Answering the Why?

Preparing this essay has been an important and challenging experience in

my own personal unsettling, self-criticism, anarcheological investigation,
and interaction with the Indigenous voice. Because of that, I feel it is
necessary to a personal reflection to the end of such an academic piece of
work. First, this paper is not intended to be a discussion, indictment, or
deification of any one person or persons. Dialogues or discourses of
this kind can be an uncomfortable experience, an affirmation, or a
necessary refresher on what needs to happen, and how vigilant we must be
when spending the majority of our time in contact with harmful hegemonic
ideologies. Second, I am indebted to a number of people for taking the
time to discuss these issues and give feed-back on my ideas and feelings
regarding this kind of process. Finally, one of the things that makes
writing a paper like this possible is the excellent example of insurgent
educators from who not only teach but also learn with their students. I
am excited by the hope that soon they will no longer seem to be the
exception within the academy.

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 Indigenous Policy Journal Vol. XVIII, No. 2, Summer, 2007
Emma Battell Lowman

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