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Settler Colonialism and Enduring Indigeneity
POL195H1F
Screenshot from Kawalakii courtesy of Kauwila Mahi (Kanaka Maoli)
______________________________________________________________________________
Dr. Uahikea Maile | uahikea.maile@utoronto.ca | Office Hours: Monday 10am-12pm
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COURSE DESCRIPTION
This First-Year Foundations Seminar explores the politics of representation in Indigenous
multimedia. We examine Indigenous cultural productions of memoir, documentary, graphic
novel, film, poetry, music, and video games to discuss representations of settler colonialism and
Indigeneity. Through multiple forms of media, students investigate how Indigenous people
endure colonialism—although Indigenous peoples have endured settler colonization, Indigeneity
endures despite it. As a system built on territorial dispossession and genocide, settler colonialism
is a failing project, and Indigenous multimedia illustrates this by representing the violence of
colonialism and, simultaneously, the survival and endurance of Indigenous peoples, political
philosophies, legal orders, and social ecologies. In addition to reading, watching, listening,
playing, and creating multimedia content, students learn from Indigenous scholars about the
politics of knowledge production in textual, visual, sonic, and virtual representation.2
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COURSE OBJECTIVES • Respectfully engage your peers and me
By the end of this course, students should be • Contribute positively to a safe course
able to: climate
• Understand the politics of
representation and knowledge PROFESSOR RESPONSIBILITIES
production For this course, you should expect me to:
• Analyze representations of settler • Provide enriching lectures
colonialism and Indigeneity • Convey content, ideas, and material
• Compare Indigenous multimedia with passion
cultural productions • Facilitate engaging discussions
• Create multimedia content about settler • Respect each student’s individuality as
colonialism and/or Indigeneity a person and learner
• Write in the concentration of • Encourage you to become excellent
Indigenous politics readers, writers, and critical thinkers
STUDENT RESPONSIBILITIES REQUIRED MATERIALS
For this course, I expect you to: • From the Ashes, Jesse Thistle
• Read assigned literature closely • Bad Indians, Deborah A. Miranda
• Watch weekly lectures and videos and • This Place, Alicia Elliot
closely engage other materials like • Moonshot, Elizabeth LaPensée and
podcasts, music, and video games Michael Sheyahshe
• Participate in large group discussions • All other required materials are
and small group work available on Course Reserve in
• Submit assignments on time Querqus
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COURSE POLICIES
1. Accommodations: If a disability adversely affects your course work, I will do my best to
accommodate your needs. You may need more time on assignments, course material in
Braille, or alternative assignments because of PTSD triggers. Register with Accessibility
Services on the phone (416-978-8060), via email (accessibility.services@utoronto.ca), or
at their office (455 Spadina Avenue, 4th Floor, Suite 400, Toronto, ON, M5S 2G8).
Contact me, or have a representative from Accessibility Services contact me, as soon as
possible so your needs can be accommodated in a timely manner. Furthermore, contact
me if you require accomodations related to online access to course content.
2. Academic Integrity: This course follows UofT rules and regulations on academic
integrity. According to the International Center for Academic Integrity’s definition
endorsed by UofT, we should communicate and act in our class community and
coursework with honesty, trust, fairness, respect, responsibility, and courage. You are
required to understand and adhere to the Faculty of Arts and Science’s Code of Behavior
on Academic Matters. More information on academic integrity and what constitutes
misconduct is available online: governingcouncil.utoronto.ca/secretariat/policies/code-
behaviour-academic-matters-july-1-2019.3
3. Submitting Assignments: All assignments are due on Sundays at 11:59pm EST.
Assignments must be submitted electronically through Querqus (q.utoronto.ca).
Normally, students will be required to submit their course essays to Turnitin.com for
review of textual similarity and detection of possible plagiarism. In doing so, students
allow their papers to be included as source documents in the Turnitin.com reference
database, where they will be used solely for the purpose of detecting plagiarism. The
terms that apply to the University’s use of the Turnitin.com service are described on the
Turnitin.com web site.
4. Lectures: Video lectures will be uploaded online to Querqus on Mondays.
5. Late Work: There is no late work. Late submissions are not accepted.
6. Remarking: You may submit a formal request for remarking after receiving work back,
but no later than 2-weeks after it was returned. The request, submitted through Querqus,
should include a rationale for remarking that will be evaluated to determine whether or
not remarking is granted. I will remark the submission and return it no later than 2-weeks
from the date remarking was granted. There is an appeal process that you can read more
about online: teaching.artsci.utoronto.ca/teachinginas/academichandbook-
jitreminders/#remarkingpolicy.
