Modern political and market structures have normalized colonial violence into economic and social realities, while imperial powers still dictate modes of labor and resources extraction that benefit them in the present, but send the physical world hurtling into a future of crisis. Justifying this activity are Western mindsets based in rational exclusivity, which fail to recognize the constructed elements of their reality, instead subjugating and historicizing those with different ontological perspectives. In particular, Western logics have persecuted indigenous populations and their cultural connection to ancestral homelands in order to appease colonial paranoia and reassert exclusive claim to stolen land. This is not materially, ethically, or spiritually sustainable. This thesis examines the ways in which colonial and indigenous ontologies interact in the past, present, and future through identifying the reality-shaping narrative phantasies which shape encounters surrounding land. Phantasies of land and the ecosystems humans are a part of are especially central to how individuals and societies relate to the self, as well as human and non-human others. Through an analysis of the 1843 Thomas Gregory-Pamunkey petitions over claims to the Pamunkey reservation land, this thesis studies how colonial and indigenous phantasies of land interact. It demonstrates that the colonial inability to recognize personal and cultural phantasies often leads to conflict, but an ability to recognize the power of narrative and communicate through alternative ontologies than one's own can lead to successful communication and meaningful relationships, ones which can help those with settler backgrounds to live more ethically and support indigenous resurgence. This thesis offers a theoretical, historical, and practical guide to begin the process of unsettling the self by way of recognizing the constructed narrative phantasies settlers have been accustomed to interpreting the world through, and reflects on ways for settlers to move forward by engaging with land-based ontologies. / Master of Arts / Modern political and market structures have normalized colonial violence into economic and social realities, while imperial powers still dictate modes of labor and resources extraction that benefit them in the present but send the physical world hurtling into a future of crisis. Justifying this activity are Western mindsets based in rational exclusivity, which fail to recognize the constructed elements of their reality, instead subjugating and historicizing those with different perspectives. In particular, Western logics have persecuted indigenous populations and their cultural connection to ancestral homelands in order to appease colonial paranoia and reassert exclusive claim to stolen land. This is not materially, ethically, or spiritually sustainable. This thesis examines the ways in which colonial and indigenous ontologies interact in the past, present, and future through identifying the reality-shaping narratives which shape encounters surrounding land. Stories of land and the ecosystems humans are a part of are especially central to how individuals and societies relate to the self, as well as human and non-human others. Through an analysis of the 1843 Thomas Gregory-Pamunkey petitions over claims to the Pamunkey reservation land, this thesis studies how colonial and indigenous narratives of land interact. It demonstrates that the colonial inability to recognize personal and cultural narratives often leads to conflict, but an ability to recognize the power of stories and communicate through alternative worldviews than one's own can lead to successful communication and meaningful relationships, ones which can help those with settler backgrounds to live more ethically and support indigenous resurgence. This thesis offers a theoretical, historical, and practical guide to begin the process of unsettling the self by way of recognizing the constructed narratives settlers have been accustomed to interpreting the world through, and reflects on ways for settlers to move forward by engaging with land-based worlviews.

