A RACIALIZED SETTLER WOMAN'S TRANSFORMATIVE JOURNEY IN CANADA: BUILDING RELATIONAL ACCOUNTABILITIES
Date
2022-09-02
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
ORCID
Type
Thesis
Degree Level
Doctoral
Abstract
This dissertation tells the story of my racialized settler woman’s transformative journey toward reconciliation and mutual empowerment through community in Canada. The dissertation discusses how Indigenous Land-based learning became healing and empowering for me as a newly arrived settler woman of a colour, learning about my positioning on the stolen Indigenous Lands of treaty six territory. It recounts the journey of migrating from one colonial Land to another, building a family and new community networks, and learning about Indigenous histories, cultures, Land-based learning, and about diverse newcomer settler communities in Saskatoon, Canada. The dissertation discusses how collaborative learning has supported taking responsibility for understanding the meaning of Land in solidarity with Indigenous and newcomer communities, through involvement in a community garden project, community radio show, and various cultural community activities. Using decolonial feminist relational autoethnography as my research methodology, this dissertation discusses my quest to challenge everyday racisms and colonial practices ingrained in the daily lives of newcomer Canadians. Following 12 years of community activities in Treaty 6 and 7 territories, this research emphasizes a key lesson from this life journey: the need to be responsible for understanding the Indigenous meaning of Land in order to create belongingness with the Land and its original peoples, while resisting the assimilationist forces impacting Indigenous and newcomer communities through their unique histories, despite the orchestrated biases operating through colonialist structures. The author concludes with the hope that the analysis of decolonial, collaborative learning stories and connections with the Land may help other non-Indigenous communities build meaningful relationships with the Land and Indigenous communities.
Description
Keywords
Indigenous Land-based learning, Decolonial feminist relational autoethnography, Building relationships, Community activities (Community gardening, radio, and transnational cultural activities), Anti-racism, Mutual empowerment, Relational accountabilities
Citation
Degree
Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.)
Department
Interdisciplinary Centre for Culture and Creativity
Program
Women's and Gender Studies