Asking for a Seat at an Indigenous Circle
So, the other day I applied to the the Indigenous Storyteller Circle of a major audiobook corporation. (NB: I have decided not to mention the name out of legal protection and ethical concerns)
Their CfA announcement is as follows:
The Writers’ Circle will support the next wave of emerging Indigenous writers, by leveraging (corporation's) resources and creative community connections to provide mentorship and learning opportunities to help program participants tell their stories.
(corporation) has embarked on a mission to elevate the voices of Indigenous peoples in Canada, in an effort to enhance equity and support reconciliation.
Emerging writers in the program will be paired with Indigenous mentors who will coach and guide participants through the creative process. They will help them identify and pursue opportunities aligning with their goals as writers.
Participants will also benefit from immersive workshops where they will learn from some of the industry’s leading creators, publishers, content managers, writers and marketers.
(corporation) will provide additional support to the participants throughout the program, including guidance on how participants can promote their work. At the end of the program, participants may explore opportunities with (corporation) depending on what stage each writer has progressed in their creative work and how they choose to share their writing.
Each selected emerging writer is eligible for a $1,500 CAD bursary to support their participation in the program, and there is no cost to participate in the Writers’ Circle.
Statement of Non Discrimination
The (corporation) Indigenous Writers’ Circle supports equal opportunity for all persons regardless of race, sex, color, religion, creed, national origin or ancestry, age, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, physical ability or disability
The program year 2024 will begin on June 1st and end on December 20th, with a six-week summer break from July 20th to August 31st.
The (corporation) Indigenous Writers’ Circle invites emerging writers who self-identify as First Nations, Inuit and/or Métis and meet the following criteria to apply for the six-month program.
You are a great fit for the program if you self-identify as First Nations, Inuit and/or Métis and:Have background knowledge, interest or training in writing. This could include self-study, mentorships, academic study or combinations of these types of training
Are pursuing or considering pursuing a career in literary arts
Can provide an example of your literary workExamples of your work can include: works of fiction, non-fiction, biographies/autobiographies, memoirs, graphic novels, illustrated books, blogs, poetry, children’s literature, audiobooks and narrative podcasts.
Are at least 18 years old as of January 1, 2024
Reside in Canada (At this time, residents of Quebec are not eligible for the program due to provincial contest regulations).
Assessment process and guidelines
Applicants will be assessed by a panel of Indigenous literary artists. The panel will consider the following when reviewing each application:The strength of the artistic intention for the sample of work
Potential benefits of the Writers’ Circle to the development of the applicant’s practice
We sincerely thank all applicants for their interest. Upon submission, you will receive a notification via email that your application has been received. Following review, all applicants will be contacted regarding the status of their application.
I filled out the online form identifying myself and my history. After it was completed, I received the following email:
Hi Theodore,
Thanks so much for applying to the (corporation's) Indigenous Writers' Circle - your application form and writing sample have been received.
We'd love to make a quick clarification on the Indigenous self-identification information you shared.
The Inuit define themselves as having a direct connection to a historic Inuit community and can demonstrate a connection to a Inuit ancestor. Are you able to share these details, or your Inuit citizenship status?
We look forward to hearing from you soon,
Writers’ Circle Team
At this demand for extra information, I figured that the NunatuKavut was outside of their definition of Inuit. I replied as follows:
Hello (corporation),
I trace my Inuit ancestry through my mother, (name redacted for privacy) who is Nunatsiavut (ITK recognized Labrador Inuit), and her grandfather, Gilbert Blake, a renowned Inuit trapper from Labrador in the early part of the 20th century. If you search Them Days, a journal of Labrador history & culture, you can verify his status.
I think the (corporation) Indigenous Writer's Circle needs to realize the complexity of Inuit identity in Labrador, as compared to the rest of Canada, due to the geography, where Inuit were further south and closer to the coast than other regions of Canada. This means there was a comparatively greater historical incidence of intermarriage between Inuit and settlers. Although people of Inuit ancestry who had lived further north were recognized as Nunatsiavut (ITK sanctioned Labrador Inuit), many of their children have been refused, and so have organized themselves into the NunatuKavut, of which I am a member (#04037).
The situation of Labrador was further complicated when Nathan Obed, head of the ITK, branded the NunatuKavut a 'shapeshifter' organization in 2023, which has many derogatory associations in Inuit culture, as you know. When Nunatsiavut leader Johannes Lampe villified the NunatuKavut even more, this came as a shock to many in my family, who identify strongly as Inuit and even practice Kakiniit. Instead of building a longer table, Mr Obed and Lampe have elected to build a higher wall, and ironically re-enact the blood quantum system of Canada's colonial Indian Act, which sought to reduce and eliminate the number of indigenous people by denying the identity of women who married outside of their community.
