The conference presentation group that we will dialogue with is: Voyageurs

1. Introduction
            The Maple Leaf Igloos (MLI) began by asking, “what is the historical necessity which calls for an intervention strategy in CanLit’s canonical forms of Indigenous representation?”
Canadian literature as we know it, is seemingly dominated by two acts. The first is Native erasure. The second is non-Native writers speaking over and imposing colonial representations upon Native peoples. Stories are powerful and pervasive because they affect how we understand others and our place in the world. MLI acknowledge a historical need to intervene against accepting a CanLit canon which implicitly and problematically tells Native peoples they do not belong or can only exist in certain ways, when Natives are erased from Canadian history or experience literary colonization in Canadian stories.

The Maple Leaf Igloos have found our call to action in identifying colonialist harmful frameworks in the Canadian literary canon today, so we can change the future of CanLit to instead champion texts written by Indigenous authors about Indigenous representation. The MLI strategically uses resources which expose how Native peoples are much more present than canonical Canadian literature suggests and deconstructs why colonial Native stereotypes are unsalvageable. This use of resources effectively facilitates the identification of harmful (non)representations in the literary canon for the purpose of providing a clear path to how we read and how we encourage others to read. Our pathway to intervention, then, is to disrupt the breadth of influence of the problematic Canadian literary canon.

2. Central Points and Issues

A. Indigenous erasure in the Canadian nation-building and literary canon
• Native Canadians participating as soldiers in World War I is a hardly-known fact. We found that knowing Native peoples were soldiers in such a nationally unifying event as war is a powerful way to bridge the ‘us versus them’ dichotomy because war is an event which brings people together on common ground –this unifying event of camaraderie and life or death when people of different ethnicities and classes may not have usually mixed. Recognizing Native presence as soldiers in war –outside of stereotyped settings imposed by a restrictive nation-building canon works to subvert the “Dying Indian” stereotype and represent Native peoples as very much present. It is therefore disturbing that Native peoples are erased from the war in nation-building Canadian canon.
• Indigenous poetry is excluded from CanLit canon
→ Indigenous poetics is not only the poetic expression but also has a political imperative. Attempted colonial destruction of Indigenous culture was made possible by nullification of Indigenous languages in the first place.
→ the first step toward “decolonization” is in re-acquisition of Indigenous languages.

B. Harmful Native Stereotypes
• Colonial conquests are typically justified post-fact by insisting on stereotypes which imply Native inferiority such as the ‘savage Indian’ stereotype
• Colonizers use negative stereotypes to dehumanize, distance and ‘other’ Native peoples for purpose of alleviating colonial guilt for the physical/sexual abuse and murder of Native peoples
• Misleading stereotypes which “exoticize” and “other” Native sexuality have enabled colonizers to sexually abuse Native women at disproportionate rates because sexually objectifying stereotypes suggest that Native women are inherently sexually available and can’t be raped (Amy Humphreys 23)
• Settlers stress Native stereotypes in direct relation to settler perception of Native threat. Native threat is “equivalent to Native success – militarily, economically, or even culturally” (McLaurin 13)
• Indigenous literature is equally diverse in traditions, beliefs, and culture as Western literature. If stereotypes are diminished, then we can see that “no Indigenous person is alike, and therefore their experiences are all different from each other” (Smith). When we support reading Native texts written by Native writers, we can gain a diversity of “experience and perspectives in communities, historically, as well as today” (Smith).
• Smith mentions in her article a quote by LeAnne Howe (Choctaw), about the power of Native stories. How from them we can derive history in their tales of creation:
…no matter what form they take (novel, poem, drama, memoir, film history) seem to pull all the elements together of the storyteller’s tribe, meaning the people, the land, multiple characters, and all their manifestations and revelations, and connect these in past, present, and future milieu. (Smith)

C. Non-Native voices publishing colonialist representations of Natives
• historically, many “Indigenous” works were direct products of European colonization, published with the intent of portraying Natives as “exotic” and “other”
• Because of this, it is vital that Indigenous voices are the ones that are colouring the literary canon. Such literature includes the likes of all sorts of mediums, such as plays and novels.
• primary indicator that an Indigenous voice is the one behind a piece of literature is that it concerns colonialism, and often features a non-muted and violent depiction of colonial influence.
• one of the ways that Indigenous authors are telling stories involves reclaiming common European narratives, such as Shakespeare. Through taking a familiar story like The Tempest, per se, and colouring it with Indigenous elements that exploit both the horrors of colonialism and the stereotypes attached to the Indigenous image.
• Baumander’s production of The Tempest was produced by and for the Indigenous community, and did not shy away from emphasizing the stark dichotomy between the White settlers and the Indigenous “others,” depicting women as “impure and domitable” (Mackenzie citing Stoler 114), and men as dark skinned rapists (114).
→ We see how such representation is still a site of controversy within its intended audience, as many have stated that use of stereotypes does not help to debunk them, but instead perpetuate them.

