Past and Present

This blog is slightly different from most other blogs I write.  You know, the ones where I tell silly stories or complain.  (I always reserve the right to complain.  It's part of the reason--beyond civic duty--I vote in midterm elections.)  Today I am going to write about something I read for class.  This book is not a work of fiction.  It was written by a historian.  If this sounds boring, stop reading now.  (Or continue so that you can complain about it.)

I jut finished Authentic Indians by Paige Raibmon (2006).  Her book is about Pacific Northwest Indians and their encounters with White (her capitalization, not mine—I think she’s got a background in subaltern studies and ethnography, too) Canadians and Americans from the 1870s to the 1930s. Her argument is that the conveniences of colonialism (never defined by her, so I think we’re supposed to go with a generic understanding of someone taking over someone else’s stuff) and the rise of anthropology, which allowed White people to classify Indian cultures as static and disappearing, created a framework for government policy and popular thought about Indians. Now, before any of you roll your eyes because this is another “poor Indian/bad White guy” book, you should know that her book is about how Indians lost in many ways, but it’s also about how they used this framework to help themselves. At the end, I thought, once again, “Wow, some not-so-bright moments for 19th century missionaries, tourists, and government officials here.” Still, I also thought, “Wow, I didn’t know some of this stuff! How interesting!” I LOVE TO LEARN!

So on to the insights. One of her examples is of a group from the Kwakwaka’wakw (no pronunciation guide provided) who go to the 1893 Columbian Exposition. I am fascinated by the CE, so this is a plus. These people went as part of an anthropological exhibit. In fact, to eliminate freight costs home, their employer classified them as part of the exhibit and threw a fit when the railroad decided to classify them as people and asked him to pay for them. (Interesting…hunh?) Anyway, the missionaries and the Canadian government didn’t want them to go. They didn’t like the thought of these Indians being so far from their influence, and they REALLY didn’t like that they were going as examples of ‘uncivilized’ Indians. You see, Canada had made missionary efforts part of a PR campaign that would entice White people to move to Canada, which was still pretty new as far as countries go. They wanted people to think that all Indians had been eliminated or civilized so people would feel safe about moving north. So the government and missionaries brought their own Indians to the CE. They had them and do crafts and show that they were civilized at model Indian schools. A group of Indians that didn’t act civilized was not good for PR. (Sort of like when that California lab contaminated a bunch of J. Salk’s polio vaccine, and scared people away from getting vaccinated for a few years in the 1950s.)


As part of their job, the Kwakwaka’wakw had to do sacred and secular dances and ceremonies for the millions of CE tourists. Raibmon claims that they did one particular dance as a sort of “up yours” to the Canadian government and missionaries trying to civilize them back home. The dance involved cutting strips of flesh off of dancers’ backs, attaching ropes, and then yanking until the strips ripped loose. (Victorians called it a ‘cannibal’ dance.) Lots and lots of people saw it, and lots of people were upset.

I’m not really interested in discussing the political ramifications of the dance’s aftermath here. What I am interested in is Vancouver’s Opening Ceremonies last Friday. The Kwakwaka’wakw weren’t one of the four “First Nations,” but historically they were neighbors with the participating tribes. What I find interesting is that 1) Indians are on display again. It is, once again, their own decision to participate. However, it’s now okay for them to wear regalia and associate nationally with Canada, and we’d be a bit weirded out if they showed up in suits or dresses like Bryan Adams and Nelly Furtado, even though most of them probably live in jeans like we do. 2) The ceremony was pretty different. No one’s skin got ripped off. In fact, the ceremony was pan-Canadian-Indian, and most of it was scripted around a pop song that they danced to like they were at a rock concert.

So yeah, now things are different.  Today we need our indigenous remnants to back up our national myths or mount international Olympic PR campaigns.  Most of them are fine with it.  I wonder if they're motivated by patriotism, or if they're excited to show off an "authentic" part of their culture, or maybe they just wanted to be part of the Olympics (because that would be very, very cool).  Whatever the case may be, the ceremony has been toned down to be acceptable, and we now find regalia--a shout out to a pagan, uncivilized past--necessary for these sorts of super-civil ceremonies.  Lovely compromises/amalgamations. 

I could go on, but this post is way too long, and one musing is enough.  I just wonder what the 19th century would think about the 21st when it comes to stuff like this.  Would they see a secular ceremony with people in ceremonial regalia appropriate for the Olympics?  Or would they be frustrated that these Idians didn't look like White people?  I don't really think the question is answerable. But I still get to wonder.