Nationalism, Home, & Indigenous Relations in Canada During COVID-19
Throughout the pandamic we have become familiar with working from home, schooling from home and stay-at-home orders. We have an idea or notion of what ‘home’ is to us and it is undeniable that one’s relationship with their ‘home’ throughout the past year and a half has shaped their responses and feelings towards the current COVID-19 pandemic. Many of us are very familiar with the conception of ‘home’; however, ‘home’ is an ambiguous concept that is undefinable. For some, a specific scent may be ‘home’, whereas others may identify a childhood memory as ‘home’. ‘Home’ cannot be encapsulated under a broad, overarching definition. Regardless of how one defines and perceives ‘home’, it is typically a sacred feeling that forms one’s sense of safety. The feeling of home, belonging and nationhood often forms one’s ontological security (Jokic, 2020); however, if nationhood and home are integral to forming security and safety, then why do so many of us sit in silence as numerous nations promote right-wing populism and pass policies that threaten culture and deplete the respective community’s sense of security and home? I will attempt to conceptualize and answer this by explaining how extreme nationalist views and actions can divide and cause tensions within a country by using Canada’s history and relationship with Indigenous communities as an example. I will then summarize the literature written within the last couple of years on the role that borders and private property have played in the perpetuation of national identities and how these identities often strengthen the security of ‘home’ for some while completely destroying it for others. Additionally, I will summarize recent literature discussing how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted Indigenous communities and their homes.
Maple syrup, beavers, and hockey are some of the artifacts and symbols that create Canada’s national identity. However, as Jokic explains, national identity and nationalism is not created from hockey, maple syrup and beavers: private property, land and borders are central to the creation of a national identity, while simultaneously protecting that identity. In the Canadian context, settlers have, throughout history, leveraged private property as a strategy to deprive Indigenous people of their land (Jokic, 2020). In doing so, the security and power of settler populations is protected, while Indigenous communities and each member’s sense of security are threatened. The settlers’ perspective has historically associated land as symbols of home, power, and control, whereby having and owning land satisfies the settlers’ ontological security/needs (Jokic, 2020). On the other hand, many Indigenous people experience a deep spiritual connection to the land, and having access to land fosters the feeling of belonging. The land of Indigenous peoples’ is controlled by governments that do not share or value that connection with the land in a comparable way (Auger, 2021). As such, how could we not question the manner in which this could negatively impact Indigenous peoples’ sense of home? Many Indigenous people feel a sense of ‘spiritual homelessness’, as laws and policies deprive them of their essential connection to the land (Christensen, 2013).
One cannot possibly discount the concept of spiritual homelessness when considering the important variables surrounding the notion of home. The absence of a structural home does not always in itself render one homeless, but rather the feeling that is associated with a lack of belonging (Christensen, 2013). In contemplating how Indigenous people within Canada were not only displaced from their lands but also stripped of their cultural identity, it is impossible to disregard how the Canadian government’s actions to assimilate Indigenous people has left many with no sense of home and ultimately no sense of security. It also illuminates the extent to which this radical behaviour has implicitly marginalized and oppressed Indigenous people. Without question, the ontological security of settlers was premised in the security and familiarity that was garnered by positioning Indigenous people as the ‘other’, rather than collaborating with them and respecting and valuing their culture. To have two different political systems (Canadian politics and Indigenous) and cultures working within the same geographical borders threatens one party’s dominance and security (Shadian, 2018). In turn, this can result in anti-Indigenous sentiments that have formed oppressive policies.