7. Communication: Use the messenger in Quercus to contact me. Do not email me. I will
try my best to respond within 24 hours after receiving a message during the week.
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PARTICIPATION — 20 points
Participation is evaluated through large group discussions and small group work. You are
expected to watch weekly lectures and videos/podcasts and engage other assigned materials
before participating in large group discussions and small group work. Large group discussions
take place on Thursdays at 10am EST on Zoom—Zoom access information is below. If you miss
a synchronous discussion, you are required to view the asynchronous recording and submit a one
page reflection on it. Group work is assigned and submitted weekly in small groups—these
groups are randomized twice in the term. The point scale for participation is as follows:
0 — no participation
4 — very little participation
8 — little participation
12 — moderate participation
16 — consistent and active participation
20 — very consistent and active participation
REFLECTIONS — 15 total points
You are required to write three reflections. The first two are required, and then you can choose
one of the remaining three reflections to submit. Each assignment is worth 5 points. In the
reflection, you are required to address three questions: What did I read, watch, listen, and/or
play?; What did I learn about settler colonialism and Indigeneity in it?; What do I think about
what I learned? Reflections are evaluated based on topicality and completeness. Each reflection
should be 2–3 pages double spaced. For each submission, select just one cultural production to
reflect on from the respective group of media:
Memoir • From The Ashes
• Bad Indians4
Documentary • nîpawistamâsowin
• INVASION
Graphic • This Place
novel/comic: • Moonshot
Film • Rhymes for Young Ghouls
• The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open
• Blood Quantum
Poetry, music • “Colonization” & “Into Our Light I Will Go Forever”
& video • “Kaona” & “Hawaiʻi Ponoʻī”
game • “Return of the Makaʻāinana” & “I Live In the Kingdom”
• “Protect Maunakea” & “Maunafesting”
• When Rivers Were Trails
FILM ANALYSIS — 25 points
You are required to write a film analysis. This paper is worth 25 points. The three possible films
you can select to write about are: 1) Rhymes for Young Ghouls; 2) The Body Remembers When the
World Broke Open; 3) Blood Quantum. The purpose of this paper is to describe the narrative, with
attention to the setting, characters, dialogue, and plot, and advance an argument about the film’s
representations of settler colonialism and Indigeneity. This will be evaluated for four elements:
the thesis (5-points), the description of narrative (5-points), an analysis of representations (10-
points), and organization, spelling, and grammar (5-points). Film analysis papers should be 7–8
pages, and there will be 1-point deductions for each page under or over this required page length.
Submissions should be double-spaced with 1-inch margins in Chicago 17th edition style.
FINAL PROJECT — 40 points
The final project is a required small group assignment worth 40 points. You will work in the
second small group of the term, to create multimedia content about settler colonialism and
enduring Indigeneity. As a group, select one piece of scholarly literature from the course’s
required reading to craft a social media post that includes multiple mediums. The primary task is
to summarize the selected piece of literature and translate it into an informative social media
post. The secondary task is to incorporate multiple forms of media—text, images, video, and/or
audio—to strengthen the summary. The content should be designed for a post on Facebook,
Instagram, or Twitter. Projects should contain 8–10 posts that constitute the complete social
media post. After Week 8, I will upload tutorials and resources for using Canva, a free design
program online and a downloadable app. I encourage you to use Canva, but you can use another
design program. Before turning in the final project, each group is required to record and submit a
Zoom presentation that summarizes the selected piece of literature, narrates the social media post
and explains its aesthetic and logic, and discusses ideas for publishing. The final project will be
assessed for four components: the summary of literature, incorporation of multiple media, design
and execution, and the group presentation.
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MARKING SCHEME GRADING SCALE
Term Work Due Date Weight in
Percentage
Participation n/a 20%
Reflections Sep. 26, 15%
Oct. 10,
Oct. 24,
Nov. 21,
Dec. 5
Film Nov. 28 25%
Analysis
Final Project Dec. 9 40%
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COURSE SCHEDULE
Topics and Readings Assignment Due
Week 1: Introduction
Sep. 10–12
To do:
• Complete all tasks in Week 1’s Querqus module
Week 2: Politics of Representation in Memoir
Sep. 13–19
Read:
• From The Ashes: My Story of Being Métis,
Homeless, and Finding My Way by Jesse Thistle
Watch:
• “‘My Ancestors Are With You’: Jesse Thistle and
George Canyon on Canada Reads 2020”
Week 3: Memoir as History Reflection 1
Sep. 20–26
Read:
• Bad Indians: A Tribal Memoir by Deborah A.
