Aunties, Disestablishment, and the Making of Communiversitea
Land+
Rematriation
Antifragility
Denagogy/Ecogogy
Methodolotea
Research
Locality
Yenùdändu
Sovereignty
Joy
Love
TransformationalJustice
Nurturance
Play
Campfire
EmbodiedKnowing
Culture
Medicine
Ceremony
Stories
Song
Dance
Language
Dignity
Safety
Belonging
Violence-InformedPractice
Dignity-DrivenPractice
DenaK'eh
DenaAu'nezen
EcocentricRelationalIdentity
Self
Infant
Family
Child
Clan
Youth
Com- munity
Adult
Nation
Elder
Inter- nation
Ancestor
Land+
Amanda Buffalo
Kēdzéntēdé Kedzedį̄
“We are all learning together”1
1 Liard Aboriginal Women’s Society, 2021.
Communiversitea
A place where we are all learning together, all teaching together, as a community, in accordance with Indigenous community protocols.
Land+2
In Indigenous “thought-ways” 3 and being-ways, “land” does not mean property in the western legal sense of the term. “Land” means the entire animate and inanimate ecology and all the ecological
relations within a given territory – it’s Land+. Land+ accounts not only for the land and ecology, but all the human, non-human, more-than-human and spiritual interactions within the territory - and in relation to other territories
because ecological interrelationships know no boundaries. As Auntie Mary Maje says, “When the Caribou are healthy, the Dena are healthy,”4 noting that the caribou touch many territories
and are in relation to people other than the Dena. Land+ means the land and all that sustains, nourishes, and nurtures us and the relationships of reciprocity that must be upheld to ensure the survivance 5 of all beings in all territories.
2. Tu Cho. (n.d.). The land+ told me so. Tu Cho (Frances
Lake), Kaska Country.
3. Simpson, L. (2011). Dancing on our
turtle’s back: stories of Nishnaabeg re-creation, resurgence
and a new emergence. Arbeiter Ring Publishing.
4. Mary Maje,
witnessing, 2022.
5. Vizenor, G. R. (2008). Survivance
narratives of Native presence. University of Nebraska Press.
Dena K’eh
According to the Aunties and Uncles “we must look back to the ways of the old ones, the ancestors, and their teachings in order to plan for the future generations.”9 Our survivance10 is the answer to our ancestor’s prayers, but it is not enough to be
a good descendant of previous generations. We have a spiritual, individual, moral, ethical, and collective responsibility to be the best ancestors we can be, and to both pray for and plan for the survivance11 of the next generations
to come.
9 Aunties, The, and Uncles, The. (My whole life). The Aunties
and Uncles told me so. Probably Tu Cho, maybe Zoom. 10
Vizenor, G. R. (2008). Survivance narratives of Native
presence. University of Nebraska Press. 11 Vizenor, G. R.
(2008). Survivance narratives of Native presence. University
of Nebraska Press.
Self
The sacred physical embodiment of our spiritual being that is in a constant and simultaneous state of being and becoming.
Family
A group of people, generally related by common ancestry, adoption, or marriage that live in a family unit and care for and nurture each other and collectively raise and teach the children Dena K’eh and ensure that relationships with the land+ reflect
the practice of Dena Au’nezen.
To return to the teachings of matriarchy, matrilocality, and embody a spiritual connection with the land+ and ecology, and to recentre women’s place(s) in governance, community, and family in alignment with Indigenous knowledge systems.
“Some things benefit from shocks; they thrive and grow when exposed to volatility, randomness, disorder, and stressors and love adventure, risk and uncertainty. Yet despite the ubiquity of the phenomenon, there is no word for the exact opposite of
fragile. Let’s call it antifragile. Antifragility is beyond resilience or robustness. The resilient resists the shock and stays the same; the antifragile gets better. This property is behind everything that has changed with time...”39
39 Taleb, N. N. (2012). Antifragile: things that gain from disorder. Random House. (pp. 3-4)
More then a pedagogy, which means 'to lead the children,' or andragogy, which means 'to lead men,' this way of thinking is an ecogogy, a process of living and learning from the land+ and in relation to the land+ in Kaska homelands it is also, as Auntie
Dorothy Smith says, a 'Denagogy', 33 a learning from a place of Dena K'eh (Dena Ways). Both Denagogy and ecogogy mean to learn with the land+ and from the land+ with an ethic of care, nuturance,
and interconnectedness that is inhered in Dena K'eh and cultural ways of being.
