Thou Shalt Forget
Indigenous sovereignty, resistance and the production of cultural oblivion in Canada
9781912250097
9781912250295
Distributed for University of London Press
Thou Shalt Forget
Indigenous sovereignty, resistance and the production of cultural oblivion in Canada
What is ‘cultural oblivion’ and ‘psychological colonialism’, and how are they affecting the capacity of Indigenous Peoples in Canada to actively resist systematic and territorial oppression by the state? Following a decade-long research project, this new book by Pierrot Ross-Tremblay examines the production of oblivion among his own community, the Essipiunnuat [or, ‘People of the Brook Shells River’] and the relationship between a colonial imperative to forget. The book illustrates how the ‘cultural oblivion’ of vulnerable minority communities is a critical human rights issue but also asks us to reflect upon both the role of the state and the local elite in creating and warping our perception and understanding of history.
Table of Contents
List of figures Acknowledgements Introduction 1. The Essipiunnuat, the Salmon War and cultural oblivion 2. The sources of war: colonialism and the emergence of collective agency 3. Capturing who we were: heroic postures in tragic circumstances 4. Stories on the transformative experience of war: from self-empowerment to a metaphysics of domination 5. The Essipiunnuat’s actuality in light of the past Conclusion Postface | Leaders’ interiority as a public issue Bibliography Annex 1 – Methodological notes