Indigenous Perspectives
To walk gently on Mother Earth and have a deep respect for all creation
Myth perpetuated by socially constructed and hierarchical ideas of race.
Indigenous people all look the same
Western way of seeing the 'East' that patronizes and fictionalizes its societies and peoples and assumes European superiority.
orientalism
A wise, respected person in the community who is a role model, teacher, and healer.
Myth that overlooks the financial contributions of Indigenous peoples, while also ignoring treaty rights to resources and annuities.
the tax free myth
The fact that white people are free from being categorized, profiled, or criminalized based on race, is an example of
white privilege
In contrast to hierarchical thinking, it is a view of the universe as a great wheel of relationships.
circular thinking
Myth that fails to acknowledge that Canada is created off the resources, and at the continual expense of, Indigenous peoples. The effect is to distance Euro-Canadians from Canada's racist colonial history.
We are all just Canadians
Borrowed from the British philosopher John Locke, and used to justify the theft of land and disregard the property rights of Indigenous peoples
labour theory of value
Protocol used before people gather that signifies cleansing oneself, objects or places, and restoring balance.
Smudging ceremony
Myth that overlooks chronic underfunding of schools, treaty promises, the limited funds available for postsecondary, and the general history of control over Indigenous peoples.
Free education myth
colonialism
Elements from oppressed peoples are taken by members of the dominant society for their own self-interest. The sacred meanings, stories, or cultural significance, are completely disregarded.
cultural appropriation
Myth that fails to consider aspects of contemporary colonialism.
Just get over it
When ideology of superiority becomes more systemic and more subtle. Examples would be media stereotypes and the overrepresentation of Indigenous peoples in the criminal justice system.
contemporary colonialism