La thèse s’appuie sur le concept de littératie médiatique. Après l’avoir défini, elle s’emploie à le mettre en œuvre pour les enfants non-lisants (2 à 7 ans) du Togo et/ou sourds (7 à 12 ans) de France. Partant de l’hypothèse que les contenus médiatiques peuvent contribuer au développement, aux apprentissages et à la culture de ces enfants, l’analyse infocommunicationnelle des mécanismes d’appropriation de ces contenus est effectuée pour ces deux populations cibles. L’étude mobilise ainsi des expérimentations de terrain au Togo et en France.La première partie fait un état des lieux rapide des différents dispositifs médiatiquesd’interaction et d’apprentissage destinés aux enfants des deux pays de référence. Cette revue préliminaire des terrains d’étude montre que les politiques et les dispositifs de communication propres à notre cible restent insuffisants d’une part, et que le champ est très peu abordé dans les travaux antérieurs d’autre part.La deuxième partie se penche sur le cadre théorique de la littératie médiatique et précise sa conceptualisation dans le champ des sciences de l’information et de la communication. Le protocole VI.A.G.E est alors élaboré pour évaluer le processus d’appropriation de contenus médiatiques auprès des enfants.La troisième partie est consacrée au dépouillement des trois expérimentations de terrain menées au Togo (visionnage expérimental du film Kirikou et la sorcière) et en France (visioguide sur DVD et i-Pad, et interaction sur écran géant tactile, notamment au Musée du Quai Branly). Leurs résultats respectifs sont exposés. Un bilan général clôt la thèse : il récapitule les apports de la recherche à l’analyse de la littératie chez les enfants et trace quelques perspectives pour des travaux futurs. / The thesis leans on the concept of media literacy. After defined this concept, we have tried to implement it for non-reading children (2 - 7 years) of Togo and\or deaf persons (7 in 12 years) of France. Assuming that the media contents can contribute to the development, to the apprenticeships and to the culture of these children, an information-communication analysis of the mechanisms of appropriation of these contents is made for these two target populations.The study has mobilized experiments in Togo and in France. The first part concerns the situation of the various media plans of interaction and apprenticeship intended for the children of both reference countries. This preliminary review of the grounds of study shows that the public politics and plans of communication appropriation for our target remain insufficient on one hand, and that the field is little approached on the previous works of the other one.The second part bends over the theoretical frame of the media literacy and specifies its conceptualization in the field of information communication. The protocol VI.A.G.E is then elaborated to estimate the process of appropriation of media contents with the children. The third part is dedicated to the perusal of three experiments of ground led to Togo (experimental viewing of the movie Kirikou and the witch) and in France (visio-guide on DVD and iPad, and interaction on tactile big screen, in particular at Quai Branly Museum). Their respective results are explained. A general balance assessment closes the thesis: it recapitulates the contributions of the research in the children literacy analysis and draws some perspectives for future works.

In this Master’s thesis, I document my experience working with members of the W̱SÁNEĆ Nation in their efforts to revitalize the reef net fishery. As part of this research project, I interviewed W̱SÁNEĆ community members, and I created a digital map of reef net fishing locations (SWELSWÁLET). In each of these interviews, different W̱SÁNEĆ community members chose to frame reef net fishing differently, and they highlighted specific and unique “alternative political approaches” toward W̱SÁNEĆ cultural resurgence (Kew & Miller 1999:58-59). Despite these differences, each W̱SÁNEĆ community member that I interviewed believed that reef net fishing is something that “needs to be shared” (XA’LATE, pers. comm., June 14, 2016). In Chapter 1, I explore the variations in what specific W̱SÁNEĆ community members want shared. In Chapters 2 and 3, however, I examine the delicate cultural, political, and legal contexts that have made sharing a complicated process. In Chapter 2, I analyze how the BC Treaty Process (BCTP) has exacerbated conflicts among First Nations in British Columbia. Further, I discuss the impact that these conflicts have had on how the W̱SÁNEĆ Nation shares information with their intranational and international neighbours. In Chapter 3, I explore how my misaligned expectations of knowledge sharing in collaborative community-based research—as a white settler man—clashed with “the values and beliefs, practices and customs of [the W̱SÁNEĆ Nation]” (L. Smith 2012:15-16; Lassiter 2005). I also make recommendations for how settler researchers in the future should proceed with research projects in these contexts. / Graduate / 2019-12-06