Miranda
Watch:
• “Indian Country” by Deborah A. Miranda
*September 23 is last day to enroll*
Week 4: Documenting the Reality of Violence
Sep. 27–
Oct. 3 Watch:
• nîpawistamâsowin: We Will Stand Up by Tasha
Hubbard6
Read:
• “ Settler Colonialism and the Elimination of the
Native” by Patrick Wolfe
• “‘A Structure, Not An Event: Settler Colonialism
and Enduring Indigeneity” by J. Kēhaulani
Kauanui
Week 5: Mediating Frontline Defense Reflection 2
Oct. 4–10
Watch:
• INVASION by Unist’ot’en (directed by Michael
Toledano, Sam Vinal, and Franklin López)
• “Reconciliation Is Dead: RCMP Invade
Unist’ot’en Territory” by Unist’ot’en
Listen:
• “Unist’ot’en Camp: No Access Without Consent
w/ Anne Spice” from The Red Nation Podcast
Read:
• “Old Neighbors, New Battles: Rekindling
Indigenous Relations Against Colonial Violence”
by Denzel Sutherland-Wilson & Anne Spice
Week 6: Old Stories, New Graphic Novel
Oct. 11–17
Read:
• This Place: 150 Years Retold (forward by Alicia
Elliot)
• “Historical Sources and Methods in Indigenous
Studies: Touching on the Past, Looking to the
Future” by Jean M. O’Brien
Watch:
• “How Comic Books Centered on Native Heroes
Inspire Young Readers”
Week 7: Comic Visions of the Future Reflection 3
Oct. 18–24
Read:
• Moonshot: The Indigenous Comics Collection,
Volume 3 by Elizabeth LaPensée and Michael
Sheyahshe
• “Imagining Indigenous Futurism” by Grace Dillon
Week 8: Feeling Film
Oct. 25–31
Watch:
• Rhymes for Young Ghouls by Jeff Barnaby
Read:
• “Toward a Genealogy of Indigenous Film
Theory” by Michelle H. Raheja7
*new assigned small groups*
Week 9: Filming the Missing and the Murdered
Nov. 1–7
Watch:
• The Body Remembers When the World Broke
Open by Kathleen Hepburn & Elle-Máijá
Tailfeathers
Read:
• “Beyond Safety: Refusing Colonial Violence
Through Indigenous Feminist Planning” by
Heather Dorries & Laura Harjo
• “Pedagogy of Indifference: State Responses to
Violence Against Indigenous Girls” by Megan
Scribe
Week 10: Fall Reading Week: No Class
Nov. 8–14
*November 9 is last day to drop*
Week 11: Imagining Pandemic Worlds Reflection 4
Nov. 15–21
Watch:
• Blood Quantum by Jeff Barnaby
• “Cast and Crew Q&A”
• “Cast & Crew Interviews”
Read:
• “How indigenous zombie horror film ‘Blood
Quantum’ became prescient in the pandemic” by
Jen Yamato
• “Visual Sovereignty” by Michelle H. Rajeha
Week 12: Poetry and Music of Revolution Film Analysis
Nov. 22–28
Read:
• “Colonization” & “Into Our Light I Will Go
Forever” by Haunani-Kay Trask
• “Hiding and Seeking Meaning: Kaona and Kaona
Connectivity” by Brandy Nālani McDougall
Watch:
• “Kaona by Team Hawaiʻi” & “Hawai‘i Pono‘ī by
Heoli Osorio”
Listen:
• “Return of the Makaainana” & “I Live in the
Kingdom” by Homework Simpson and/or
“Protect Maunakea” & “Maunafesting” by
Punahele8
Week 13: Gaming Survival and Endurance Reflection 5
Nov. 29–
Dec. 5 Play:
• When Rivers Were Trails
Watch:
• “When Rivers Were Trails: Sovereignty,
Nationhood, and Relationality in an Adventure
Game”
Read:
• “When Rivers Were Trails: Cultural Expression in
an Indigenous Video Game” by Elizabeth
LaPensée
Week 14: Final Presentations Final Project Due on
Dec. 6–9 December 9 @ 11:59pm
Upload presentations and final projects into Querqus
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ZOOM INFORMATION
Time:
Every week on Thu, until Dec 3, 2020, 11 occurrence(s)
Sep 17, 2020 10:00 AM
Sep 24, 2020 10:00 AM
Oct 1, 2020 10:00 AM
Oct 8, 2020 10:00 AM
Oct 15, 2020 10:00 AM
Oct 22, 2020 10:00 AM
Oct 29, 2020 10:00 AM
Nov 5, 2020 10:00 AM
Nov 19, 2020 10:00 AM
Nov 26, 2020 10:00 AM
Dec 3, 2020 10:00 AM
Join Zoom Meeting:
https://utoronto.zoom.us/j/93495175986
Meeting ID: 934 9517 5986
Passcode: 465101
One tap mobile
+14388097799,,93495175986#,,,,,,0#,,465101# Canada
+15873281099,,93495175986#,,,,,,0#,,465101# Canada
Dial by your location: +1 438 809 7799 Canada
Meeting ID: 934 9517 5986
Passcode: 465101
Join by SIP: 93495175986@zoomcrc.com
Join by H.323:
162.255.37.11 (US West)
162.255.36.11 (US East)
69.174.57.160 (Canada)
______________________________________________________________________________9
REQUIRED MATERIALS
Dillon, Grace. Walking the Clouds: An Anthology of Indigenous Science Fiction. Tucson, AZ: University
of Arizona Press, 2012.
