Cree Economic Relationships, Governance, and Critical Indigenous Political Economy in Resistance to Settler-Colonial Logics

• Author / Creator

  Jobin, Shalene M C

• Through Cree narratives that draw on the past, and move into the present, the purpose of this dissertation is to understand and theorize Cree economic relations, practices, and principles. I explore two principle questions: 1) How does neoliberal governance impact Cree relationships? 2) How can principles inherent in Cree economic relationships, drawn from historical sources and oral stories, help guide economic practices today? This research provides a contemporary Plains Cree analysis of “alterNative” (Ladner 2003) economic relations within the Treaty Six geographic space. Colonial domination in settler societies has had and continues to have an insidious impact on the social, political, and economic lives of Indigenous peoples. Each of these spheres, combined, produces an interrelated system of colonial logics. Yet, focusing merely on state domination in settler societies (what I refer to as the first colonial logic) provides a myopic vision of settler-colonial relations and, importantly, ignores an essential part of the broader story: how attempts to resist state domination may further entrench what I call the second colonial logic—economic exploitation. Using a critical Indigenous political economy approach, I examine economic exploitation of the Plains Cree, with a key focus on settler-colonial logics within neoliberal governmentality. I explore this undertheorized phenomenon—the correlation between economic exploitation and mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual conflict for Indigenous peoples—which can result in a settler-colonial–induced dissonance. Specifically, my dissertation makes a case for the Cree to shift away from state recognition towards alternative modes of resistance. Utilizing a Nehiyawak peoplehood method, I draw from oral histories, Cree storytelling, and knowledge holders to provide specific principles and practices found in Cree knowledge systems that speak to Cree economic relationships and resistance to settler-colonial neoliberalism. Principles such as mâmawi-h-itêyihtamowin (thinking about all), manatisowin (civility), and kiskinowâpamewin (learning through observation), as well as practices such as emekinawet (gift-giving) are a few examples. Although made complex through the overarching settler-colonial and specifically neoliberal logics, the contemporary practices of resistance explored are shown to re-engage Nehiyawak peoplehood in both time-honoured and original ways. --- 1 In terms of alternative modes of resistance, I draw from Coulthard’s analysis of Indigenous misreocognition and the need for “transformative praxis” (2007, 456) and “grounded normativity” (2014b, 172). 2 I draw from the substantial work on Indigenous peoplehood (Corntassel 2012; Holm, Pearson, and Chavis 2003; Stratton and Washburn 2008; Robert Thomas 1990).

• Subjects / Keywords

  • Indigenous Political Economy
  • Indigenous Resistance and Resurgence
  • Cree people
  • Indigenous Governance

• Graduation date

  Spring 2015

• Type of Item

  Thesis

• Degree

  Doctor of Philosophy

• DOI

  https://doi.org/10.7939/R34F1MW8X

• License

  This thesis is made available by the University of Alberta Libraries with permission of the copyright owner solely for non-commercial purposes. This thesis, or any portion thereof, may not otherwise be copied or reproduced without the written consent of the copyright owner, except to the extent permitted by Canadian copyright law.