summer reading part one

all quotes from the book indigenizing the academy: transforming scholarship and empowering communities edited by devon abbott mihesuah & angela cavender wilson


from chapter 1: "marginal and submarginal" by vine deloria jr.

"academia has often been a hotbed of racism because scholars are taught to pretend that they can observe phenomena objectively."

"with western thought primarily a binary, yes/no method of determining truth, so much data is excluded, and so limited are the possible answers that western knowledge might be regarded as a mere classification system devoid of valid conclusions."

from chapter 2: "academic gatekeepers" by devon abbott mihesuah

"all rulers are the heirs of those who conquered before them.  whoever has emerged victorious participates to this day in the triumphal procession in which the present rulers step over those who are lying prostrate.  according to traditional practice, the spoils are carried along in the procession." -walter benjamin

"projecting an absolute ignorance onto others, a characteristic of the ideology of oppression, negates education and knowledge as processes of inquiry.  the teacher presents himself to his students as their necessary opposite; by considering their ignorance absolute, he justifies his own existence." -paulo freire

"what is the use of studying history and culture if you cannot assist those alive today?"


from chapter 3: "corrupt state university: the organizational psychology of native experience in higher education" by keith james

"the image of an institution of higher education that many of us have internalized includes ideals of dominance of reason, meritocracy, free exchange of ideas, and humanistic support for the downtrodden.  in higher education, as in organizations of other types, however, emotion, informal identity, and culture- and social-group-based norms frequently trump formal institutional ideals, goals, and policies."

"professing one set of policies and procedures while actually operating under another is the essence of corruption.  in fact, the tendency of groups whose members share a common identity to share information and decisions among themselves and withhold it from outsiders is a major corrupting force of bureaucratic systems."

"it is not that linearity and reductionism are evil a priori, it is just that they tend to be overly valued by mainstream science and mainstream academics such that complexity and integration are often ignored or greeted with hostility even when circumstances really demand them."

from chapter 4: "reclaiming our humanity: decolonization and the recovery of indigenous knowledge" by angela cavender wilson

"a large part of decolonization entails developing a critical consciousness about the cause(s) of our oppression, the distortion of history, our own collaboration, and the degrees to which we have internalized colonialist ideas and practices.  decolonization requires auto-criticism, self-reflection, and a rejection of victimage.  decolonization is about empowerment - a belief that situations can be transformed, a belief and trust in our own peoples' values and abilities, and a willingness to make change.  it is about transforming negative reactionary energy into the more positive rebuilding energy needed in our communities." -winona wheeler

"as intellectuals we have a responsibility to generate and sustain a social and political discourse that is respectful of the wisdom embedded within our traditions; we must find answers from within those traditions, and present them in ways that preserve the integrity of our languages and communicative styles.  most importantly, as writers and thinkers, we should be answerable to our nations and communities." -taiaiake alfred

"engaging in an activity within the academy such as the recovery of Indigenous knowledge also presumes that to some extent Indigenous knowledge can be effectively transferable to an institution.  this is a great presumption, and certainly we as Indigenous scholars would agree that there is much tribal knowledge that is inappropriate for the microscope, manuscript, or classroom."