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Entries by Chelsea Vowel from 01/2012

Newsflash: I Can Use an iPhone and Still Follow Indigenous Tradition

| Posted 01.16.2012 | Canada
Read More: Aboriginal, First Nations, First Nations Stereotypes, Indian Elders, Traditional Indian, Traditional Aboriginal Culture, Traditional Indian Culture, Technology Aboriginal Culture, Canada News

The idea that indigenous traditions require us to only use technologies that were available to us pre-Contact, or more generously just a bit post-Contact, is silly. If silly was all we were dealing with, then I'd let it be. But silly ends up translating into policy, and I have to take that seriously.

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Sci-Fi Writer Knows More About Aboriginals Than Most Canadians

| Posted 01.20.2012 | Canada
Read More: Nomadic Living, Permanent Settlement, Status Indians, First Nations, Things You Were Taught, Native Americans, Dan Simmons, Ladder Theory of Civilization, Neanderthal Parallax, INDIAN ACT, Robert J. Sawyer, Native Canadians, Unilineal Theory of Civilization, Canada News

For aboriginals, being mentioned at all in a mainstream work of fiction is rare enough. Sci-fi writer Robert J. Sawyer actual knows something about our traditions. How many of you were taught that all aboriginal people were nomadic?

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Harper and the First Nations Speak Different Languages

| Posted 01.25.2012 | Canada Politics
Read More: Harper First Nations, Shawn Atleo First Nations, First Nations Summit, First Nations Shawn Atleo, Indian Act Harper, Harper Indian Act, Crown-First Nation Gathering, Harper First Nations Summit, First Nations Harper, Canada Politics News

When Prime Minister Harper acknowledges they are on Algonquin territory, they don't mean it because that would require acknowledging the sovereignty of the Algonquin people over those lands. To government, the words are just platitudes. Something you say when you're dealing with Indians. Empty phrases.

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