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Indigenous peoples and Interculturality

Indigenous Peoples and Interculturality

In 1972 the leadership of the IIM had an epiphany regarding the absence of the role of First Nations in defining the organization’s mission. Hence, we began a journey of first educating ourselves i.e. learning about Turtle Island and its peoples, from them and in their own terms. It was imperative to engage in this process of learning before we talk about and undertake any action to address this crucial intercultural issue. This journey involved travelling across Quebec-Canada and to the south of the border to the USA. It took several years of self-education to develop relationships of friendship and collaboration with Indigenous communities and to engage in the activities of raising awareness about the history of the continent as told from an Indigenous perspective. This is considered an imperative for intercultural projects in Quebec-Canada, such as in policy making and, in their implementations, as well as in any social action. Many of these activities were done bi-culturally with the collaboration of leaders and community members of indigenous communities

Program Objectives:

  • To disseminate information about cultures, social realities and struggles of Indigenous peoples of the Americas and of other countries.
  • To foster an attitude of learning from and reconciliation between Indigenous peoples and people of diverse origins in Quebec and in Canada.
  • To raise awareness about the necessity of deconstructing colonial relationships and restoring proper nation to nation relationship with the Indigenous Peoples; and to the role of Indigenous communities in the dynamics of all interethnic, intercultural and inter-racial relations.
  • To promote and support the rights of Indigenous communities to their ancestral lifestyles in the context of contemporary social and political dynamics.

Activities:

Support and collaboration with indigenous communities in their struggle for self-determination based on their requests and in their own terms.

A few notable events: (digitized documents)

  • 1978: A series of weekly evening conferences were organized over a period of two years. Spiritual-political leaders from various Indigenous and Inuit communities of Canada-Quebec were invited to come and speak about their history, the history of colonialism, their struggle for political self-determination and their rights to ancestral cultures and spiritual traditions. This activity was acclaimed by media, the public and academics as a turning point in raising public awareness of continued colonial relationships between the First Peoples and Canada-Quebec. 
  • 1979: In the spring of 1979, The Kaneyen’hehà:ka (Mohawk Nation) at Akwesasne (St.Regis) was placed under siege for two years by the authorities of the State of New York and later with the involvement of the U.S. federal government. The Akwesasne territory found itself divided by provincial, national and international colonial administrations of Canada, Quebec, New York State and the United States. The conflict was triggered when several hundred men, women and children barricaded themselves on the land of one of the young Mohawk leaders in the community to resist the intrusion on his land by the promoters of a youth project called Young Adult Conservation Corp of New York. This project consisted of clearing terrain by cutting trees and building a fence all along that area. This event was followed by actions taken by the State of New York to surround these men, women and children with armed police. This stand-off lasted for two years between the armed members of the Akwesasne Mohawk nation and the New York State police. At that time this event was named “New Wounded Knee”. The IIM played a pivotal role by responding to the emergency request from the Mohawk leadership to support their struggle throughout the crisis, starting with being physically present on the seized territory, bringing in the representatives of the Human Rights Commission of Quebec and facilitating media exposure. (See reports and articles in Quebec’s newspapers like Le Devoir, La Presse in 1979-1980)
  • 1990: From July 11 to September 26, 1990, the crisis of a 78-day standoff between Kanyen’kehà:ka (Mohawk) protesters and Sûreté du Québec, the RCMP and the Canadian Army. This came to be known as the Oka crisis, but it is called the Mohawk Resistance at Kanesatake by the Mohawks themselves. The crisis was sparked by the plan for the expansion of a golf course by the Municipality of Oka on the disputed land in Kanesatake that included a Mohawk traditional burial ground. IIM played an important role in facilitating meetings between key players from Kanesatake Band Council (including traditional leaders of the Longhouse) and provincial government officials. This led IIM to establish a bi-cultural task force composed of people from the community of Oka and Kanesatake, to carry out a series of activities of dialogue and public awareness raising. In following years, IIM published four issues of its journal Interculture on the historical roots of this conflict as well as throwing some light on the deep sources of misunderstanding and the continuation of colonial history.  

Ongoing conferences, workshops, and awareness raising programs:

From 1972 until 2010 IIM regularly organized public conferences, seminars, workshops etc. on indigenous cultures and spiritual traditions, current political issues, educational systems, environmental/ecological questions related to Indigenous nations and other topics. (digital documents)

Over the years, IIM came to be known as an important resource in matters related to Indigenous communities and issues:

  • Information: IIM developed informational services in response to increasing demands from the public. A significant collection of published resources on and by Indigenous peoples from the Americas and from other regions of the world, was made available in IIM’s library, (books, monographs, indigenous newspapers, journals).
  • Liaison: The leadership of the IIM frequently played the role of liaison and mediator to facilitate contact between the general public, public institutions, and indigenous communities.
  • Consultation: consultation services were provided, on request, to media, community workers, professionals from institutions, academics etc.

Publications: IIM’s journal Interculture published several issues with articles by non-academics as well as academics, narratives, conversations, reports of action-research regarding indigenous peoples from across the world. (one digitized document, link to Publication, BLSH ?)