33 Auntie Dorothy Smith, witnessing, 2022
In English, the word teacher begins with t-e-a, and so we might as well begin with tea. When we begin with tea and Dena Au’nezen, instead of methodology, we have methodolotea. In Dena K’eh the process itself is a being, and as a being, it must be treated
with Dena Au’nezen. In the academy, you’d call the process of research a methodology. But in Dena K’eh, it is a radical (i.e. deeply rooted) process of being taught. The process of being taught and of learning (i.e., researching) in Dena K’eh
is the methodolotea. This is part of the concept of Denagogy and ecogogy.
According to Uncle Dennis “research is collecting knowledge from the land,”34 from the time that is spent on the trails. Dena have a spiritual connection to the land+. In this sense, and as practiced by
Indigenous communities, learning is ceremony, and when we collect information from the land+ and learn from it, it becomes ceremony and, in this way, “research is ceremony.”35
34 Uncle Dennis Shorty, witnessing, 2022
35 Wilson, S. (2008). Research is ceremony: indigenous research methods. Fernwood Pub.
“Locality is being-from-the-land and knowing-from-the-land. I use ‘locality’ as a term of art…as a way to reference the manner in which being, meaning, and knowledge are rooted in the land…In that way, no one speaks with cultural or national authority…Cultures
and nations do not speak, except as through the power of locality…” 36. To be matrilocal is to exist in and have access to the family use areas of your mother’s family and clan.
36 Burkhart, B. (2019). Indigenizing Philosophy Through the land:
A trickster methodology for decolonizing environmental ethics and Indigenous futures. Michigan State University Press. (p. xiv).
“So they could learn” 37 is the literal translation of this term, which is the term used to speak about curriculum in Däkwänjè (Southern Tutchone language). With yenùdän du, instead of a
classroom, we have the land and its ecology – a space to “let learn.” 38
37 Khasha Reid, witnessing, 2021
38 Aoki, T. (1993). Legitimating lived curriculum: Towards a curricular landscape of multiplicity. Journal of Curriculum and Supervision, 8(3), 255-268. (p. 266)
The practice of independence, self-jurisdiction, self-determination, and autonomy in all relations with others and the exercise of power and authority over oneself and one’s actions in ways that uphold Dena Au’nezen and the dignity of self and others.
Beyond the defined notions of joy as deep happiness or pleasure, joy is the confluence of the experiences of dignity, safety, belonging, love, transformational justice, peace, nurturance, and sovereignty.
Uncle Dennis says “love - no matter what.” 31 Love and care for your babies and the land+ and teach them to love and care for their babies and the land+. As Auntie Ann says, “Love has to be quiet. That’s
what I think I know. That’s how I know love is real.” 32 Love is part of Dena Au’nezen.
31 Uncle Dennis Shorty, witnessing, 2022
32 Auntie Ann Maje Raider, witnessing, 2022
Beyond merely social justice, transformational justice is a holistic justice that fundamentally changes the ways in which we relate to each other, structure our communities, engage in social systems, determine belonging, create safety, and uphold dignity.
A combination of nourishment, care, unconditional love, security, learning through ecogogy, and the felt experience of Dena Au’nezen.
Engagement in joyful enactments of daily life, make-belief, fantasy, and imagination. To learn through the doing and playing with. To discover for oneself through joyful engagement. As Uncle Dennis Shorty says, “Dena language is like a comedy show”
29 in that it is very playful and humorous.
29 Dennis Shorty, witnessing, 2022
A circle of humanity in an often cold and harsh world, the campfire is a place of both welcome and equality. It is a place to share and reflect. It is a place of love, and dignity, and respect. The campfire represents the heart of my community – bright
burning, full of passion and raw energy, warm, welcoming, and giving. The campfire is lifegiving and life sustaining. It is both sacred and mundane. And it is also what connects us.
The state of knowing from lived experience and sensory input (sight, smell, touch, hearing, taste, intuition or spiritual knowing). Embodied knowing comes from embodied learning, lived learning, and “lived curriculum.” 30
30 Aoki, T. (1993). Legitimating lived curriculum: Towards a curricular landscape of multiplicity. Journal of Curriculum and Supervision, 8(3), 255-268. (p. 255).
