Traditions in a colonized world: Two realities of a First Nation.
Published: 2004
Language: eng
Number of pages: 268
Description: Although the nature of housing, education and livelihood has changed for Miawpukek First Nation, there is a spiritual crisis---as evidenced by ongoing alcoholism, abuse, and suicide. Most have lost a traditional understanding of how their universe works and their place in it. However, there is increasing interest among some community members to regain traditional knowledge, language and practices in order to encourage sacred values.Set on the rugged south shore of the Island of Newfoundland against a backdrop of ongoing colonial oppression by church and state and despite all odds, Miawpukek First Nation at Conne River, NF, is the only Mi'kmaq Band in the province to achieve federal Status. In less than 20 years, the Chief and Band Council have taken community life from subsistence level to a place where every member is engaged in work and living conditions that are typically mainstream Canadian. This critical ethnography traces their Mi'kmaq historical roots in New Brunswick and Nova Scotia and provides a history of more than a century of life from the perspectives of the People.This researcher spent more than a year living in the community and participating in ongoing daily activities, special celebrations and sacred ceremonies. It became profoundly evident that Miawpukek First Nation is, as are most First Nations peoples, caught between two worlds: the Eurocentric world of surviving in the 21st Century and their traditional culture which is based on a spiritual relationship with the land. The question is posited about whether Canada's religious freedoms are being denied as Aboriginal peoples' lands are systematically usurped.To further this endeavour this dissertation includes a brief outline of some traditional philosophy and practices and a listing of plant and animal medicines. A discussion of healing, religion, and traditional understandings which are based on principles of balance and relationships rather than universal laws has important implications for virtually all First Nations peoples. Efforts to achieve healthy individuals in healthy communities can incorporate, but must go beyond, the 1986 Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion which does not consider the unique cosmology and needs of Canada's Aboriginal peoples.
Notes: Adviser: Rhonda Love.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Toronto, 2004.

Electronic version licensed for access by U. of T. users.

Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 65-05, Section: A, page: 1837.