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Indigenous Politics, Web ExclusiveAre Aboriginal women and women of colour benchwarmers?
“They’re going to use Lee Maracle as a backup if Shawn Brant can’t make it,” said the insider of a coalition that aims to educate people on what they believe is an apartheid state in West Asia the Middle East.
This is one example of a larger problem within activist circles: Aboriginal women and women of colour given the backseat to men.
Years ago Mohawk woman Kahentinetha Horn was to be a secondary speaker to a keynote named AngryArab. Little did organizers know that Horn does not believe in being second to anyone, she stole the show. Being a “backup” is not in Horn’s interest or nature. A “backup” for Horn is more likely to be an extra clip for a Glock 9mm, not playing second fiddle to a blogger. So, Horn tooted, and AngryArab, well, remained angry.
But not all women are bold and confrontational like Horn, nor should they have to be.
The question is why do many activist circles preach equity while practicing sexism, misogyny, and what believe is racism? If women are given the forefront it is usually a white woman like Naomi Klein (or in terms of the literature world, Margaret Atwood).
In the past decade Indigenous men have dominated some of the big speaking circles here in Toronto. In the early 2000s the flavour of the month was Ward Churchill: Cherokee, controversial, well read and spoken. Problem is, Churchill says the same thing every time he talks! This writer has seen him speak on three separate occasions for different organizers and events. Churchill gets paid ridiculous amounts for a recycled speech.
The next guy gained popularity outside of the Indigenous community via wrongful incarceration—Bob Lovelace. Now we have Shawn Brant, CN Rail’s worst nightmare, and the new Indian tokenized by the left. Both have done great anti-poverty and land rights work and as a result have become celebrities for white and non-Indigenous activists.
So, we have three men who are heterosexual, able bodied, and have light skinned privilege, many say white privilege. And in the last example, to this writer’s knowledge, an Indigenous woman of colour is only good enough to be his “backup”.
What makes these men so special to white and non-Indigenous activists?
One is an outspoken and vilified professor who has written important books and was a member of the famed American Indian Movement. It is the recent news making actions of the second, doing time and being treated unjustly by cops and government (most of my friends and I should be speaking then, as well as the members of the fastest growing prison population worldwide—women of colour), and the third, laying a school bus across train tracks. These acts have led all three to be tokenized in activist circles.
It seems like gangster ideologies have been adopted by today’s activists. Doing time and holding standoffs with cops has earned certain people, usually men, street cred. Much good work by women that does not involve conflict or media attention is overlooked.
Lets look at some of the many things one Indigenous woman of colour, Lee Maracle (feminist, activist, writer, mentor, ally, mother, grandmother, now reduced to being a benchwarmer), has done over the last forty-five years:
- is a Life Giver who brought three Aboriginal children to this world, without Aboriginal women there are no Aboriginal people
- helped save the Barrie Native Friendship Centre from closing down in the 1990s, this giving Aboriginal folk a place to meet and spend time in a mostly white town
- paved the way and opened doors for many Indigenous writers and writers of colour
- has counseled countless survivors of violence and trauma
- is one of the few brown, female faces in the white dominated worlds of literature and academia (her book “I Am Woman” is taught everywhere)
- has taught many people how to read and write, this in turn combating one crucial aspect of the colonial prison pipeline—illiteracy
- has helped change laws that were oppressive to Aboriginal people and people of colour
- constantly makes links with different peoples and places in terms of colonialism
- supports events that effect people other than just Aboriginal folk: International Women’s Day, Yearly March Against Child Abuse, December 6th Vigil etc.
- is a vocal supporter of oppressed peoples worldwide, for example:
Song to a Palestinian Child
I hear a voice calling from a place far away
The voice of a child very much like my own
of green grass and rich soil in Palestine.
Bombs crash about her leveling her home
Clutching an olive branch she raises a defiant fist
of deep roots and copper sun in Palestine.
I see a child rising from a place far away
In one hand an olive branch in the other a gun
of much sweat and red blood in Palestine.
I hear your calling me. Raising my banner high
(Victory), victory, to Palestine I answer in kind
of humble tears my salute to Palestine.
The last ‘action’ (the beloved word of the activist left) Maracle did was hold and console a crying female relative of a murdered woman. Tears drenched Maracle’s coat as many names of the over 500 Missing and Murdered Aboriginal women in Canada were read on February 14, 2010 in front of police headquarters in Toronto. To activist groups, this act of solidarity, and the incomplete list above, does not compare to yelling the same thing at every speaking engagement or stopping a train in front of television cameras. Maracle’s actions have not made front page, or the six-o’clock, news and have not seen her arrested as of late; therefore, she is only good enough to be a backup.
Actions deemed relevant by activist communities are macho and usually done by men.
Have activist groups adopted practices they claim to fight? You would think that groups who claim to be anti-oppressive would practice gender equity. And in terms of Indigenous solidarity (something that activists yell every chance they get), does tokenizing one gender and silencing another equate solidarity?
This writer asked Maracle why she accepts last minute requests for talks (recently an MC gig) when she sometimes knows she is being used as a fill in for absent men.
“If I didn’t I’d never get the stage,” said Maracle.
