Reclaiming the Red River: Creating Metis Cultural Spaces in Winnipeg
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Authors
Gaudry, Adam J. P.
Date
2009-08-25T21:09:21Z
Type
thesis
Language
eng
Keyword
Metis , Indigenous Governance
Alternative Title
Abstract
Urban spaces are an increasingly common indigenous reality, and while urban spaces often
involve great social and geographic distances from traditional communities, many urban
populations have built vibrant communities in cities. This thesis will examine the creation of
Métis cultural spaces in Winnipeg, Manitoba, as a community building strategy. It is situated in
thirteen in-depth interviews with Métis community builders conducted in Winnipeg over the
Summer of 2008. The Winnipeg Metis community is rhizomatic in makeup, situated not in
geographic locations, but in the networks of instantaneous and spontaneous social interaction of
community members and institutions—elders, political organizations and governance structures.
Rhizomatic space is a form of social organization, which emerges out of everyday social life, and
because it is only observable during the brief instances of human interaction, it is nearly invisible
to outsiders and thus difficult to colonize. It is also a primary means by which Métis people are
reclaiming space in their traditional homeland on the Red River. This paper theorizes an
alternative tactic to resistance through a decentered form of political organization, grounded in
the community and its organic institutions. It proposes that the everyday creation of social and
cultural spaces in urban centres is an effective way to build urban indigenous communities with
minimal interference or involvement of the State, and that this develops more or less organically
without the need for bureaucratic oversight. The paper concludes that the everyday creation of
rhizomatic space is a highly effective means of community building and resistance.
Description
Thesis (Master, Sociology) -- Queen's University, 2009-08-20 19:43:50.279
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