Dorries, Heather, and Laura Harjo. “Beyond Safety: Refusing Colonial Violence Through Indigenous
Feminist Planning.” Journal of Planning Education and Research 40, no. 2 (2020): 210-219.
Elliot, Alicia. This Place: 150 Years Retold. Winnipeg, MB: Highwater Press, 2019.
Kauanui, J. Kēhaulani. “‘A Structure, Not An Event’: Settler Colonialism and Enduring Indigeneity.”
Lateral: Journal of the Cultural Studies Association 5, no. 1 (2016):
http://csalateral.org/wp/issue/5-1/forum-alt-humanities-settler-colonialism-enduring-indigeneity-
kauanui.
LaPensée, Elizabeth. “When Rivers Were Trails: Cultural Expression in an Indigenous Video Game.”
International Journal of Heritage Studies (2020): online article.
LaPensée, Elizabeth, and Michael Sheyahshe. Moonshot: The Indigenous Comics Collection, Volume 3.
Nunavut: Avani, 2020.
McDougall, Brandy Nālani. Finding Meaning: Kaona and Contemporary Hawaiian Literature. Tucson,
AZ: University of Arizona Press, 2016.
Miranda, Deborah A. Bad Indians: A Tribal Memoir. Berkeley, CA: Heyday, 2013.
O’Brien, Jean M. “Historical sources and methods in Indigenous Studies.” In Sources and Methods in
Indigenous Studies, edited by Chris Anderson and Jean M. O’Brien. London: Routledge, 2017.
Raheja, Michelle H. “Visual Sovereignty.” In Native Studies Keywords, edited by Stephanie Nohelani
Teves, Andrea Smith, and Michelle H. Raheja. Tucson, AZ: University of Arizona Press, 2015.
Raheja, Michelle H. Reservation Reelism: Redfacing, Visual Sovereignty, and Representations of Native
Americans in Film. Lincoln, NB: University of Nebraska Press, 2010.
Scribe, Megan. “Pedagogy of Indifference: State Responses to Violence Against Indigenous Girls.”
Canadian Woman Studies 32, no. 1/2 (2017/2018): 47-57.
Sutherland-Wilson, Denzel, and Anne Spice. “Old Neighbors, New Battles: Rekindling Indigenous
Relations Against Colonial Violence.” The New Inquiry. June 5, 2019.
http://thenewinquiry.com/old-neighbors-new-battles.
Thistle, Jesse. From the Ashes: My Story of Being Métis, Homeless, and Finding My Way. Toronto:
Simon & Schuster, 2019.
Trask, Haunani-Kay. Light in the Crevice Never Seen. Corvallis, OR: CALYX Books, 1994.
Trask, Haunani-Kay. Night is a Sharkskin Drum. Honolulu, HI: University of Hawai‘i, 2002.
Wolfe, Patrick. “Settler Colonialism and the Elimination of the Native.” Journal of Genocide Studies 8,
no. 4 (2006): 387-409.
Yamato, Jen. “How indigenous zombie horror film ‘Blood Quantum’ became prescient in the pandemic.”
Los Angeles Times. May 8, 2020. http://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2020-
05-08/blood-quantum-indigenous-horror-zombie-pandemic-jeff-barnaby.You can also read
