Lean in to your discomfort

Journal Reflection #2

Have you ever seen a stereotype in the media of yourself that you didn’t agree with? If so, how did that make you feel?

Stereotyping and Othering

Stereotyping● Stereotyping is the assumption that all members of a particular group share

certain traits or qualities: that all athletes are stupid, for instance, or that men are hopeless at domestic tasks like cooking or doing laundry.

● Stereotyping can be both negative or positive.

● Stereotypes ignore the uniqueness of people by painting all members of a group with the same brush.

● Almost any group of people can be stereotyped, but some of the most common stereotypes are based on ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation and ability.

Othering

● One effect of stereotypes is to separate "us" from "them." “Othering” means creating a stereotype of a group as being fundamentally different, dangerous and even subhuman. (A classic example of this is the treatment of Jewish people in Nazi Germany before and during World War II.)

Stereotyping and Othering Assignment Part 1I will hand out a worksheet that contains a lot of what we talked about. There are 5 questions that I would like you to answer and hand in to me. (Yes, we have already done some of these questions).

http://www.nsi-canada.ca/2012/03/im-not-the-indian-you-had-in-mind/#

Location AssignmentI will be asking you to do some family research. I would like you to find out (if you can) your family's cultural/ethnic background, and when your family immigrated to Canada. For those with F.N. background, please try to identify what cultural group and area your family is from. Please be prepared to share this information.

Question to consider: How has immigrating to Canada affected your family?

Media and Stereotypes of Aboriginal People

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/thunder-bay/trailer-hitch-assault-1.3960582

Mascots.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HTBT-_F6oYw

The Truth About Stories is….

“Most of us think history is the past. It’s not. History is the stories we tell about the past. That’s all it is. Stories. Such a definition might make the enterprise of history seem neutral…...which, of course, it isn’t.”

-Thomas King , Inconvenient Indian

Cowboys and Indianshttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_hJFi7SRH7Q

Too Heavy to Lift

“Indians come in all sorts of social and historical configurations. North American popular culture is littered with savage, noble, and dying Indians, while in real life we have Dead Indians, Live Indians, and Legal Indians.

-Thomas King, Inconvenient Indian

● What do you think King means by this?

Reading Time.

● Read the article “Dear Person that decided to dress up as an Indian for Halloween”.

● With a partner discuss what your big take away from the article is.

● Why do you think it is seen as racist to dress up as other cultural groups? Do you think this changes if you are white or non-white?

DiscussionWell, what do we think?

Stereotypes Cont’dMyself and others have attempted to group various First Nations stereotypes into four categories to help identify and recognize them. The goal here is to recognize the stereotype and then the counter-narrative.

These are:

● Indian Princess● Native Warrior● Noble Savage● Drunken Indian

Indian PrincessIs a stereotyped, and often sexualized, portrayal of indigenous woman. Often this portrayal leads to the character leaving their culture to adopt the Eurocentric values of the colonial man.

Native WarriorOne of the more notable stereotypes, this is the manifestation of historic savagery. Often adds to the narrative (story) that the “West was won” against a savage and terrible foe.

Noble SavageA “positive” stereotype, the noble savage is portrayed as ignorant and simple-minded but at the same time uncorrupted by any of the moral failings of modern civilization. He (it's almost always a he) has a natural wisdom and connection to nature.

Drunken IndianIn many circles, the stereotype of the "drunken Indian" was once all-powerful. It was assumed by some that if you were of aboriginal ancestry, whether you were Métis, Inuit, non-status or First Nation, then you had a drinking problem. This is simply not true.