D. Psychological impact of colonizing representations of Native peoples
• a lack of knowledge, understanding, and respect where non-Indigenous peoples in the literary field are dominating instead of Native voices, can serve to undermine the impact and history of traditional stories (as well as being inherently problematic because Native voices are not being privileged in their own stories)
• The article “I Am Not a Fairy Tale”: Indigenous Storytelling on Canadian Television explores the problematic label of “fairy-tales” and “folklores” on Indigenous stories. These labels lead to stereotypical mindsets of traditional Native stories being simply sources of entertainment or didactic tales that hold no truths to them.
• In comparison, Western stories such as the creation story in Genesis have never been labeled a fairy tale or folklore despite different beliefs and religions. Traditional Indigenous tales therefore become seemingly less significant in their meaning, leading to less attention and study of their true literary value.
• Despite colonial good intentions to “publicize Indigenous culture” (Klassen 2), her position as a non-Indigenous person “complicated her understanding and interpretation of Indigenous experiences” (Klassen 2), and sometimes her writing gave way to “stereotypes or assumptions of the vanishing culture” (Klassen 2).

3. Dialogue Quotations and Commentary
Andrea Milton:
“Stories have a better chance of being heard today when they are integrated into the current landscape. However, to prevent the stories from losing their meanings, perhaps we can ‘provide more avenues and opportunities for the Indigenous and diasporic population to tell their own stories in whatever medium they choose’.”

The Maple Leaf Igloos:
The main concern that the dialogue revolved around was finding the balance between allowing forms of storytelling that fit into the current social landscape, and at the same time keeping the historical significance and meaning of the stories that aren’t necessarily meant for the medium. This is where our topic on the historical need for interventions can be highlighted. Without a good understanding of the historical context and comprehension of Indigenous stories, misrepresentations and stereotypes cannot be avoided when non-Indigenous people attempt to adapt the stories. That said, in order to capture the attention of audiences today, one must sacrifice some forms of traditional storytelling that have become obsolete in order to be heard. As pointed out in one of the dialogue points, a possible solution to this may simply be having Indigenous peoples tell their own stories in their own artistic representation that fit into the modern-day society. Instead of the literary critics and publishers being dominated by non-Indigenous people, we can strive to move towards a culture where the Indigenous literary field and publishing can be just as prominent as the non-Indigenous ones.

Tony Bae:
“Adaptations are wonderful things even when they may not get the full effect across. Artists should be encouraged to take risks and praised for “experimenting with something different”, instead of being condemned when they don’t necessarily succeed in depicting the stories exactly as they are. What are some great ways to adapt Indigenous stories to mainstream forms without losing so much of their meaning?

The Maple Leaf Igloos:
Controversy runs rampant within this literary realm with such a fragile and continuously healing history. To elaborate, an outsider’s attempts at reconciliation and helping Indigenous voices scream out against the current literary canon can backfire greatly, depending on the author. This was seen when Canadian-Caucasian novelist Angie Abdou published her Indigenous-centered novel In Case I Go, which the community deemed to be guilty of stomping out the voices of actual Indigenous opinions. Abdou’s case drew out the tensions between the Indigenous community and their peers, acting as a representation of the backlash that can stem from this community being unable to champion their own literature, as their stories are repeatedly told by those not concerned with them. Jonathan Kay states that, “according to Abdou’s most prominent critic, the best way to tell Indigenous stories is through collectively approved celebratory works that advance the community’s cause and image” (Kay 2018). In Abdou’s case, her work was not collectively approved, and thus it failed to promote the community in the way that they had envisioned. Although Abdou was well-meaning, her failure was the result of lack of credibility due to being an outsider. Thus, in order to gain a favourable reception from the intended Indigenous audience, the author should also be of Indigenous descent and be able to tell stories that are coloured with fragments of their own heritage and experience. However, this experience should also embody the opinions of the community as a collective whole in order to push forward a unanimous image. 

Andrea Milton:
“138 Indigenous women hope to change the way people see them–not as victims, but as ‘leaders and visionaries with ideas about how to fix the systems that should help them, not hold them back […]. This is exactly what Canada needs to move past the stereotypes that are written about in the article.”

Team Maple Leaf Igloos:
The aims of the “Maple Leaf Igloos” discourse is partly about the historical necessity of intervention against colonizing misrepresentations imposed on Indigenous peoples, which of course includes stereotypes. But in this case, the stereotype would be that colonist discourse had historically (falsely) framed Indigenous women as promiscuous and inherently sexually available, which led to sexual abuse of Native women and girls by non-Native colonist men. That is an example of how colonist stereotypes of Natives have historically led to harm and marginalization against Indigenous peoples. One can still recognize Indigenous women as leaders and visionaries with the hope and agency for change, without disregarding that they have also been victimized and failed by the Canada in which they live. I don’t believe these concepts are mutually exclusive.