As for myself, I was raised in Goose Bay, Labrador, where many Labrador Inuit were forcibly re-settled after Confederation in 1949. When my family moved to St. John's when I was 10, I was often branded as a 'skimo' or 'skapi' and other derogatory terms for native people. Nevertheless, I kept my long hair as a proud sign of my identity and elected to study English as a way to continue my family and community's storytelling tradition.
Increasingly disheartened by racism I faced in Canada, I moved to Japan in my mid twenties and lived there for 20 years. I returned to Canada last year and was encouraged to find a celebration of indigenous identity, although I am also disheartened by the statements of the ITK and Nunatsiavut which exclude the full range of Labrador Inuit identity, such as Kablunangajuk (partly white men), which are mentioned in the history of Labrador Inuit, but excluded in Nunatsiavut and ITK policy and politics.
I hope this satisfies your request, and please contact me if you have any questions.
Sincerely,
Theodore Bonnah
The next day, I was refused in the following letter.
Hello Ted,
Thank you for taking the time to share personal details about your family with us and for responding to our voluntary self-identification questions. We want you to know that we appreciate your willingness to share with us.
We understand that navigating the complex historical and cultural issues surrounding Indigenous identity can be difficult. Unfortunately, Nunatukavut is not recognized as an Inuit community by the national organization, and as such, we are not able to proceed with your application.
We realize this news may be disappointing, and we assure you it was not an easy decision. Our goal is to create an inclusive and supportive environment, and we are committed to working towards that goal in every way we can.
If you have any questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact us. We are here to help in any way we can.
All the best,
The Writers' Circle Team
The Problem with Corporations
There are four conclusions that can be drawn from this interchange:
1) Corporations lack the nuance to verify indigenous identity.
As I stated in my response, the situation of Inuit peoples of Labrador is different from that in other provinces, and any organization claiming to support indigenous people has to recognize this reality. As Fagan (2022) notes, there is a western bias in Canadian conceptions of native identity, especially Inuit. This is especially true of the NunatuKavut, which has been branded a 'shapeshifter' organization by the ITK, the mostly western Canadian national Inuit organization (Obed 2023). In essence, corporations lack the nuanced understanding and sensibility to determine who is indigenous or not, and in this case have taken the side of the hegemony against a marginalized group.
2) Corporations are interested in profits, not equity.
Of course, the corporation's decision makes sense in the light of the 2023 ITK open letter to Canadians and their government to exclude the NunatuKavut. Basically, their decision is not to anger some 'base', and not to take sides in a conflict that they fear would affect their bottom line. However, by definition, prizing equity requires taking of the side of the disadvantaged in a conflict. It is easy to see that corporate profits via content creation came first in this decision. As Dicks (2022) notes, non-status mixed indigenous individuals are the most vulnerable and needing support, as they are excluded from both settler and indigenous communities.
3) The corporation's response replicates colonial violence
The worst thing about the corporation's decision is that, in many ways, it replicates colonial violence. The blood quantum rule of Canada's Indian Act took indigenous status away from people whose mother was indigenous but father non-indigenous. My mother is Nunatsiavut, or recognized indigenous, but I am not. By following the ITK's directive to exclude the NunatuKavut, the corporation has bought into a settler state power differential for including and excluding individuals from their ancestral identity for the purpose of determining budgetary support.
4) Corporations break their own rules
The corporation published a Statement of Non Discrimination which includes ancestry, but rejected mine, despite its acceptance by the Government of Canada in a 2019 Memorandum of Understanding. This is an example of how corporate rules of conduct are often just boilerplate that can be ignored for corporate profit-driven interests.
Is It Time For A Critical Indigenity?
It seems evident that the welcome movement towards equity and representation for indigenous people in Canada is anti-colonial. However, its western bias and exclusion of the NunatuKavut and Metis groups in Ontario and Quebec also signals that more needs to be done to include all of Canada's indigenous people, both recognized and the equally vulnerable non-recognized indigenous individuals. Is it time for a critical indigenity, one that problematizes the hegemony of representative organizations, the processes for determining indigenous identity, and their control of access to equity initiatives?
If corporations are getting into the game and making exclusionary decisions like this, I would say it is past time.
Sources
Dicks, Heather. (2022). “Beyond binaries: mixed-blood Indigenous inequalities.” AlterNative: An International Journal of Indigenous Peoples. 19:2, 261-270
Fagan, K. (2022). We All Have A Piece of the Puzzle: Indigenous led collaborative storytelling in Newfoundland and Labrador." 2022 George Story Lecture. Memorial HSS.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lovX0I_Qpqc
Obed, Natan. (2023). “An Open Letter from Inuit Tapiriit Kanatami to Alert Canadians to False Claims to Inuit Identity.” November 6, 2023
https://www.itk.ca/open-letter-false-claims-to-inuit-identity
https://www.itk.ca/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/20231103-open-letter-false-claims-to-inuit-identity-EN.pdf