Le Roman russe d’Eugène-Melchior de Vogüé paraît au bon moment. À la fin du XIXe siècle, l’« horizon d’attente » de la France est plus que favorable à la réception de la littérature russe. Saturée et étouffée non seulement par le pessimisme consécutif à la défaite de 1871 mais aussi par le scientisme et le naturalisme, la société française ressent un besoin de renouveau dans tous les domaines de la vie. L’affaiblissement de la France sur la scène internationale fait de l’alliance avec la Russie un objectif politique prioritaire. Cette problématique nourrit aussi l’ambition de Vogüé de rapprocher les deux pays. « La pauvre vie spirituelle » de la France contemporaine incite le vicomte à accentuer le caractère chrétien de la littérature russe. Redonner à la France ses valeurs chrétiennes d’autrefois – voilà encore une ambition du vicomte exprimée au travers du Roman russe.À sa parution, en 1886, l’ouvrage connaît un succès immédiat non seulement dans le milieu intellectuel mais également auprès du grand public. En important la littérature russe en France, Vogüé veut découvrir à ses compatriotes, en plus de son génie littéraire et culturel, les particularités de l’âme russe. L’alliance franco-russe, le rapprochement culturel et intellectuel entre les deux pays, la russomanie du peuple, la russophilie des intellectuels, la renaissance de l’idéalisme, telles furent en France les nombreuses résonances du Roman russe. / The Russian Novel by Eugène-Melchior de Vogüé comes out just at the right time. At the end of the 19-th century «the horizon of expectation» in France is more than favourable to perceive Russian literature. Satiated and suppressed by the postwar (1871) pessimism, exultant scientism and naturalism the French society begins to feel the need for change in all spheres of life. The loss of position on the international scene makes the country seek for alliance with Russia which becomes the main political goal of France in this historic period. Soon it becomes one of the goals of the viscount’s literary works. Seeing spiritual poverty in contemporary France Vogüé gives emphasis to Christian nature of Russian literature. Bringing the country back to its original Christian values – that is the other goal of Vogüé embodied in The Russian Novel.Before the book comes out in 1886, it is a total success both among intellectuals and general public. Introducing Russian literature in France Vogüé wants his compatriots not only to know and appreciate Russian literary and cultural genius, but to discover specific features of the Russian soul. The French-Russian alliance, cultural and intellectual convergence of the two countries, Russomania among the general public, Russophilia among the intellectuals, rebirth of idealism - these were the numerous echos of The Russian Novel in France.

This study used life experience methods to gather the narratives of seven adult Indigenous transracial adoptees who have reclaimed their Indigenous identities after experiencing closed adoption during the late 1950s through to the early 1980s. Participants had been members of Aboriginal (First Nations, Metis, Inuit) communities at birth but were then raised outside their Indigenous nations in non-Indigenous families. Through analysis of their stories, I identified four themes that marked their trajectories to reclamation: Imposed fracture (prior to reclamation); Little anchors (beginning healing); Coming home (on being whole); Our sacred bundle (reconciling imposed fracture). Their stories of reconnecting to their Indigeneity, decolonizing and healing illustrate their shifts from hegemonic discourse spaces that characterized their lived experiences as “other” to spirit-based discourses that center Indigenous knowledge systems as valid, life affirming, and life changing. This dissertation contributes to the debate on state sanctioned removal of children and the impacts of loss of Indigenous identity in Canadian society. My findings indicate that cultural and spiritual teachings and practices, as well as, the knowledge of colonization and its impacts on Indigenous families, communities, and nations, all contributed to adoptees’ healing and ability to move forward in their lives. Key recommendations include: further exploration of the concept of cultural genocide in relation to settler-colonial relations in Canada; further examination of the intersection of counter-narratives, resistance discourse, and colonial violence; increased investigation of the connections between Indigenous knowledge systems, living spirit-based teachings and educative aspects of community wellness; and more research examining education beyond formal schooling, including the formative effects upon Indigenous youth of social values, public policy, and legal frameworks. / Graduate