Sad.
Unjust.
Corrupt!
Again, Maracle is one example of many in this problematic and oppressive practice done by activist groups here in Toronto, and elsewhere I am sure.
Is there a shortage of Aboriginal women and women of colour speakers? A few names come to mind:
Jan Longboat
Afua Cooper
Marilyn Dumont
Jacqui Alexander
Ana Castillo
Chrystos
Christine Welsh
Tracey Deer
Deborah McGregor
Rita Wong
Sunera Thobani
Njoki Wane
Sandra Cisneros
Yasmin Jiwani
Dionne Brand
Pauline Shirt
It would be an honour for this writer to one day be a backup for Lee Maracle, even if it meant keeping a seat warm for her on a bus parked across train tracks.
- Jorge Antonio Vallejos is a mixed race (Indigenous/Spanish/Arab), Toronto based, poet, essayist and journalist. His writing has appeared in COLORLINES, XTRA!, THIS Magazine, Rabble, Anishinabek News, Toronto Star, The Kenyon Review, and is forthcoming in Descant and Ruptures: Anti-colonial Feminist Theorizing. Jorge can be reached at condorsview@yahoo.ca
yes…and why is it more likely that a non-native professor get tenure for teaching Native studies / postcolonial theory -rather than a Native
and why is it ok for the artist ORLAN to have /exhibit an Indian identity-and not ok for me?
and why is it, that most full tenured profs teaching African American studies are in fact not African themselves
when-this would be equal to a man, teaching feminist theory
answer=they continue to benefit off of the oppressed- by teaching /writing/getting grants to “research” about oppression-to the complete exclusion of the oppressed.
we do need EVERYONE to teach these subjects-agreed-but not to the exclusion of the real represented
we need the women to speak, and teach truths of lives lived under oppression so that we can break the cycle and continue in our responsibilities of carrying culture forwards and protecting land and Sovereignty
#1. Posted by tannis nielsen in toronto on March 16th 2010 at 2:25pm
It’s also about tactics and which ones we think are more important.
#2. Posted by Rhonda in Toronto on March 16th 2010 at 2:44pm
Thank you for this really important article Jorge.
As someone who has personally been active in all types of solidarity and activist work, this has been a huge issue for me, that not enough people are thinking about.
The blatant tokenization of Indigenous women and peoples in general is disgusting, and happens in so many organizations and circles, when it’s convenient for them.
To further this, the appropriation of Indigenous traditions and practices by lefties and “anarchists” is also something that people aren’t talking about, and we should.
Again, thanks for the article, hope to see more people engage with it, and more written on this issue.
#3. Posted by Aruna Boodram on March 16th 2010 at 4:53pm
Thanks for the great article, Jorge. I remember asking Lee Maracle for help and advice and she was just incredible. She talked about her struggles and what she wants to see for aborginal women and women of colour like it was something she saw everyday-and that really gave me a lot of perspective about my own experiences. I remember one thing she said that really stood out, that when it comes to feminism, the dominant society follows these “recipes” that stem from privileged academic backgrounds on how to make change and I realize that it’s really problematic not just for women of colour to employ, but also undermines interactions between the two groups because the dominant society is content and coming face to face with their privledge is what could be halting actual change.
Hopefully there will be more discourses on issues on this very important topic. Thank you Jorge and if you read this, thank you again Lee Maracle.
#4. Posted by Mariette Lee in toronto on March 16th 2010 at 10:43pm
This is such an important debate on the left and a discussion worth
having. We welcome criticism and feedback, particularly on such vital
issues. Yet, inaccuracies and misrepresentation of facts may prove to be counterproductive for such discussions. Although the onus of making sure that facts are accurate should be on the author, in order to facilitate this discussion, we want to make sure that all the facts are clear, because there are some errors in this article:
1. IAW didn’t choose Shawn because it is fashionable. We have been
working with him personally and with Tyendinaga for some time. When
Shawn was in jail in 2008, we linked Shawn up with former political
prisoners and allies there who wrote letters of support from
Palestine. This was important relationship building. Inviting Shawn
was not just about having him do a talk, it was part of increasing
those ties with the community - work we will continue to do. Shawn was
our first choice this year because he wasn’t able to come last year
when he was on rez arrest. He was interested in coming to IAW and we
wanted to have him. In organizing for any event, logically you need a
plan if a speaker can’t come - especially if the Canadian state is
constantly harassing and arresting your speaker. We had a list of
several other options, but didn’t need to approach them because Shawn
was able to come.
2. Lee Maracle was never back-up for Shawn. We all agree that she is
amazing for all the reasons listed here and more. We wanted her to be
involved in IAW and invited her to be a moderator - we are honoured
that she was able to come. We don’t see moderating as a minor task -
we put a lot of thought into approaching people and were lucky to have
such inspiring moderators this year.
3. In 2007, Kahentinetha Horn was not a back-up to AngryArab - they
were co-panelists. We often have 2-3 speakers per night.
4. This year IAW organizers worked hard to make real links with
communities and native people in Toronto. We organized a tour of
native youth from 7thGIV in Kansas to come and meet with people to
talk about their trip to Palestine. They made amazing connections and
are helping us build up links here too. We had an incredible night on
environmental racism featuring Gitz Crazyboy talking about Tar Sands.
