Disrobing the Aboriginal Industry: The Deception Behind Indigenous Cultural Preservation

337 Pages·2008·1.862 MB·English

by  Frances Widdowson, Albert Howard

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