Indigenous women's governance & the doorways of consent
Date
2020-05-08
Authors
Bird, Christine
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Abstract
The purpose of this research is to identify models of Indigenous governance: that respects Indigenous women’s ability to govern, are grounded in a sacred relationship with the land and water, and engage language and culture to guide the process. Focusing on two distinct land-based resurgence movements, including the Áse Ti Tewá:ton Program in the Onkwenhonwe (Mohawk) community of Akwesasne; and the Hui Mālama ike Ala ‘Ūlili Program in the Kanaka community of Koholālele in Pa‘auilo (Hāmākua, Hawai‘i), it is the intention of this research to understand how these communities are consciously and critically engaging ways that restore their sacred relationship to the land and water; the manner in which they are developing sustainable practices that restore traditional food and educational systems; and methods of developing the critical skills needed to address a contemporary colonial reality. Research considers existing scholarship, community-based practice and Indigenous knowledge to create an understanding of the traditional/ancestral governance practices being generated through these land-based resurgence movements. Through a comparative analysis, this research reveals how each of these communities is using Indigenous language, culture and their relationship to the land as a foundation for restoring ancestral ways of thinking, being and doing, that underlie a traditional governance model. The teachings I have gained through doing this research have given me an understanding of community-based strategies that we can use to move away from an external, violent, dependency-creating style of governance that is consistent with western political approaches to a system of Indigenous governance that upholds Indigenous traditions of agency, leadership, decision-making and diplomacy.
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Keywords
Indigenous Governance, Indigenous Women's Governance, The Doorways of Consent, Akwesasne Mohawk Nation, Hui Mālama i ke Ala 'Ūlili, Anishinaabe Law, Land as Governance