En prenant en compte le contexte des nombreuses dépossessions, de l’arrachement et de l’invisibilisation des langues Autochtones, puis de l’imposition des langues coloniales dont la littérature des pensionnats témoigne avec force détail, cette thèse aménage une réflexion autour de la manière dont les autrices Autochtones contemporaines, qui écrivent en anglais ou en français (Virginia Pésémapéo Bordeleau, Kateri Akiwenzie-Damm, Marie-Andrée Gill, Leanne Betasamosake Simpson, Natasha Kanapé Fontaine et Cherie Dimaline), négocient avec le langage dans leurs œuvres. Plus spécifiquement, par une lecture au plus près des textes littéraires, cette thèse étudie la façon dont les écritures Autochtones sont des lieux de savoir profondément corporéïsés, situés et relationnels et, en tant que telles, elles donnent à penser les pouvoirs du langage en employant les moyens du littéraire. L’hypothèse formulée est donc que les littératures Autochtones actuelles élaborent des théories critiques du langage dans lesquelles le corps, la langue et le territoire (physique et métaphysique) sont intimement liés; le langage et sa conceptualisation par les écrivaines font ainsi se manifester une toile de relations que supporte la littérature par la création et la mise en présence de cette interconnexion entre le monde sensible et spirituel, entre les êtres humaines et les êtres autres qu’humaines. Bref, en appuyant les réflexions sur les épistémologies Autochtones (Kovach, Wilson, Ermine, Bazile, Sioui, Simpson, Bacon, Vizenor), cette thèse avance que, moins par un retour à des structures linguistiques que par le truchement d’une imagination poétique et narrative, les autrices à l’étude réclament les épistémologies et créent des théories du langage qui sont ramenées sur la scène de la présence littéraire. / Considering the context of multiple dispossessions, the extraction and invisibilization of Indigenous languages, and the subsequent imposition of colonial languages, which residential school literature recounts in great detail, this dissertation reflects on how contemporary Indigenous women writers, who write in English or in French (Virginia Pésémapéo Bordeleau, Kateri Akiwenzie-Damm, Marie-Andrée Gill, Leanne Betasamosake Simpson, Natasha Kanapé Fontaine and Cherie Dimaline), are attempting to (re)negotiate both Indigenous and colonial languages in their works. More specifically, through a close reading of selected texts, this thesis explores how Indigenous literatures are deeply embodied, situated, and relational places of knowledge and, as such, they convey the possibilities of language through their literary interventions. Thus, I argue that contemporary Indigenous literatures enable the creation of critical theories of language, in which body, language, and land (both physical and metaphysical) are intimately connected; language, and its conceptualization by women writers, enables a web of relations through writing that presents this interconnectedness between the sensible and spiritual worlds, and between human and other-than-human beings. Building on Indigenous epistemologies (Kovach, Wilson, Ermine, Bazile, Sioui, Simpson, Bacon, Vizenor), this thesis argues that through poetic and narrative imagination, which differs from a return to the linguistic structures of Indigenous languages, the creative writers explored in this dissertation are reclaiming epistemologies and creating theories of language by putting them at the forefront of their literary practices.

Working at the intersection of queer feminist affect studies and queer Indigenous studies, this thesis focuses on theorizations and enactments of queer Indigenous joy in Billy-Ray Belcourt's A History of My Brief Body, Gregory Scofield's Love Medicine and One Song, and Joshua Whitehead's Jonny Appleseed. It explores how these contemporary texts uniquely emphasize the relational queer Indigenous body’s tenacious capacity for care and love in order to enact more breathable, collective, and ultimately joyful modes of embodied life, even amid the stifling settler colonial present. I argue that, in doing so, these authors foster joy as a rebellious and healing affective orientation that opposes injurious colonial constructions of queer Indigenous embodiment and contributes to the future-bearing project of radical Indigenous resurgence. By examining these authors' invaluable interventions with joy, which is largely an under-acknowledged positive affect, this thesis aims to convey why the young but burgeoning field of queer Indigenous literature merits far more critical attention than it has received thus far.

Ending colonialism requires the revitalization of not only indigenous systems of law, but also the indigenous legalities of which they form part. This means that Canada’s unique form of liberal constitutionalism cannot serve as the constitutional framework within which indigenous law is revitalized. Rather, we shall have to advert to the fact that indigenous law was and is generated by unique indigenous legal processes and institutions, which find their authorization in unique indigenous constitutional orders, which are in turn legitimated by indigenous peoples’ unique and varied creation stories. Through the gifts of diverse Anishinaabe writers and orators, and through work with my circle of elders, with aadizookaanan, in community, and on the land, I present one view of Anishinaabe legality. I give special emphasis to its earth-centric ‘rooted’ form of constitutionalism, which is characterized by mutual aid and its correlate structure, kinship. In the second half, I examine the problem of colonial violence in contemporary indigenous-settler relationships. I identify two principles necessary for indigenous-settler reconciliation and I consider how commonly proposed models of indigenous-settler relationship fare against them. I conclude that one vision of treaty, treaty mutualism—which is a form of rooted constitutionalism—is non-violent to indigenous peoples, settler peoples and to the earth. Finally, I consider counter-arguments on themes of fundamentalism, power, and misreading. / Graduate

