Knowledge Systems, Culture & Home

It is hard to deny that the concept of ‘Home’ is both ambiguous and undefinable; yet, when discussing “what home means”, I have encountered three common themes: community, safety, and culture.  There is without doubt a correlation between feeling safe and a sense of community whilst being immersed into a culture that resonates with you.  It is fair to say that culture normally shapes who we are and what we know (Gehl, 2017), which then prompts a series of thoughts and questions pertaining to whether our culture assumes a significant role in how we define ourselves and, ultimately, how we create our sense of home? If it is true that a sense of home is shaped through culture, how in the world would those who have been stripped of their rights to practice their culture even begin to go about creating that sense of belonging? At this point, it becomes especially hard to not put the lens on Indigenous communities in Canada and acknowledge how their knowledge systems and methodologies have emerged from their cultural traditions and practices. In other words, Indigenous culture shapes and forms Indigenous knowledge (Gehl, 2017). This knowledge is imperative to the preservation of Indigenous identity. However, in the aftermath of residential schools and systematic, structural racism and exclusion, it is particularly hard to deny Canada’s overzealous attempt to destroy Indigenous knowledge and culture. The attempts to destroy Indigenous knowledges deprived so many Indigenous peoples of their sense of belonging, their awareness of who they are, and the feeling of home. In my research and work for ‘Project Home’, I have gained insights on the importance of preserving Indigenous knowledge, the effects that colonisation had, and continues to have, on Indigenous people, and particularly how this relates to their sense of belonging, including why the traditional [conventional] notions of belonging and home need to be challenged.

Indigenous knowledges are conveyed in the form of dance, song, and many other cultural practices. This knowledge defines who they are. Throughout history, Western (European, settler) cultures have largely rejected knowledge sharing of equal value between Indigenous and Western communities. Yet, when settlers first arrived, they very much relied on Indigenous knowledge to survive the harsh winters. At that point in time, settlers expressed appreciation for Indigenous knowledge. However, as settler communities  became less reliant on Indigenous knowledge and people, their gratitude turned to self righteousness. Settler communities and settler laws began criminalising Indigenous practices on the grounds that Indigenous culture and ceremonies prevented the settlers from advancing their European standard of life (Gehl, 2017). So now I ask: why was the European standard of life perceived as superior to the Indigenous standard? If settlers relied on Indigenous knowledge to survive, at what point (and in what thought process) did they determine that Indigenous knowledge was inferior? What led them to destroy the very knowledge systems that were instrumental in their own survival? Gehl’s book (2017), Claiming Anishinaabe: Decolonizing the Human Spirit, explains that: “Western people have ventured on a corporeal (physical) journey of knowledge, [and] Indigenous people have ventured inward on an incorporeal (subjective and introspective) journey” (pg. 62).  So, Western and Indigenous culture and ways of thinking are typically different, thus Westerners pegged Indigenous people as the “other”, positioning them to regard Indigenous knowledge systems and culture as inferior. Clearly, settlers assimilated Indigenous culture and knowledge, and disregarded the origin of that culture and knowledge to strengthen their own sense of belonging and culture. Meanwhile, utterly destroying the possibility for a sense of belonging and culture amongst Indigenous people and communities.  

Culture is central to how we define who we are and what we know to be home (Gehl, 2017), and as such, this has fuelled my interest in how cultural knowledge supports the creation of concepts and ideas of what nationalism, citizenship, and home mean. Specifically in Canada, where there has been a history of colonial violence among Indigenous people that has resulted in a significant cultural divide, I was curious to gather perspectives of what other people had to say regarding Indigenous and Canadian relations. In these discussions, I would often ask if they thought Indigenous people were Canadian. Many people were unsure how to answer this question, yet many of the answers incorporated the cultural differences between “Canadian culture” and “Indigenous culture”. A common response was, “That was a hard question to answer.” However, within that typical response, an interesting theme emerged that generally stated that geographically speaking, Indigenous people are Canadian, but Canadian and Indigenous cultures are very different, so culturally speaking, Indigenous people are not Canadian. But what exactly is Canadian culture?  Is it what mainstream media portrays it to be: hockey, maple syrup, and surviving cold winters? I don’t think so; the mainstream media portrayal is a misconception for no other reason than the mere fact that Canada is home to many individuals of various backgrounds and cultures from all over the world. As such, it’s not a stretch to say that culture has been manipulated to promote colonial agendas and thoughts. Gehl’s book explains that culture and cultural politics is often used as a strategy of nationalism in manipulating who we are and what we know to be true.  Settlers have used this tactic as a way to perpetuate the idea that the Western way of life was superior to the Indigenous lifestyle, and in turn these actions have resulted in many Indigenous people feeling a lack of belonging and home (Gehl, 2017).

The ideas surrounding home and belonging shape so much of our political and legal systems – and, ultimately, our way of being. Traditional views of ‘home’ and ‘belonging’ have created countless oppressive policies that have marginalised far too many groups of people, resulting in radical actions that have unquestionably left many feeling a sense of ‘homelessness’. I am irked at how governments have used and manipulated borders and citizenships as a way of dictating who belongs and who is home, while neglecting to thoroughly unpack what exactly constitutes belonging and home. Belonging and the sense of home incorporates much more than just borders and citizenship; they entail intangible feelings and desires. The longstanding impact of colonisation leaves us with no choice but to recognise that notions of home and belonging must be challenged more vehemently.  The idea that other cultures and knowledge pose a threat to one’s sense of home should be demolished. There needs to be an understanding and acceptance that being home and belonging is more than a composition of tangible aspects, that it also encompasses the inward / incorporeal (subjective and introspective) cultural journey to include individual feelings, desires, and/or pursuits.   

All Rights Reserved. Ryleigh Sadler. 2021.

Works Cited:

Gehl, A. (2017). Claiming Anishinaabe: Decolonizing The Human Spirit. University of Regina Press.