Colonial Representations of the Natives - The Ind Essays - Americas

Colonial Representations of the Natives - "The Indians " Olusanjo Bayewu University College of the North November 13, 2012 Colonial Representations o f Natives - The "Indians" Introduction The term "Indian" is used to describe the aboriginal peoples of North America. Aboriginal peoples in Canada comprise the First Nations, the Inuit and the Metis. The descriptors "Indian" and "Eskimo" have largely fallen into disuse in Canada and are commonly considered pejorative (Macklem, 2001). As is well known, its use derives from Columbus's mistaken belief that he had arrived in the East Indies; and this situating of Native within an already existent European discourse is in many ways paradigmatic of what was to follow during the centuries of colonisation and settlement. For it should be made clear that the "Indian" is a European invention, and that there has always been a great deal of slippage between the representations of this figure and the realities of the lives of Native North Americans. In fact, the Indian has always represented as much about European fears and concerns as it has about actual Natives. Add to this the fact that the popular image of the Indian has in lar ge part been shaped by commercial considerations - give the audience what it wants to see - and it becomes clear that we are dealing with a very complex set of relationships. For this reason, the purpose of this page is principally to outline some of the characteristics of the Indian as he has been created by Europeans, and not to consider the lives of real Natives (Macklem, 2001). The terms First Peoples and First Nations are both used to refer to indigenous peoples of Canada (The Canadian Encyclopedia, 2010). The terms First Peoples or Aboriginals in Canada are normally broader terms than First Nations, as they include Inuit, Metis and First Nations. First Nations (most often used in the plural) has come into general use for the indigenous peoples of North America in Canada, and their descendants, who are neither Inuit nor Metis. On reserves, First Nations is being supplanted by members of various nations referring to themselves by their group or national identity. In conversation this would be "I am Haida", or "we are Kwantlens", in recognition of their First Nations ethnicities. In this Act, "Aboriginal peoples of Canada" includes the Indian, Inuit and Metis peoples of Canada (The Canadian Encyclopedia, 2010). Indian remains in place as the legal term used in the Canadian Constitution; its usage outside such situations can be considered offensive. Aboriginals are more commonly used to describe all indigenous peoples of Canada. It also refers to self-identification of aboriginal people who live within Canada claiming rights of sovereignty or aboriginal title to lands. The term Eskimo has pejorative connotations in Canada and Greenland. Indigenous peoples have replaced the term Eskimo with Inuit. The Yupik of Alaska and Siberia do not consider themselves Inuit, and ethnographers agree they are a distinct people. They prefer the terminology Yupik, or Eskimo. The Yupik languages are linguistically distinct from the Inuit languages. Linguistic groups of Arctic people have no universal replacement term for Eskimo, inclusive of all Inuit and Yupik people across the geographical area inhabited by the Inuit and Yupik peoples. Now, the most obvious problem with the term should be that it lumps together all the various nations, ignoring the wide differences which exist between the diverse cultures which originally inhabited the continent. But the masking effect of the stereotype runs deeper than this. As is often the case with Western encounters with alien peoples, the representation bifurcates. What we tend to find is either the "noble savage" or the barbarous, bloodthirsty primitive. The first term here was coined by John Dryden, and conveys the idea of man in a state of nature, untainted by the perceived evils of civilisation, such as avarice or ambition (Wilson Burns, 1999). It is a projection of the fear that somehow the Western way of life has become corrupt, and is in need of redemption. Traces of this view of the Indian are still apparent in the twentieth century, when many people believe Natives to have a kind of spirituality connected to a universal harmony and a