The collective beliefs and way of life of a community of beings in relation to one another. Culture includes stories, song, dance, ceremony, food, and language as modalities for the sharing of knowledge – but these are also important stand-alone elements
of learning.
Everything from the land is medicine. Every animal and plant is medicine. The water is medicine. The land is medicine. Each being is medicine and is sacred. Even people, “people are medicine, too”. 25
25 Auntie Ann Maje Raider, witnessing, 2022
The mundane and sacred practices of connecting and reconnecting to the spiritual realm. This includes prayer, saltwater ceremony (bathing/crying), rites of passage, women’s moon ceremonies, cedar ceremonies, sweats, the sharing of sacred teachings and
the keeping of the sacred fire as examples from various Indigenous communities/practices.
The sharing of knowledge and information through sharing lived experiences of self and others. To use story to pass down culture, tradition, and language. The sharing of stories models culture and shapes value systems of the community.
Songs are a powerful medium for sharing stories, especially stories as they relate to emotions, spirituality, and connection. Songs model culture and language in a such a way that teachings and values are easily recalled and applied in both every day
and sacred practices of ceremony.
The embodiment of stories shared through enactment and often in relation to song. Stories shared through the mediums of both song and dance are a powerful conveyor of culture, language, and history. Dancing models the physical embodiment of culture.
As Uncle Dennis says, “language is identity” 26, and “language is living” 27 In Dena Dzage, the language is always in relation to action, the way you do something
or the way you use something. Auntie Mary Maje reminds me often that “language is who we are – our language, culture and land are all connected.” 28
26 Uncle Dennis Shorty, witnessing, 2022
27 Auntie Mary Maje, witnessing, 2020
28 Auntie Mary Maje, witnessing, 2020
According to Donna Hicks, “our desire for dignity is even stronger than our desire for survival,”21 and “we share a longing for dignity—the feeling of inherent value and worth.22 Dignity is inhered in the practices of Dena Au’nezen and Dena K’eh.
21 Hicks, D. (2016). A Culture of Indignity and the Failure of Leadership. Humanistic Management Journal, 1(1), 113–126. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41463-016-0006-2King, T. (2016). The truth about stories. House of Anansi Press. (p. 14)
22 Hicks, D.
(2016). A Culture of Indignity and the Failure of Leadership. Humanistic Management Journal, 1(1), 113–126. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41463-016-0006-2King, T. (2016). The truth about stories. House of Anansi Press. (p. 6)
To be free from violence, fear of violence, to have basic human needs met, and to be protected from harm.
The experience or felt sense of relating to or being part of a group (a family, clan, community, Nation). As Peter Block explains, “belonging can also be thought of as a longing to be. Being is our capacity to find our deeper purpose in all that we do,”
23 and “does not have to be left to chance or to be dependent on the welcoming nature of others.”24
23 Block, P. (2007). Civic engagement and the restoration of community: Changing the nature of the conversation. (p. xviii).
24 Block, P. (2007). Civic engagement and the restoration of community: Changing the nature of the conversation. (p. xviii).
The language used to mutualize violence is not accidental; it is intended to shape how our testimonies are heard and interpreted. Coates and Wade note that “…language that mutualizes violence behaviour implies that the victim is at least partly to blame
and inevitably conceals the fact that violence behaviour is unilateral and solely the responsibility of the offender” 15
As Wade has noted to me, violence is:
. (With rare exceptions) deliberate, in that those who perpetuate violence anticipate and work to overcome victim resistance;
. Unilateral in that it is inflicted by one or more people against the will and well-being of another person or group;
. Social in that it takes place in a social context 16
Being violence-Informed means understanding the elements of violence as noted by Wade, and the ways that perpetrators and other social actors work to mutualize violence to obscure perpetrator responsibility. This approach is distinct from
trauma-Informed practices, as Shelly Dean explains:
Trauma-Informed practice and language gets talked about as covering everything – car accident, serious illness, violence done to someone. But perpetrators don’t do trauma to someone – trauma doesn’t describe who does
what to whom. It doesn’t describe what happened at all. When you talk in the language of trauma, you are talking about the mind of the victim, and there is no attention at all to what happened, who did what to whom – particularly when violence
has occurred. In the trauma discourse, the perpetrator has disappeared and now we are just talking about the mind of the victim and the problems of the victim. It eliminates the discussion and understanding about what actually happened.