This project uses Michel Foucault’s underdeveloped notion of “tolerated illegality” as a departure point for two converging inquiries. The first analyzes, and then critiques, dominant legal logics and values. This part argues that traditional legal philosophers exhibit a “disagreement without difference,” generally concurring that legal certainty and predictability enhance agency. Subsequently, this section critiques “formal legal” logic by linking it to science envy (specifically the desire for certainty and predictability), and highlighting its agency- limiting effects (e.g. the violence of law en-force-ment). The second part examines multiple dimensions of tolerated illegality, exploring the permutations of this complex socio-legal phenomenon. Here the implications of tolerated illegality are mapped across different domains, ranging from the dispossession of Indigenous peoples of their lands, to the latent ideologies embedded in superhero shows. This section also examines the idea of liberal “tolerance,” as well as the themes of power, domination, politics, bureaucracy, and authority. Ultimately, this project demonstrates that it is illuminating to study legality and (tolerated) illegality in tandem because although analyses of “formal legality” provide helpful analytical texture, the polymorphous and entangled nature of tolerated illegality makes clear just how restricted and artificial strict analyses of legality can be. / Graduate

Os Kalankó, Karuazu, Katokinn e Koiupanka. desde 1998 vem reaparecendo no cenário étnico-político como índios resistentes. Como tais, demandam do Órgão indigenista oficial, a FUNAI, reconhecimento, delimitação e demarcação etnicoterritorial. A forma particular como reapareceram marcou os quatro povos: uma aparição pública coletiva chamada "festa do ressurgimento". Apresentando-se de forma similar, mas em espaço físico e temporal distintos, o reaparecimento étnico dos KKKK tem como pano de fundo o processo hist6rico e a trajet6ria (dispersão e reagrupamento) desses grupos como "rama" e "ponta de rama" (dos Pankararu, seus ascendentes) no Alto Sertão alagoano. A pesquisa de campo desenvolve-se, paralelamente, no registro fílmico-fotográfico desses eventos e na reconstrução de seus etnônimos e observa, em seu conjunto, as relações entre a representação indígena e a imagem "como um retorno a si mesmo" como uma forma de entrever o passado desses povos em imagens do presente, nas quais os indivíduos e suas comunidades compõem sua própria forma de "mostrar-se" ao mundo com "novas" especificidades étnicas, numa tentativa de restaurar também sua memória, o que permite, nesta pesquisa, caracterizar o tratamento hist6rico atribuído aos índios, enquanto que, paralelamente, o registro imagético possibilita também formar arquivos dos mesmos no Brasil. / Since 1998 the Kalankó, Karuazu, Katokinn and Koiupanka have been reappearing throughout the ethnic-political scene as resistant Indians. As such, they have demanded from Funai, the official indigenist office, their official recognition, as well as the measurement and official establishment of their ethnic territories. The singular way in which they have reappeared has marked the four peoples: a collective public appearance named the reappearance feast". Showing themselves in a similar way, but in distinct physical and temporal spaces, the ethnic reappearance of the KKKK branch has had as backdrop the historical process and journey (breaking up and regrouping) of these groups as "branch" and "end of branch" (from their ascendants, the Pankararu) in the highlands of Alagoas state. Meanwhile, in the same time frame, fieldwork is developed, overall, using filmic-photographic register of these events observing as well the reconstruction of their ethnic-names, including the relationships between indigenous self-presentation and image "as a return upon oneself'. This is a way to see the past of these peoples and the images of their actuality, in which individuals and their communities compose their own form of "showing themselves off' to the world with "new" ethnic specificities, as an attempt to bring back their memories. All of this allows this research to characterize the historical treatment given to the Indians while, at the same time, the imagetic registration also allows the formation of archives about them in Brazil.