Disrobing the Aboriginal Industry: The Deception Behind Indigenous Cultural Preservation PDF
Preview Disrobing the Aboriginal Industry: The Deception Behind Indigenous Cultural Preservation
DISROBING THE ABORIGINAL INDUSTRY This page intentionally left blank Disrobing the Aboriginal Industry The Deception behind Indigenous Cultural Preservation FRANCES WIDDOWSON AND ALBERT HOWARD McGill-Queen’sUniversityPress Montreal&Kingston(cid:1)London(cid:1)Ithaca © McGill-Queen’sUniversityPress2008 isbn978-0-7735-3420-9(cloth) isbn978-0-7735-3421-6(paper) Legaldepositthirdquarter2008 BibliothèquenationaleduQuébec PrintedinCanadaonacid-freepaperthatis100%ancientforestfree (100%post-consumerrecycled),processedchlorinefree McGill-Queen’sUniversityPressacknowledgesthesupportoftheCanada CouncilfortheArtsforourpublishingprogram.Wealsoacknowledge thefinancialsupportoftheGovernmentofCanadathroughtheBook PublishingIndustryDevelopmentProgram(bpidp)forourpublishing activities. LibraryandArchivesCanadaCataloguinginPublication Widdowson,Frances,1966– Disrobingtheaboriginalindustry:thedeceptionbehindindigenous culturalpreservation/FrancesWiddowsonandAlbertHoward. Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex. isbn978-0-7735-3420-9(bound) isbn978-0-7735-3421-6(pbk) 1.Nativepeoples–Canada.2.Nativepeoples–Canada–Social conditions.3.Nativepeoples–Canada–Governmentrelations. i.Howard,Albertii.Title. e98.c2w48852008 305.897’071 c2008-903029-x ThisbookwastypesetbyJayTeeGraphicsLtd.in10.5/.13Sabon Contents Acknowledgments vi a story Introduction: Discovering the Emperor’s Nudity 3 part one origins 1 The Aboriginal Industry: Weavers of Illusory Silk 19 2 Denying the Developmental Gap: Preserving Culture in a Jar 49 part two taboos, fabrications and sophistry 3 Land Claims: Dreaming Aboriginal Economic Development 81 4 Self-Government: An Inherent Right to Tribal Dictatorships 106 5 Justice: Rewarding Friends and Punishing Enemies 129 6 Child Welfare: Strengthening the Abusive Circle 160 7 Health Care: A Superstitious Alternative 173 8 Education: Honouring the Ignorance of Our Ancestors 191 9 Environmental Management: The Spiritual Sell-Out of “Mother Earth” 215 part three spheres of deception 10 Traditional Knowledge: Listening to the Silence 231 Conclusion: What Is to Be Done? 249 Notes 265 Index 319 Acknowledgments There are numerous people to whom we are grateful for seeing us through this challenging project over the years. We would especially like to thank Andrew Hodgkins and Thomas Widdowson for engaging us in many enlightening discussions, reading drafts of the manuscript and offering detailed and helpful comments on a number of chapters. Manyothers–GregAlbo,JaypeeteeArnakak,LucianoAzzolini,Colin Alexander, Dennis and Alice Bartels, Elizabeth Behrens, David Boulet, Alan Cairns, Joseph Carroll, Petr Cizek, Suzanne Desfossés, Garrett Fagan, Jack and Kelly Fertile, Tom Flanagan, Robin Fox, Brendan Howley, Olaf and Ellen Janzen, Gary Juniper, Harvey Lemelin, Nor- man Levitt, Robert McGhee, Neil McLaughlin, Frank Miller, Emerald Murphy, Leo Panitch, Elizabeth Rata, Nancy Rempel, Roger Sandall, Raymond Shirritt-Beaumont, Alan Sokal, Ian Stirling, Katherine Widdowson and a number of journalists working for cbc North (you know who you are) – have offered us assistance in a variety of ways, even if they do not necessarily agree with our views. We would also like to thank Daniel Arseneault, Kate Ashman, Linda Bruce, Sue Butkiewicz, Tiziana Carafa, Leslie and Bubs Coleman, Michael Dartnell, Don Desserud, Jim Duffy, Joanna Everitt, Darrel Furlotte, LarryGaynor,MargotGibb-Clark,TomGraham,JohnHolman,Doug Johnson, Tim Maki, Stephanie McKenzie, Keith and Heather Nicol, Nick Novakowski, Dennis Pilon, Bal and Mary Russell, Chuck Smith, Donnie Tobobandung, AnnWiddowson, andTim andGloria Williams for offering us their encouragement and support. And finally, special gratitude is owed to Philip Cercone, Joan McGilvray, Ligy Alakkat- tussery, andMaureenGarvie atMcGill-Queen’sUniversity Press. A S T O R Y This page intentionally left blank eEmperor’sNudity INTRODUCTION Discovering the Emperor’s Nudity One cold and bright day in Yellowknife, we trudged to the Prince of Wales Northern Heritage Centre where we witnessed an event that woulddramaticallyalterourperceptionofaboriginalpolicyinCanada. It was 13 February 1996, and the event in question was the Federal Environmental Assessment Review of Broken Hill Properties (bhp) Inc.’s proposed diamond mine in the Northwest Territories, where a panel of four experts was appointed by the Canadian government to probe the implications of the initiative. The review was significant not onlybecauseitconcernedthefirstdiamondminedevelopmentproposal in Canada; it also sparked a great deal of interest by directing bhp to give “full and equal consideration” to aboriginal peoples’ “traditional knowledge”inassessing the impactsofthe proposedmine.1 Traditional knowledge had become a buzzword in aboriginal and environmentalpolicy.Theimportanceofaboriginalpeoples’traditional knowledge(alsoreferredtoas“tk”)wasbeginningtoberecognizedin international circles and within the Canadian government. It had becomeparticularlypopularintheNorth,andin1993theGovernment of the Northwest Territories developed an unprecedented “Traditional KnowledgePolicy”thatdirectedgovernmentemployeestoincorporate traditional knowledge intoall governmentprogramsandservices. This policy defined traditional knowledge as “knowledge and values which have been acquired through experience, observation, from the land or from spiritual teachings, and handed down from one generation to another.” It also declared that traditional knowledge was a “valid and essential source of information,” since aboriginal peoples had lived in close contactwiththeirenvironmentforthousandsofyears. Despite the expectationsthathadbeenraisedaboutthe incorporation of traditional knowledge into environmental assessment, and the praise
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