rwmtest

This week's NS 115 class and reading has, yet again, forced me into thinking in a new way. I wanted to share some of those thoughts and possibly get some feedback and/or discussion. The first theme was multiculturalism.  It came up in the lecture, but also a thread that Dr. Kim TallBear posted to twitter prior to the lecture.   when we are told to simply trust SCIENCE---"LET THE SCIENCE SPEAK"--are we supposed to ignore that science has been built on the bodies of the marginalized with little regard for our agency & capacity to consent? are libs truly this ignorant of their colonial foundation? — Kim TallBear (@KimTallBear) January 23, 2021 To put the thinking in my own words, multiculturalism in a Canadian sense allows diversity in those spaces which are not predetermined by the systems of Canada.  Dr. Tallbear regularly talks of the collaboration between Church, State, and Science. As a British subsidiary, the laws of Canada were adopted from British laws, and all

This article is in the form of a question. I don't know the answer, but it is something I hope people start to think about.   This comes up regularly on social media when people ask why Canada can't simply recognize the human rights of indigenous peoples (as articulated by UNDRIP), as well as formally denounce racist doctrines so that Canada is no longer so obviously a systemically racist country.   I've already discussed that I agree with all the people who believe that implementing UNDRIP requires a change to the Canadian constitution .  Given how hard it is to make changes to the constitution, this isn't gong to happen in the short term. Canada needs a process to change the large number of Canadian laws which are based on systemic racism and white supremacy before we can then change the constitution to allow full UNDRIP implementation.   But what about the racist doctrines? We are all treaty people. Anishinabek Nation provides a great reading of the children's b

Since I discovered the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) I have been reading people's views about it. I later came to my own conclusions on UNDRIP, which is that while the declaration could have been better, it remains a critical recognition that the UN's 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) was never "universal", and was authored (first draft by Canadian John Peter Humphrey) from a western worldview perspective. I consider UNDRIP to be a modernization of our understanding of human rights, and not something that creates special rights for anyone.  In fact, I believe the UDHR granted special rights to a specific subset of peoples, a problem which UNDRIP starts to correct. I pretty much reject all opposition to UNDRIP from western worldviews, as being opposition to human rights.  Western worldviews have received excessive privilege globally for hundreds of years, and I believe we as a species must modernize away from

Prior to the 2019 federal election I wrote an article discussing what Justin Trudeau and the 2015 Liberal platform team did wrong on electoral reform .  The short form is that either the platform team was completely ignorant of the complexities of electoral reform and the differing (sometimes opposing) criteria for success, or they were deliberately misleading potential voters about what the party executive was intending to do. The 2019 platform commitment Given my recently discovered interest in decolonization, I wanted to offer something similar for the 2019 Liberal Platform Commitments relating to The UN Declaration On The Rights Of Indigenous Peoples . Quoting from their platform: We will take action to implement the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in the first year of a new mandate. This is a very poor start.  Anyone who understands UNDRIP and Canadian law recognizes that a constitutional amendment is required to fully implement UNDRIP. It should be

This fall I took the Indigenous Canada course from University of Alberta.  It is available for free, but I got the certificate and made a donation. When I read the announcement, I jumped at the chance to take the two new courses offered this winter term.  I signed up, paid my tuition, and am working on the first week's lessons for both. I am privileged in many ways, and that includes currently working for an employer who has been willing to consider these two courses as professional development.   NS 161: Countering Stereotypes of Indigenous Peoples NS 115: Indigenous Peoples and Technoscience I'm a mature student (turning 53 at the end of March), so I'm not taking these courses for credit or for career advancement.  I have been a political activist since the early 1990's on policy areas such as the environment, democracy, and technology law. Since I started my self-directed antiracism training I have come to a very different understanding of what Canada is . I hav

I recommend everyone watch this amazing interview of Romeo Saganash.  If you don't need convincing, just watch. Romeo Saganash was born in 1961 in Waswanipi, a cree community in what some currently call Quebec. He is fluent in Cree, French and English. He discusses his career as a policy maker within indigenous communities, internationally within Canadian politics and globally.  In 1984 he was invited to go to the United Nations, and became actively involved in the working groups that eventually were able to get the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples passed through the UN general assembly in 2007. With his extensive political experience he was courted by nearly all the political parties except the Conservatives.  After having said "no" many times, he finally said "yes" to Jack Layton.  He promised two terms, and successfully won his seat both times in 2011 and in 2015.  He did not run in 2019. He was not part of the government, but t

This is my opinion, and it is a controversial one. Skip this article if you will feel triggered by a conversation involving the confederate flag, and because of that be unable to read the entire thought before jumping to conclusions. As I watched what was happening in the US Capitol yesterday, I noticed some familiar themes. One of them related to a series of photographs of the flag of the Confederate States of America being flown outside and within the halls of the US Capitol.  It disgusted people because it is seen as a symbol of white supremacy. The USA fought a civil war and won against the separatists that fly that flag, which to most people that means that they aren't the white supremacists. Never during the civil war did that flag fly in the capitol, and yet it flew yesterday because of a riot incited by opportunistic politicians.   Canadians regularly tell a similar story, of how they (well, their British loyalist ancestors) fought a series of wars against the separatists (

The NDP have a fundraising campaign where they wish to Dismantle white supremacist and neo-nazi groups in Canada . While that is a feel-good campaign that might bring them money, I think Canadian political parties and elected members of Canadian parliaments should look closer to home if they wish to solve this problem. Canadians believe that Canada is not a racist country, largely because they are looking for individuals who use specific keywords they are looking for.  They want to hear someone say that they believe whites are a superior race, and that whites should rule over all the other races. As it is only a small minority of Canadians who use the keywords they are looking for, they can feel good about themselves and confident that Canada isn't a racist country. This focus on individuals should be recognized as a form of white privilege and part of European worldviews.  If we wish to stop racism and white supremacy in Canada we should instead be looking at the systems of Canada