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A Hybrid Identity in a Pluralistic Nineteenth-Century Colonial Context

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Abstract

The colonial process often occurs within a pluralistic context in which all the actors continuously renegotiate their identities. Traditionally, this context has been framed within a colonizer/colonized dichotomy, but recent scholarship has embraced a more-complex interpretation, such that colonizers and colonized are not homogenizing categories, and variations in experience are accepted. The deconstruction of colonial categories further complicates pluralistic contexts and allows for a more nuanced reading of the past; however, the colonial discourse continues to have difficulty exploring and discussing identities that do not fit neatly into either a colonizer or colonized identity. This paper explores how the Labrador Métis, a self-defined hybrid identity, do not cleanly fit within the current discourse and highlights the need to begin reconceptualizing the actors within the colonial process.

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Beaudoin, M.A. A Hybrid Identity in a Pluralistic Nineteenth-Century Colonial Context. Hist Arch 47, 45–63 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03376898

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