A war between stories: Leisure, colonialism and my struggles to reconcile my Indigeneity

Abstract

This dissertation is concerned with oppression and “the reach of imperialism into our heads” (Smith, 2012, p. 63). It is concerned with the “war between stories” (Delgado, 2012, p.2419) between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Peoples and thus the narrative character and the narrative space of such struggles. The purpose of this dissertation is two-fold. Firstly, to expose the tensions of oppression that surround leisure, sport and recreation in the Six Nations of the Grand River community through an Indigenous critique of the stories and narratives of three community leaders in the Six Nations community. The subsequent purpose is to convey the struggles I’ve experienced, as an Indigenous person, moving through this research process, struggling to understand my Indigeneity and the connection between notions of Indigeneity and leisure. Grande (2004) puts forward the critique that “unless the relationship between culture and the socioeconomic conditions within which it is produced is recognized, the so-called at-risk conditions common to peoples living under siege will persist” (p.19). She argues for an educational reform that must happen concurrently with an analysis of colonialism and the material reality that perpetuates it. To honour her call, it is thus imperative to gain an understanding of how leisure is connected to ongoing colonialism and the perpetuation of a material reality that has far-reaching consequences for how we perceive and understand the world. To do this, it is my contention that stories are central to understanding the connections between leisure and ongoing neo-colonialism as well as how we make sense of the role within Indigenous lives and struggles for decolonization, Indigenization, sovereignty, and self-determination.