Enduring Pasts and Denied Presence: Mi'kmaw Challenges to Continued Marginalization in Western Newfoundland

Tyranny, stupidity and lack of vision have brought about what is now alluded to as the Indian Problem.Luther Standing Bear, Sioux, 1933IntroductionIn Canada, the forms of domination and preferred interest that marked colonization continue to affect the lifestyles and lifeways of Aboriginal peoples. This article derives from and responds to the need to approach Aboriginal studies in the context of applied anthropology, particularly as a form of social action focusing on the well-being of Canada's Aboriginal peoples. By foregrounding the negative effects of state policy and by critically examining the cumulative effects of colonial and state control, the centrality and persistence of dominant state discourses are called into question. Here, the struggle of the Ktamkukeweq (Newfoundland) Mi'kmaq to extricate themselves from a socio-political milieu, birthed in the colonial past and nurtured by the Canadian state, is examined.At first glance, the formation of Qalipu Mi'kmaq First Nations Band (hereafter Qalipu Band) in September 2011 can be seen as a positive step forward for the majority of Mi'kmaq in Newfoundland and Labrador. However, as a landless band, its formation can also be viewed as a form of state repression within which Qalipu Band self-determination will be eclipsed by the state: under the Qalipu Band agreement, federal agencies will determine social and political orders and all rights to lands and resources are to be forfeited. In addition, the process through which the Qalipu Band was formed can be viewed as inherently flawed, in that approval for status is based on a set of criteria deemed legitimate by state agencies that is challenged by existing Mi'kmaw political organizations, such as the Grand Council and Mi'kmaw Kwilmu'kw Maw-klusuaqn Negotiation Office (MKMNO). In effect, the Newfoundland Mi'kmaq are to be governed by rules and regulations not of their own making and over which they have limited control. Arguably, while events of the past reveal the power of the state to define, control and forcefully assimilate the Mi'kmaq of Newfoundland, the formation of the Qalipu Band may be seen as another stage of the same process. Rather than viewing its formation as a point of arrival, it may be seen as a point of departure or as a tentative first step in a protracted struggle. Essentially, the true point of arrival will be marked by the validation of Aboriginal lifeways, rights and freedoms as determined by the Newfoundland Mi'kmaq themselves.MethodologyThe information presented here is based on ethnographic research and data drawn from historical documents, media reports, social media sites, archival data and court documents pertaining to the Newfoundland Mi'kmaq. Ethnographic data were collected between 2006 and 2012, during a series of community consultations, private and public meetings, personal interviews and informal conversations, through participant observation and via print and social media sites. I work and reside in the western region of Newfoundland, and, although non-Aboriginal, I am an active member of the Comer Brook Aboriginal Women's Association (CBAWA) and the Newfoundland Aboriginal Women's Network (NAWN), which has allowed for direct and significant personal experience with those seeking Qalipu Band membership.The ethnographic data informing this study were collected in the western, southwest and northwest regions of island Newfoundland and include general information on Mi'kmaw populations distributed throughout the province and within Eastern Canada. West Coast Newfoundland populations were selected because the majority of Newfoundlander residents claiming Mi'kmaw descent reside in the region, I live in close proximity to the target population and the Qalipu Mi'kmaq First Nations Band office is located in Comer Brook, the largest West Coast centre in Newfoundland.2 Of the estimated 103,000-plus applicants for membership in the Qalipu Band, many, possibly the majority, reside outside the province. …

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