4. Conclusion
Moving forward, The Maple Leaf Igloos believe that by identifying and exposing the harmful effects of colonialist frameworks in both Canadian literary and nation-building canon, we can use education to discourage reading problematic narratives and thereby interrupt the current problematic CanLit Canon. We can educate people about the harms of stories and what stories to avoid, because stories powerfully change how we understand people and our place in Canada. In this manner, explaining the harm behind colonialist representations imposed on Native peoples in the literary canon, is an intervention in the future of Canadian Literature. At the beginning we identified a historical need for intervention calls to action: making a shift from the problematic and colonialist CanLit canon and into a new age of supporting Native writers by buying and reading their books.

5. Future Research

A. Areas.
• Subversive stories told by Indigenous peoples which fight back against this colonizing and harmful narrative.
• The reactions of different Indigenous communities, and the interpretive Western audience, and Canadian government officials to Indigenous literature which confronts colonization in violent and non-muted tone.
• How colonial stories may have affected the ways Indigenous peoples perceive their identity

B. Questions.
• There is a historical need for intervention because stereotypes against Natives have been used to ‘justify’ colonial conquest, post-fact. However, the problematic nature behind Native stereotypes is not just historical fact, they are also very present. In what ways have Native stereotypes been used to justify systematic discrimination against Native peoples in Canada today?

Works Cited:
Bourgeois, Robyn. “Breaking the Silence about Canada’s Missing and Murdered Aboriginal Women.” Black Coffee Poet, Webpress, 24 Nov. 2014, blackcoffeepoet.com/2011/02/16/breaking-the-silence-about-canadas-800-missing-and-murdered-aboriginal-women-interview-with-cree-academic-and-activist-robyn-bourgeois-a-photo-essay-of-the-no-more-silence-rally-feb-14th-201/.

Brant, Jennifer. “Cultural Appropriation of Indigenous Peoples in Canada.” The Canadian Encyclopedia, 2017, www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/cultural-appropriation-of-indigenous-peoples-in-canada.

Cheung, Iva. “Panel: Indigenous writers and editors (Editors Canada 2017.” Iva Cheung, 5 July 2017, https://www.ivacheung.com/2017/07/panel-indigenous-writers-and-editors-editors-canada-2017/

Cyca, Michelle. “Resistance 150: Indigenous Artists Challenge Canadians to Reckon with Our History.” Chatelaine, Chatelaine, 22 June 2017, http://www.chatelaine.com/living/resistance-150-indigenous-artists/. Retrieved from: https://www.chatelaine.com/living/resistance-150-indigenous-artists/

Hearne, Joanna. “‘I Am Not a Fairy Tale’: Indigenous Storytelling on Canadian Television.” Marvels & Tales, vol. 31, no. 1, pp. 126–146.

“How Indigenous Theatre Shares Important History – Vancouver.” Breakfast Television Vancouver, 2017, www.btvancouver.ca/videos/how-indigenous-theatre-shares-important-history/

Klassen, Jenna R. “‘A sad hiatus in our national history’: Indigenous Representations in the Work of Nan Shipley, 1950s-1970s.” Manitoba History, no. 88, pp. 2-11.

Lang, Anouk. “A Book that all Canadians should be Proud to Read“: Canada Reads and Joseph Boyden’s Three Day Road.” Canadian Literature, no. 215, 2012, pp. 120.

Mackenzie, Sarah. “Performing ‘Indigenous Shakespeare’ in Canada: The Tempest and The Death of a Chief.” Shakespeare and Canada: Remembrance of Ourselves, edited by Irena R. Makaryk and Kathryn Prince, University of Ottawa Press, 2017, pp. 111–125. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/j.ctt1n2tv7r.11. 

Mclaurin, Virginia A., “Stereotypes of Contemporary Native American Indian Characters in Recent Popular Media” (2012). Masters Theses 1911 – February 2014. 830

Nelson, Peter (2014 October). Before They Pass Away [Video file]. Retrieved fromhttps://www.ted.com/talks/jimmy_nelson_gorgeous_portraits_of_the_world_s_vanishing_people

Patel, N. (2016). Struggles for and with indigenous poetics. Canadian Literature, (228), 256-259,269. Retrieved from http://ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/docview/1882450798?accountid=14656

Smith, Christine. “Indigenous Literature: Diversity and Importance.” All Lit Up, 22 Oct. 2014, https://alllitup.ca/Blog/2014/Indigenous-Literature-Diversity-and-Importance#topofpostcontent