11/22/2013 4 Comments Anishinaabeg Concept / Symbol of Truth (Debwewin) Adopted by Métis as Nation's FlagPrior to the European invasion, the Anishinaabeg held a lifeway and knowledge tradition that was very sophisticated. While change has occurred, many of these ways of knowing continue to exist. One such way of knowing is Debwewin Journey, a wholistic way of knowing and being that involves one’s heart and mind working together (Gehl, Debwewin Journey). This way of knowing is recorded in ancient Midewiwin scroll knowledge and is best described as two connecting circles: a circle of heart knowledge and a circle of mind knowledge. While the top circle represents mind knowledge, the bottom circle represents heart knowledge. In the Anishinaabeg tradition, knowledge is not considered a truth unless both heart and mind knowledge are working together. Heart knowledge void of mind knowledge, or mind knowledge void of heart knowledge, is left incomplete and is potentially dangerous knowledge. It is interesting to note here that this is the same symbol that the Métis have adopted as their national flag, adding a 90 degree turn to the symbol. Through processes of colonization, many Anishinaabeg today are struggling with embodied heart knowledge (the circle of heart knowledge), void of an intellectual understanding (the circle of mind knowledge) of what they feel. In the event that this happens to an individual, it is suggested that instead of reaching for drugs or alcohol, or some other pitiful alternative, that they go on a Debwewin Journey. Through Debwewin Journey, individuals travel far on a personal knowledge-seeking adventure where it is their responsibility to learn the history of colonization, such as the criminalization of our culture and the history of the oppressive and sexist Indian Act, for example. In learning the circle of mind knowledge and in connecting it to the circle of heart knowledge, an individual is able to come to a wholistic understanding of who they are and still the undercurrents that flow beneath their feet. .... This is chapter 7 from my book "Anishinaabeg Stories: Featuring Petroglyphs, Petrographs, and Wampum Belts". For a longer version of this story see: Reference: Gehl, Lynn. "Debwewin Journey: A Methodology and Model of Knowing." AlterNative 8.1 (2012): 53-65. To listen to a radio show interview and to purchase my book: Click here Chi-Miigwetch Lynn Gehl, Ph.D. is an Algonquin Anishinaabe-kwe from the Ottawa River Valley. She has a section 15 Charter challenge regarding the continued sex discrimination in The Indian Act, and is an outspoken critic of the Ontario Algonquin land claims and self-government process. She has three books: Anishinaabeg Stories: Featuring Petroglyphs, Petrographs, and Wampum Belts, The Truth that Wampum Tells: My Debwewin of the Algonquin Land Claims Process, and Mkadengwe: Sharing Canada's Colonial Process through Black Face Methodology. You can reach her at lynngehl@gmail.com and see more of her work at www.lynngehl.com. Please like, share, and comment on this Black Face Blog.
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11/10/2013 13 Comments Two Things Genuine Allies KnowFirst: They Value Differences and Rather than Suggest they be Erased Genuine allies know that when people claim their differences within the social hierarchy of “white male heterosexual able-bodied” power, such as an Indigenous person or a person of colour, within the context of challenging the oppressive power structure, that this should not be perceived and argued as being divisive and thus disruptive to the larger goal and needed solidarity. Genuine allies know we are only humans within relationships of good social mirroring and affirmation of who we are and how we feel. This includes recognizing our differences with the context of a common goal rather than erasing them. When someone sitting closer to the top of the social hierarchy argues or suggests we need to forget about our differences in our collective process of challenging oppressive power, this serves to deny and disenfranchise people of difference and is yet another form of oppression. Further, this position of erasure and denial interferes with potential allies coming together as one entity, and it is therefore counter-productive to the needed and desired goal of solidarity. Think about it this idea that people can only unite based on sameness is just not so. Genuine allies know that they need to value differences rather than suggest there is the need to erase them. That said of course there are white heterosexual able-bodied men oppressed by the current social hierarchy of society. I am sorry if you feel disenfranchised by that construct of “white male heterosexual able-bodied.” Keep in mind that no construct a human creates has universal application. Second: They Respect the Exhausting Energy of Structural Oppression I have found that some people who live closer to the top of the social hierarchy and who thus embody and live with more privilege, are unable to critically think about and thus really appreciate the incredible amount of intra-psychic energy required for a less privileged person to navigate the structural and institutional oppression inherent in our society. For example, an Indigenous person or person of colour is forced to dedicate a large quantity of their consciousness navigating structures and institutions built primarily by white people with white people in mind. This is similar to women’s situation, in particular Indigenous women and women of colour – again they are forced to dedicate an additional large quantity of their consciousness to navigating the oppressive structures and institutions built primarily by white men for white men. Further, persons with disabilities are forced to dedicate yet even more intra-psychic energy to the process of navigating structures and institutions built primarily by able-bodied white men for able-bodied white men. Of course the same can be said for all people who exist outside the heterosexual normative as well as transgendered people. I have observed that more often than not what more privileged people do in their need and desire for allies of a particular cause is request, demand, and plea to be taught the knowledge of structural and institutional oppression from the very people who are more oppressed and who thus embody the knowledge of oppression. These more privileged people realize that it is the more oppressed people who hold much of the knowledge that will free them from the master narrative that is imposing on them. These more privileged people demand this knowledge when they want it and on their terms, rather than value and respect the incredible amount of stress the more oppressed person embodies. Living with privilege is when your consciousness and intra-physic energy is dedicated to you and your needs, and this includes your demands on people who are less privileged to teach you what you need to know in your process of re-gaining your humanity. Dr. Lynn Gehl is an Algonquin Anishinaabe-kwe from the Ottawa River Valley. She has a section 15 Charter challenge regarding the continued sex discrimination in The Indian Act, is an outspoken critic of the Ontario Algonquin land claims and self-government process, and recently published a book titled Anishinaabeg Stories: Featuring Petroglyphs, Petrographs, and Wampum Belts. You can reach her at lynngehl@gmail.com and see more of her work at www.lynngehl.com Please like, share, and comment on this Black Face Blog. |
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