The purpose of this study was to determine whether a stepwise reflection process that occurred over a 12-week period would result in attitudinal change and increased empathy regarding intergenerational trauma associated with the Indian Residential School System in a sample of Canadian health sciences undergraduate students. The study employed two forms of mixed methodologies: Two-eyed seeing and a quantitative and qualitative mixed methods approach. The results were based on the differences in reflection content at the beginning and end of a health sciences course, as well as the responses to six post-course questions. Twenty-one of 34 students agreed to participate (58.8%). The student reflections contained evidence of attitudinal change and increased empathy for Indigenous people affected by the Indian Residential School System. In conclusion, when attempting to implement reconciliation efforts, it may be important to consider both the mechanisms for fostering change as well as reducing barriers to empathy.
Blood. A paradoxical representation of life and death. This paper examines Indigenous epistomologies of menstruation as complex weavings of ceremony, maternal indicators, corporeal sovereignty, power, gender relations and reimaginings of “womanhood,” femininity, and mothering. Through the analysis of the character Tarsa’DeShae in Daniel Heath Justice’s (Cherokee) trilogy, Kinship and personal embodied experiences, this paper explores the historical and contemporary Indigenous understandings of moontime. Moontime teachings and ceremonies are critical elements continue the vital discourse on finding solution to address the oppression of, and end to the genocide against, Indigenous women, girls, and genderful1 people. Le sang. Une représentation paradoxale de la vie et de la mort. Cet article examine les épistomologies autochtones de la menstruation en tant que tissage complexe de cérémonies, d'indicateurs maternels, de souveraineté corporelle, de pouvoir, de relations entre les sexes et de réimaginations de la « féminité », de la féminité et du maternage. À travers l'analyse du personnage de Tarsa'DeShae dans la trilogie de Daniel Heath Justice (Cherokee), Kinship, et des expériences incarnées personnelles, cet article explore les compréhensions autochtones historiques et contemporaines du moontime. Les enseignements et les cérémonies du moontime sont des éléments essentiels qui poursuivent le discours vital sur la recherche de solutions pour lutter contre l'oppression des femmes, des filles et des personnes sexuées autochtones et mettre fin au génocide dont elles sont victimes.
Based on individually conducted in-depth face-to-face interviews, this study examines Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) violence in a First Nations community in Northern Manitoba, Canada. It takes as a point of reference the Pimicikamak Cree Nation of Cross Lake. This study situates IPV within the broader context of societal violence and employs a Structural Violence Theory perspective. Empirical studies have consistently demonstrated that IPV is a serious problem facing Canadian Indigenous families. Women are by far the main victims of this problem. Considering that no studies had been published previously about spousal IPV in the Cross Lake community, this study became, by default, exploratory, with the following three crucial questions: (a) what are the social factors shaping IPV in the community? (b) how does IPV affect the lives of victims/survivors? and (c) how is the community responding to the problem? The main findings of this study are as follow: (a) IPV is a systemic problem in the community; (b) women suffer more serious and repeated IPV than do men; (c) despite community efforts to address IPV, inadequate prevention programs have further compounded the problem; and (d) survivors of IPV demonstrated a high level of resilience in the face of pain and suffering. IPV in Pimicikamak Cross Lake community has been compounded by the intergenerational effects of systemic (structural) poverty and the Indian Residential School experience. The interplay of these factors has harmfully affected individual, family, and community relationships and wellbeing.
Indigenous land defenders challenging major projects on traditional territory remains an enduring feature of Canadian politics. These projects can be protected by court-issued injunctions that can authorize the state to dispel land defenders. Although there is a growing body of scholarship that shows how injunctions are typically granted to favour businesses and the state (Pasternak and Ceric, 2023), the sentencing of individuals who violate injunctions is underexplored. We analyze the sentencing decisions of Indigenous individuals who violated injunctions protecting three major projects in B.C.: the Coastal GasLink pipeline, logging at the Fairy Creek watershed, and the Trans Mountain pipeline expansion. We find that in the total eight sentencing decisions across these projects, the court typically does not accept the defendants’ arguments that commitment to Indigenous laws that protect traditional territory are relevant background factors that should mitigate against incarceration. Thus, Gladue principles are considered during sentencing, but our analysis suggests that Gladue does not live up to its promise of requiring courts to appreciate Indigenous laws, culture, and heritage.
The concept of the plumed serpent and its importance as a cultural construct for the region that is today México is examined with an eye toward comparison with similar objects of veneration in Hindu India. The work of Baldwin, Sejourne, and Zimmer is alluded to, and a detailing of aspects of both serpent and raptor veneration is given. Le concept du serpent à plumes ainsi que son importance en tant que construit culturel pour le territoire aujourd’hui connu sous le nom du Mexique est examiné de manière comparative avec des objets de vénération similaires en Inde hindi. Les travaux de Baldwin, Sejourne et Zimmer sont mobilisés et une description détaillée des aspects tant de la vénération du serpent que du rapace est offerte.
