The Language of Citizenship: Indigenous Perspectives of Nationhood in Canada

Abstract

The indigenous peoples in Canada are a demographic that has largely had difficulties situating itself into the body politic of the Canadian nation state. (The term indigenous will herein refer to the First Nations, Metis, and Inuit peoples who are the descendants of the original stewards of what is now Canada. These three groups that constitute the triumvirate of constitutionally recognized “Aboriginal” peoples (Constitution Act, 1982, being schedule B to the Canada Act 1982 (U.K.), 1982, c. 11) each represent a vast number of nations, cultures, language groups, and treaty contexts.) If one accepts that the goal of contemporary Canadian citizenship is the sharing of values in a collective, democratic community (Deer F, J Educ Thought 42(1):69–82, 2008), then the role of indigenous peoples in a Canadian citizenry may merit exploration. Indigenous peoples, who frequently show that they have demonstrably different conceptualizations of their own group identity and nationhood that are different from those of non-indigenous peoples, may be caught in a struggle of competing values – these struggles may have serious implications for social harmony and contemporary reconciliation. This chapter explores the ways in which indigenous peoples in Canada may be understood by others in terms of their national contexts, the manners in which they view their own roles as members of a Canadian citizenry, and the implications for educational initiatives.