We plan to build on this work in our divestment campaigns.
5. Many of the IAW organizers are women of colour - the large
majority. Many speakers were as well including Nada Elia, Jody Voice,
Trish Salah and Rabab Abdulhadi who Shawn opened for. Their
contributions are vital and this article does not reflect their
tremendous work.
We are grateful for criticism and debate on these issues as we work to
strengthen ties between indigenous struggles in Palestine and Turtle
Island.
#5. Posted by Israeli Apartheid Week Organizer in Toronto on March 17th 2010 at 1:01pm
While I think it’s really important to have a discussion about how male speakers are prioritized over women and problems with tokenism, I find the examples of this article disconnected from the activities of Israeli Apartheid Week and anti-racist organizing in general. I think it might have helped to actually contact the organizers or at least look at the promotion of Israeli Apartheid Week to see that three out of five of the events had speakers on indigenous issues and that indigenous speakers have been prominent through the years of IAW (that I have attended anyways). Also, I believe that Lee Maracle spoke as a faculty representative on the Tuesday event. And for the closing, Shawn Brant was to OPEN and INTRODUCE a Palestinian activist and feminist Rabab Abdel Hadi, not be the first choice over Maracle.
Factual errors aside, I agree that there is a tendency to ask for last minute speakers in an attempt to demonstrate diversity. There is a problem with tokenism in all forms of organizing due to a lack of relationships and connections. Which voices are prioritized are political decisions - often fueled by a desire to bring out crowds. So I support calling people on their crap and always working on inclusion with influence in organizing.
But I fear that message in this article is overlooked by discounting the organizing efforts by many women of colour who are doing this and secondly, defines who are the legitimate indigenous voices worthy of our support. I question the usefulness of calling out Shawn Brant and Bob Lovelace in that way. And I don’t think it’s fair to claim that they are “chosen” over other women of colour, when women speakers dominated Israeli Apartheid Week speakers.
I know this article is not coming out of anywhere, and I am not denying there is no racism or sexism in our organizing. I think in the quest to find speakers to bring out the crowd overlooks the process of community building. But all of those speakers listed have spoken at various community events and have brought out crowds. So to use this example (which is full of inaccuracies) to demonstrate a general trend isn’t very strong.
Finally, it is not very compelling to make sweeping generalizations of “activist groups” who obsess over militant, indigenous men. All activist groups? Like, No One Is Illegal? Migrante-Ontario? labour unions? the North York Women’s Centre? Or just the two named?
I’ve had a lot of conflicting thoughts with this article, but do want to take seriously the question of tokenism and Othering. Thanks for writing and posting this, and i look forward to the conversations.
#6. Posted by Sharmeen Khan in Toronto on March 17th 2010 at 1:40pm
i didnt think / read that IAW was being critiqued and had i known i would have jumped towards their defense as have worked with them (somewhat) and i recognize their process as being ethical and they continually exhibit the knowledge of where they are located ie On Turtle Island and I wish more groups would act in same manner
#7. Posted by tannis nielsen in toronto on March 17th 2010 at 1:47pm
This has brought up some interesting discussions. I do see a lot of sexism in many activist circles and in anti-racist organizations. This doesn’t mean that their work isn’t useful. It does however require a re-examining of their own organizations and opening space for honest discussions about this issue. I have also seen this a lot in university classes dealing with equity and racism. There is often a real macho attitude in the class and often the women don’t talk or are very tentative to talk about sexism or intersections of gender and race. I think it is courageous of Jorge to have written this and it should bring up some useful dialogues.
#8. Posted by Rachel in Toronto on March 19th 2010 at 11:21pm
It does seem that Women are walking behind the men in some cases. It shouldn’t be. I think Women are the backbones of the community. Centre of our Circles. (and all those other cliches). Seriously, would you want your Mom, your Wife our you Daughter to walk behind the men?
The world is a male dominated one and that is reality. Should it be changed? There are roles people have. Roles can be challenged and should be challenged. Some roles are entrenched.
There are stigmas society has when it comes to people who shake up the roles. We call Women bitches and schnooks if we see them being loud and straightforward. We call uppity Indians, radicals.
Our own people fall into that trap and that mindset. Our own media uses the same phrases as the main stream media. We want to be ourselves but yet we pattern ourselves after the accepted and the mainstream. Our media mimics the same things as the mainstream in order to seem legitimate.
Same thing with our Leaders and our own societies, we pattern after what is accepted in the mainstream. We abandon historical references and pretend to be what once was, like being a Warrior. We use the title but have lost the significance. Maybe Women are trying to bring back that significance. Trying to show people what the roles were and what they should be.
#9. Posted by Steve Courchene in Sagkeeng First Nation on March 23rd 2010 at 1:18am
I haven’t done much organizing myself but you certainly got me thinking about what it is about able bodied light skinned men getting in trouble with the law that stimulates such enthusiasm for some of us. Lots of reflection and learning to do.
#10. Posted by Jake in Toronto on March 26th 2010 at 3:54pm