Understanding the fact pattern of violence and resistance; the trauma discourse doesn’t allow you to do that. 17
15 Coates, L., & Wade, A. (2004). Telling it Like it isn’t: Obscuring Perpetrator Responsibility for Violent Crime. Discourse & Society, 15(5), 499–526. https://doi.org/10.1177/0957926504045031. (p. 5)
16 Allan Wade, witnessing, 2020
17 Shelly Dean, witnessing, 2022
Using violence-Informed language and approaches and recognizing and upholding the resistance of victims results in dignity-driven practice, that is, practice that is aligned with upholding the dignity, safety, and belonging of victims of violence in our
families, clans, communities, and Nations. Dignity-driven practice recognizes both the agency and the resistance of victims, and recentres the narrative on how they act(ed) in ways that protect their dignity.
Dignity Driven practice is about upholding the dignity of each person, family, and community. This is done through the use of specific talking skills and a process of understanding what might be happening to a person. By using these skills,
you will build a more accurate picture of a family’s experiences at both the macro (society and systems) and micro (their small interactions with other people) levels.18
The elements of Dignity Driven Practice can be summarized as:
. Self-determination is the foundation of dignity
. Language is central to the work of dignity
. Attend to power in each moment People respond to and resist acts of violence, adversity and oppression The social responses people receive are critical 19
It is important to note that dignity driven practice is an adaptation to the “specialized therapeutic model Response Based Practice (designed for working with people experiencing adversity such as violence and injustice)”20 that is now used in child protec tion but has broader application and implications for social justice and Indigenous education.
18 Wade, A. (2018). Dignity Driven Practice. Exhibit 57, Winnipeg hearing: National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. https://www.mmiwg-ffada.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/P02-03P03P0501_Winnipeg_Exhibit_57_Wade.pdf. (p. 1).
19 Wade, A. (2018). Dignity Driven Practice. Exhibit 57, Winnipeg hearing: National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. https://www.mmiwg-ffada.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/P02-03P03P0501_Winnipeg_Exhibit_57_Wade.pdf. (pp. 1-2)
20 Wade, A. (2018). Dignity Driven Practice. Exhibit 57, Winnipeg hearing: National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls. https://www.mmiwg-ffada.ca/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/P02-03P03P0501_Winnipeg_Exhibit_57_Wade.pdf. (p. 3)
According to the Aunties and Uncles “we must look back to the ways of the old ones, the ancestors, and their teachings in order to plan for the future generations.” 9 Our survivance10 is the answer to our ancestor’s prayers, but it is not enough to be a good descendant of previous generations. We have a spiritual, individual, moral, ethical, and collective responsibility to be the best ancestors we can be, and to both pray
for and plan for the survivance11 of the next generations to come.
9 Aunties, The, and Uncles, The. (My whole life). The Aunties and Uncles told me so. Probably Tu Cho, maybe Zoom.
10 Vizenor, G. R. (2008). Survivance narratives of Native presence. University of Nebraska Press.
11 Vizenor, G. R. (2008). Survivance narratives of Native presence. University of Nebraska Press.
Dena Au’nezen is:
…our compass and describes our spiritual and material ethics of dignity and respect for the land and each other. We are taught to honour all of Creation, from the Sky above to the Earth below, to all that lies between, to all things large and
small, and to all things seen and unseen. This system of survival on this land recognizes our shared responsibility to each other and has taught us to reconcile relationships by embracing differences with kindness, love, and respect.
12
12 Auntie Ann Maje Raider, witnessing, 2020
My identity/self as an individual in relation to land+ self in relation to family; self as part of a family in relation to clan; self as part of a family and a clan in relation to community; self as part of a family, clan, and community in relation to
Nation; and self as part of a family, clan, community, and Nation in relation to inter-national relations – all of which are entirely coaxial on my connection and relationality to the land+ I am on and the ecology it sustains and nourishes. Pasternak
(reflecting the work of Deborah Rose Bird) writes “…for Indigenous people, who you are is where you are…” 13 – meaning that who I am will always change in relation to the land+ I am on, and my
existing connection and relations to it, which includes my knowledge about it.14
13 Pasternak, S. (2017). Grounded authority: The Algonquins of Barrier Lake against the state. University of Minnesota Press. (p. 188).
14 Auntie Ann Maje Raider, witnessing, 2022
The sacred physical embodiment of our spiritual being that is in a constant and simultaneous state of being and becoming.
