The Fight for Identity - Essay PDF

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The Fight for Identity An identity covers a brought idea of ideology, and characteristic believes, as well the understanding of the distinguished persona nature of an individual. By coexisting in one particular place, each character makes up society with similar behaviors, believes, and values. On a societal basis, this concept is underlined through the collision of individual lives. They are connected with a variety of personal ideologies, emotions, cultures, and rituals. All that differentiates one person from the other, making up one’s own identity. Canada is known for its diverse sense of identity that includes the Aboriginal community. However, the profound history of Indigenous people within Canada raises erased identity through colonization, assimilation and constant neglect. Throughout the years Indigenous community faced discrimination which was based upon stereotypical beliefs and characteristics of livelihood. Many of these cases were forced upon the community by the government and the running policies, which portrayed the destruction of the Indigenous identity. Later on, that rebounded in the sparks of aggression from the Aboriginal community side as a response to the multiple attempts of oppression. This essay will look at a couple of such events where Indigenous people are presented in two different ways. The first image is a painting created by Kent Monkman, “With Our Bodies We Protect The Land” (2019) A painting that introduces the viewer to the events of pipeline protests and depicts the bravery and ideological stand against the economic morals of the country. The second image is a memory from the past that reminds of the conflict between two communities that are meant to share one land. Shaney Komulaine (1990) made a picture that shaped the way Canadians saw the Oka Crisis and the emotional state that was present at the time. Both images carry different

contexts where one shows the representatives of Aboriginal people as victims of national neglect. The other image shows the stereotypical view of them being the criminals of society and the cause of all the problems. The two images show the Indigenous community as a portrayal of warriors fighting for their own land and proclamation of long-forgotten identity.

The importance of an image stems from the strong physiological, and emotional impact it elicits. The painting “With our Body we protect the Land” created by Kent Monkman (2019), depicts the collision between two identities all due to the cause of the Pipeline construction in Canada. The source of conflict between state law and Indigenous peoples attempting to craft solutions to environmental challenges pursuant to their legal systems. The main focus of the painting is to show the fights and emotional disperse indigenous community was faced with during their protests against the expansion. Kent Monkman illustrated the abuse towards the representatives of the aboriginal group surrounded by the police forces. The background of the painting is portrayed in a dark thematic representing the emotional state as well as the environmental problem caused by the expansion of the trans mountain expansion. As the viewer can notice indigenous people are standing on a hill making the reference towards their will of holding the high grounds and protecting their land. The center piece of the image is pointed towards a young male who’s holding the feather which serves as a representation of aboriginal identity and fight for its representation. The individuals at the bottom of the hill are portrayed as the victims of the ongoing aggression and abuse from the government side. The courage and will of fight is viewed through the face expressions of man and woman that are trying to stand tall

and in a way protect their land from the oppressing economic values of the country. The police man are shown through the imagery of aggression and violent action towards the individuals depicted as the center piece. The facial expression of the protesting police is identified as one of compulsion. In the corner of the painting the viewer can spot two kneeling guards which can be a significance of the cover up for the actual purgative actions towards the indigenous community and their identity. The action of kneeling can be viewed as the significance of repentance for aggressive actions in the public eye, but in this painting it can be viewed as an attempt to conceal the reality for the public eye. This painting shows the Indigenous community as the injured party within the Canadian society. Constant destruction of identity through the acquisition of new laws with addition of constant brutality represented in this painting, destroys the antagonistic image of indigenous community created by stereotypical views of the Canadian community. This illustration portrays the rise of identity against the discriminative action of society.

Pictures can be viewed as proof which can impact the understanding of current and historical events. The role of images in news coverage of collective action provide a major resonance within society. Through the vision of newspaper photographs individuals that do not face the problem depicted in the sources, can build up the idea and own assumptions. One of the most significant cases that portrays that concept is viewed in the Indigenous-state conflict the “Oka Crisis.” Between July and September of 1990, Mohawks, primarily from the Khanesatake First Nation, engaged in a 78-day armed standoff with Quebecois and Canadian authorities over the attempted expansion of a golf course onto traditional Mohawk territory. It sparked aggression

in the indigenous community, making them step up for their values and identity. During this conflict documentary photographers captured multiple face to face standoffs between the Canadian army forces and the representatives of Indigenous community on the opposing side. One picture in particular became a source of representation of the Oka conflict. An image created by Shaney Komulaine (1991) was s symbol of the crisis. In the photograph the viewer can spot both sides of the conflict illustrated as the center piece. The background on the other hand is blurred out emphasizing the importance of two individuals up front. The positioning of individuals shows the conflict between two identities. The Canadian soldier is shown as someone who is more open for communication due to the face expression and the army clothes. On the other hand the representative of the Indigenous group is completely covering the face making the individual less approachable. That can portray the sense of danger which eventually affected the way population outside of this conflict viewed Indigenous identity. At the time it was the first conflict where Indigenous peoples in Canada used force to resist state land encroachment. This picture showed that conflict to the society which echoed in the hatred and new stereotypical view, followed by mass discrimination against Indigenous people. All through the conflict the Indigenous people believed and strayed strong on the expression of their values of land and their identity. As a nation Canada is known to the world for being companionate, polite, and generally very accepting of all ethnicities. Nevertheless, the treatment of Canada’s Indigenous population suggests otherwise. Canada has shown sizable amounts of discrimination towards Indigenous peoples throughout the history. Many of these occurrences have led to negative cultural

outcomes, psychological and sociological effects. Indigenous identity is a complex and somewhat controversial topic. By examining two images and the different ideological base both of them focus on the same buildup of the Indigenous Identity. The tense moment captured in a photograph that goes on to represent the entire siege at Kanesatake. The problem of ground gatherings for a protest stand off against the land use. Both situations carried a sense of fight for the own identity within a disrespectful society. The two illustrations portrayed Canadian neglect of aboriginal identity which motivated the growth of national strength. The rise of identity, power, and strength brought against constant oppression and neglect of the aboriginal society. It shows the growth of strength and power motivated by the break of stereotypical beliefs, racial discrimination, and the will of the lost identity’s proclamation.

Works Cited Corntassel, Jeff. “Who Is Indigenous? ‘Peoplehood’ and Ethnonationalist Approaches to Rearticulating Indigenous Identity.” Www, 4 June 2010, www-tandfonlinecom.libproxy.mtroyal.ca/doi/abs/10.1080/13537110412331301365.

Corrigall-Brown, Catherine. “The Power of Pictures: Images of Politics and Protest.” Journals, 1 Dec. 2011, journals-sagepubcom.libproxy.mtroyal.ca/doi/full/10.1177/0002764211419358. Cowlishaw, Gillian. “Https://Muse-Jhu-Edu.libproxy.mtroyal.ca/Article/39978.” Muse, 2003, muse-jhu-edu.libproxy.mtroyal.ca/article/39978. Grenier, Marc. “Native Indians in the English-Canadian Press: The Case of the ‘Oka Crisis.’” Journals, 1 Apr. 1994, journals-sagepubcom.libproxy.mtroyal.ca/doi/abs/10.1177/016344379401600207. Komulaine, Shaney. Face to Face. 1990 Monkman, Kent. With Our Bodies We Protect the Land . 2019. Weave, Hilary N. “Indigenous Identity: What Is It, and Who Really Has It?” Muse, muse-jhuedu.libproxy.mtroyal.ca/article/252....