In Pursuit of Truth: Challenging Colonial Narratives in Canadian Legislation with wâhkôhtowin and Other Indigenous Perspectives

Nationwide events that gained global attention have prompted the Canadian government to engage in reconciliatory efforts to promote the revitalization of Indigenous languages. The resultant Indigenous Languages Act appears to address the issues that have been highlighted in the media over the past several decades. The discourse and rhetoric surrounding the Indigenous Languages Act suggest that the government has implemented legislation that effectively recognizes and reconciles past injustices towards Indigenous peoples. I argue that this oversimplifies the colonial-Indigenous relationship, glosses over the reasons why Indigenous languages are endangered in the first place, and presents only one side of the story. The methods I used to explore my concerns consisted of close readings and discourse analysis of past legislation and events that flowed from these laws. Indigenous methodologies and theorists guided my research, and I drew from Indigenous voices broadly and the Cree worldview of wâhkôhtowin specifically to provide Indigenous perspectives. My research found that legislation and other colonial constructs use possessive logics to maintain the status quo and benefit white patriarchal sovereignty, which is rarely beneficial to Indigenous peoples. I have shown that the missing pieces of Canadian history lie in wâhkôhtowin and the voices of Indigenous peoples, who provide the rest of the story, challenge colonial narratives, and amend history with the truth. Because discourse shapes reality, the consequence of this strictly colonial narrative is the continued dis-representation of history that ignores the lived experiences of Indigenous peoples and leaves mainstream society unaware of the true history of Canada. Despite federal claims of redress, my research found that the Indigenous Languages Act falls short of reconciliation and that only structural change will begin to address the loss of Indigenous languages. Meaningful reconciliation begins with engaging Indigenous perspectives and embracing cultural cornerstones such as wâhkôhtowin.

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