As humans we try to fit in by creating connections and fostering a sense of belonging. During the past year and a half, accelerated levels of uncertainty regarding the pandemic and our future have exacerbated a deep-seated need to belong and feel safe. This immediately prompts a series of questions: can Indigenous populations achieve this sense of belonging and connectedness, particularly during the pandemic? Does Canada allow for Indigenous people to feel connected and belong to/in Canada? How do Indigenous communities and people feel safe in the throes of a pandemic when long standing social and economic inequalities perpetuate their struggles to belong within their own territories and lands? Scholars within the past year have assessed the impact of COVID-19 on Indigenous communities. These studies conclude that preexisting inequalities marginalising Indigenous communities have hindered the ability for communities to effectively respond to COVID-19. For instance, Indigenous communities do not have the same access to computers and internet, which makes working and schooling from home extremely difficult. Many Indigenous communities in Canada do not have access to clean water, which prohibits safe hand washing as recommended by public health authorities. Moreover, many individuals cannot social-distance because they live in overcrowded dwellings due to the housing crisis that exists in many urban and northern regions. Additionally, Canada’s history of racism within health institutions has created a lack of trust among Indigenous people and many do not feel safe accessing testing or other healthcare services (See Mshford-Pringle, Skura, & Yohathasan, 2021).
The extraordinary amount of stressors that Indigenous communities are facing throughout this pandemic renders it critical that they experience a sense of belonging, connectedness, and home; yet for most, realizing that feeling of ‘being home’ is impossible. The research report by Christensen (2013) explains that, “you need to have felt ‘at home’; somewhere in your life to know what being ‘at home’ feels like” (pg 817). Due to structures and systems of colonial rule, and the supremacy of settler-colonial governance, many Indigenous people have lost / or never experienced the feeling of ‘home’. Many went to residential schools where they lived in institutions and any form of tradition or culture that would have resonated as ‘home’ was taken from them (2013). Nevertheless, as beings we share in the desire to belong and feel ‘at home’.
The need for belonging, feeling safe and home can be so intense that while trying to protect one’s own identity, an individual or nation can push away another, as there is a perceived notion that different values, people or culture could pose a threat to their own. Just as much as there is need to belong, there is an underlying tendency to make others feel as if they don’t belong in order to protect one’s own identity. The history of colonial violence in Canada is a prime example of this. However, the ambiguity embedded in the notion of home and the feeling of belonging presents a paradox: how does one determine if another individual belongs in their nation or home? And why would they believe that accepting another culture or group of people would pose a threat to their own identity? It is not just Indigenous people that face a feeling of homelessness and not being accepted in the nation in which they reside; many immigrants face exclusion as well. During the pandemic, arguably, it is more important than ever to garner connection and acquire a sense of belonging and safety, yet it is almost impossible for many to achieve this state. It follows that the concepts of home, belonging, and nationhood must be challenged and understood in a way that diminishes the sense of fear and threat when land is shared among people from different backgrounds and cultures.
By Ryleigh Sadler. 2021. All rights reserved.
Works Cited
Auger, M. (2021). Understanding our past, reclaiming our culture: Metis resiliency and connection to land in the face of colonialism. Journal of Indigenous Social Development, 10 (1), 1-28. https://ucalgary.ca/journals/jisd
Christensen, J. (2013). “Our home, our way of life”: spiritual homelessness and the sociocultural dimensions of Indigenous homelessness in the Northwest Territories (NWT), Canada. Social & Cultural Geography, 14(7), 804–828. https://doi.org/10.1080/14649365.2013.822089
Jokic, D. (2020). Cultivating the Soil of White Nationalism: Settler Violence and Whiteness as Territory. Journal of Critical Race Inquiry, 7(2), 1-21. https://doi.org/10.24908/jcri.v7i2.13537
Mshford-Pringle, A., Skura, C., & Yohathasan, T. (2021). What we heard: Indigenous People and COVID-19. Government of Canada. https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/corporate/publications/chief-public-health-officer-reports-state-public-health-canada/from-risk-resilience-equity-approach-covid-19/indigenous-peoples-covid-19-report.html
Shadian J. M. (2018). Navigating Political Borders Old and New: The Territoriality of Indigenous Inuit Governance. Journal of Borderlands Studies 33(2) 273–288. https://doi.org/10.1080/08865655.2017.1300781
