Resistance, reclamation, & resurgence: a history of public education and Indigenous reclamation in Manitoba, 1919 - 2009

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Date
2024-05-01
Authors
Henderson, Matt
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Abstract

In this dissertation I unearth the historic and present forces which inhibit Canada’s ability to remove barriers for Indigenous reclamation and resurgence as it pertains to education. My research focuses on The Manitoba Teacher, the principal publication of the Manitoba Teachers' Society, noting that it has historically excluded the voices of Indigenous learners, educators, and families over the past century. This dissertation asks, despite this historical erasure in The Manitoba Teacher, how has Indigenous resistance, reclamation, and resurgence manifested itself in Manitoba educational settings over the past century? I argue there have always been moments and movements of Indigenous resistance, resurgence, and reclamation within education throughout the past century when Indigenous communities have taken control of the educational landscape. Based on the archival documents located within the archives of the Manitoba Teachers’ Society, the Indian and Métis Friendship Centre, the Aboriginal Council of Winnipeg, and the Verna Kirkness fonds, evidence in both colonial and Indigenous archives points to critical moments and ingredients as to when Indigenous communities have resisted colonial forms of education, and have reclaimed community-led education as a means to disrupt the colonial and oppressive grip that the Canadian state has held on communities. Through the lens of Gramsci’s notion of the subaltern and Trouillot’s theory of the silencing of history and by way of juxtaposing colonial and Indigenous archival evidence, I further argue that there has always been a disconnect or a chasm between the prohibition of Indigenous-led education and the desire of white-settlers to provide this education. Despite this gap, Indigenous peoples in Manitoba have perpetually taken back control of education through language, land, culture, and community.

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Keywords
Indigenous Education, Public Education, History, Reclamation, Reconciliation
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