The stages of the human lifecycle are continuous, and individuals are always in a state of “transmotion” 8 and interconnection with others, regardless of what age or stage of development that the physical
embodiment of spirit ends.
8 Simpson, L. (2014).
“Bubbling like a beating heart”: Reflections on Nishnaabeg poetic and narrative consciousness. (N. McLeod, Ed.). Wilfred Laurier University Press. https://muse.jhu.edu/chapter/1184077. (p. 89)
A group of people, generally related by common ancestry, adoption, or marriage that live in a family unit and care for and nurture each other and collectively raise and teach the children Dena K’eh and ensure that relationships with the land+ reflect
the practice of Dena Au’nezen.
The stages of the human lifecycle are continuous, and individuals are always in a state of “transmotion” 8 and interconnection with others, regardless of what age or stage of development that the physical
embodiment of spirit ends.
8 Simpson, L. (2014).
“Bubbling like a beating heart”: Reflections on Nishnaabeg poetic and narrative consciousness. (N. McLeod, Ed.). Wilfred Laurier University Press. https://muse.jhu.edu/chapter/1184077. (p. 89)
A group of families that descend from the same ancestral line. In Dena K’eh, individuals are either part of the Wolf Clan or the Crow Clan. Clan membership is determined by your matrilineal line. According to Auntie Mary Maje “you follow your mom, where
she is from.”6 The Clan system is a system of balance, and an embodied practice of Dene Au’nezen.
6 Mary Maje and Dorothy Smith, witnessing, 2020.
The stages of the human lifecycle are continuous, and individuals are always in a state of “transmotion” 8 and interconnection with others, regardless of what age or stage of development that the physical
embodiment of spirit ends.
8 Simpson, L. (2014).
“Bubbling like a beating heart”: Reflections on Nishnaabeg poetic and narrative consciousness. (N. McLeod, Ed.). Wilfred Laurier University Press. https://muse.jhu.edu/chapter/1184077. (p. 89)
People of both clans who live together and nourish each other that are descendants of common ancestors to the land+ or adopted into the community and cared for.
The stages of the human lifecycle are continuous, and individuals are always in a state of “transmotion” 8 and interconnection with others, regardless of what age or stage of development that the physical
embodiment of spirit ends.
8 Simpson, L. (2014).
“Bubbling like a beating heart”: Reflections on Nishnaabeg poetic and narrative consciousness. (N. McLeod, Ed.). Wilfred Laurier University Press. https://muse.jhu.edu/chapter/1184077. (p. 89)
The collective of Kaska communities that are unified by a sacred responsibility to care for the land+ throughout Kaska Dena territories.
The stages of the human lifecycle are continuous, and individuals are always in a state of “transmotion” 8 and interconnection with others, regardless of what age or stage of development that the physical
embodiment of spirit ends.
8 Simpson, L. (2014). “Bubbling like a beating heart”: Reflections on Nishnaabeg poetic and narrative consciousness. (N. McLeod, Ed.). Wilfred Laurier University Press. https://muse.jhu.edu/chapter/1184077. (p. 89)
The interrelationships with and between the Kaska Dena and neighbouring communities and Nations that share boundaries with the Kaska Dena, border the Kaska homelands, or that the Kaska Dena have trade relationships with. As Leanne Simpson
notes,
‘boundaries’ in an Indigenous sense, are about relationships. As someone moves away from the centre of their territory – the places they have the strongest and most familiar bonds and relationships – their knowledge and relationship to
the land weakens…This is a place where one needs to practice good relations with neighbouring nations. Presence is required to maintain those good relationships. Communication is required to jointly care-take this region, which is much wider
than a line. 7
7. Simpson, L. (2014), "Bubbling like a beasting heart": Reflections on Nishnaabeg poetic and narrative consciousness (N. McLeod, Ed.) Wilfred Laurier University Press. https://muse.jhu.edu/chapter/1184077. (p. 89)
The stages of the human lifecycle are continuous, and individuals are always in a state of “transmotion” 8 and interconnection with others, regardless of what age or stage of development that the physical
embodiment of spirit ends.
8 Simpson, L. (2014). “Bubbling like a beating heart”: Reflections on Nishnaabeg poetic and narrative consciousness. (N. McLeod, Ed.). Wilfred Laurier University Press. https://muse.jhu.edu/chapter/1184077. (p. 89)
Self
Infant
