Settler Colonialism in Canada and its Relationship with Land
Settler colonialism and the colonial mindsets have taken the route of an ongoing ideology and practice in Canada. We might consider settler Canadian identity as an interrogative identity that can make physical Canadians and other diverse groups. Beyond this present colonial conflict, it might think of a world defined by reciprocity, responsibility and restitution. When we think of settler Canadian people, we define them by terms such as white, non-Indigenous, non-aboriginal etc, because of their historical contribution to the colonization practices on the Indigenous land. In order to make Canada an existential country, settler colonialists believe that it was essential for the Indigenous people to open and reserve space for the newcomers. The Indigenous community lays a lot of emphasis on place-thought, reciprocity and sovereignty when it comes to their ancestral land hence it is questioned if the settler people will ever be able to establish a relationship to the Indigenous land. However, from the perspective of the non-Indigenous community, if decolonization takes place, and indigenous nationhood and place-relationships are regenerated and settle colonial structures are dismantled, society will begin a transformative process.
Imagining Canada today without Settler Colonialism
Settler community has contributed vastly to the economic and political diversity and various social practices, so in the 21st century, it is hard to imagine how life in Canada can be re-structured without it. However, on the other hand, Indigenous intellectuals give more value to land and space. Hence, if we compare the two beliefs, it is hard to justify if the land only needs to belong to its true inheritors or it should actually welcome the new community so that the country can progress more in various aspects and diversity can be expanded.
“Land. If you understand nothing else about the history of Indians in North America, you need to understand that the question that really matters is the question of land.” Thomas King, The Inconvenient Indian.
Creating place and space
Community building by the settler colonialists and the indigenous people is similar to the communities in Peckham and West Horseley, two distinct middle class neighbourhoods in London. The socially mixed people in Peckham believed in ‘place making’ by using representational symbols to be able to be recognized. Whereas, the white middle class community in West Horseley and Effingham believed in ‘performativity’ of the space, as in not making any unnecessary changes that might promote suburbanization but to preserve the rural aspects of their space and bring changes through their practice. This relational validity of the people living in those villages is followed by the Indigenous community living in Alberta as well.
Settler Colonialism in Canada and its Relationship with Land
The author of the article ‘ The Land is The Best Teacher’ actually communicated with the Blackfoot Indigenous community living in Lethbridge, Alberta and gave us an insight into the historical aspects and significance of the land and the sentimental values attached to it by the Blackfoot people. Thus, the practices and traditions and the unique techniques that are executed in retaining their place and space impose a bigger challenge for the settler colonialists to have an authority over their land.
However, these indigenous conceptions of territory and property that had to take place through mapping themselves are threatened by settler colonialism that cause a conflict through counter mapping. They want to create space as an abstraction where social and ecological relations are ignored and do not investigate the emergence of the current spatial forms of resources. They want to detach the space from its environmental factors and eradicate the land of its richness of life experience and detail of human interactions. Whereas, the dwelling space that exists on the Indigenous land believes in dynamism, multiplicity and materialism. Compared to the Karen Dwelling spaces in Thailand, we came to know that such spaces are mapped due to their social, ecological and political relations that set them apart, such as land tenure institutions, land use patterns and forest based activities. Pathways and landmarks are key to Indigenous spatial epistemology.
Conclusion
The Indigenous people constantly assert on respectful relationships with the land and to let them determine their own futures and right to their land. On the other hand, modern day descendants of settler colonialists want to use the methodology of decolonization to uproot the Indigenous ‘place-making’ traditions and regard their land as a unified space to be controlled by all. In order to actually belong to a land and develop a relationship with it, settler colonialist Canadians need gain knowledge of its socio-ecological relations with the land and the sentiments attached to it. Rather than impose the concept of decolonization that will just deprive the land of its culture and traditions.
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