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Preparing the Canoe to Navigate the Storm: Sport for Development from a Suquamish Perspective

Sport is often viewed as an apolitical, positive, socially integrative social practice that can lead to the development of people--socially, economically, politically and culturally. This functionalist rhetoric has led to the recent trend in development initiatives in the past two decades, which has led to the nascent field of Sport for Development. However, this functionalist view of sport has often disregarded the broader socio-historical, cultural and political roles that sport has played. For instance, the use of sport to assimilate indigenous people into the dominant western culture during the colonial era, often at the expense of indigenous peoples' own values, beliefs, and traditions. Specifically, I follow many critical scholars by suggesting that SFD programs that are conducted in indigenous communities are often planned, implemented and evaluated from a Western worldview, rather than from the worldview of the indigenous community (Darnell, 2010a; Darnell and Hayhurst, 2012; Forsyth and Wamsley, 2006; Giles, 2007; Nicholls, Giles and Sethna, 2010; Smith, 1999). Given this, in this research project I offer a critical commentary on SFD programs that are conducted within indigenous communities and suggest that there is a need to adopt a decolonizing praxis to SFD in indigenous communities. I provide this perspective by reflecting on a journey I took to visit the Suquamish Tribe of the Port Madison Reserve to talk to them about the Salish Tribal Canoe Journeys. I conclude by suggesting that there are key lessons that can be learnt from the Suquamish and the Salish Tribal Canoe Journeys in relation to adopting a decolonizing praxis to SFD in indigenous communities. / A Thesis submitted to the Department of Sport Management in partial fulfilllment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science. / Summer Semester, 2013. / July 1, 2013. / development, indigenous, indigenous rights, self-determination, Sport for
development / Includes bibliographical references. / Joshua Newman, Professor Directing Thesis; Jeffrey James, Committee Member; Michael Giardina, Committee Member.

Identiferoai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_183939
ContributorsWikaire, Renée Kate Lani (authoraut), Newman, Joshua (professor directing thesis), James, Jeffrey (committee member), Giardina, Michael (committee member), Department of Sport Management (degree granting department), Florida State University (degree granting institution)
PublisherFlorida State University, Florida State University
Source SetsFlorida State University
LanguageEnglish, English
Detected LanguageEnglish
TypeText, text
Format1 online resource, computer, application/pdf
RightsThis Item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s). The copyright in theses and dissertations completed at Florida State University is held by the students who author them.

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