#indigenous land claims

[if-you-fan-a-fire]

John Linton Palmer, Views near Fort Victoria, June–July 1851, pen and ink, From Chile to the Arctic Album, F030/4 © RGS-IBG.

First plate, top: Esquimalt harbour, with Constance Cove, and Mt Angeles in the distance.

First plate, below: ‘Entrance to Victoria Fort’.

Second plate, above: ‘Fort Victoria, Vancouver I.’.

Second plate, below: ‘From landing place at Victoria Fort’ [original caption].

Third plate: Sketches of people and artefacts, Vancouver Island, June–July 1851. Fourth plate: Tomb of King Freezy’s brother at the entrance of Victoria Inlet, B. Columbia, 1851′.

"In considering such archival images as traces of encounter, contemporary historians would of course seek to adduce more evidence about the meanings of such events for the participants, in this case both British and Hawaiian, situating these events in their time and place. From this perspective, the rituals of diplomacy, the expectations of the various parties, the knowing and unknowing ways in which these events were described, would all need to be investigated. The same is true of the many other examples of the art of encounter in Linton Palmer’s albums. From an art historical perspective, such imagery would also need to be carefully contextualized with reference to matters of style, genre and perspective. In many cases, as I have argued, the influence of the naval tradition of maritime view-making is clear. However, there is another way of seeing these visual archives, especially when encountered from a heritage perspective, in which the informational content – the documentary detail – may matter even more than the point of view.

In order to substantiate this final point, we should return to Linton Palmer’s Fort Victoria sketches. Fleeting views they may have been, but in their attention to detail – whether the rendering of the hair and adornments of the people he encountered, or the material evidence of Indigenous presence in the landscape – such pencil sketches by naval visitors sometimes record what other contemporary documents do not, and in ways that can be located precisely in space and time. The matt lodges around the Fort, the cedar plank houses across the harbour, a fishing station in the distance: all these features signal an active Indigenous presence at a particular moment preceding a disastrous era in the history of the Indigenous people of what became British Columbia. Since they were first made available to First Nations historians following their exhibition in a 2009 RGS-IBG exhibition (Hidden Histories of Exploration), Linton Palmer’s images have entered the visual archive of Indigenous history and made more widely available in digital form. In particular, they have been incorporated into understandings of local settlement history by Grant Keddie, a curator at the Royal British Columbia Museum in Victoria. As Keddie’s work indicates, there is an ‘archaeological’ way of reading such documents, cross-referencing with other sources of evidence about the precise geography and chronology of landscape change. As is clear from the contemporary significance of the Indigenous sites sketched by Linton Palmer, such work is far from merely of academic interest. In 2001, 150 years after the brief visit of HMS Portland to Fort Victoria, a claim was filed in Canadian courts asserting that the land on which the Parliament of British Columbia was built (near the original Fort) had originally been occupied by or promised to First Nations peoples. After a long and contested legal process, the Ministry of Aboriginal Affairs and Reconciliation eventually reached an out of court settlement with the representatives of the Esquimalt and Songhees nations, which has been valued at $31.5 million dollars. In this context, mapping the precise geography of Indigenous settlement in space and time mattered a great deal: in fact it truly was the multi-million dollar question. And in the process, as researchers and consultants pored over long forgotten maps and drawings not unlike Linton Palmer’s sketches, the visual archive of travel acquired a new value." - Felix Driver, "Material memories of travel: the albums of a Victorian naval surgeon." Journal of Historical Geography 69 (2020): 53-54

[artsyaprilmr]

via learn4artsakh (instagram)

[txttletale]

fyi i think your use of the phrase "time immemorial" in a dismissive sense may have some unintended colonialist implications to some readers, in my region "time immemorial" refers to a new curriculum that teaches indigenous sovereignty through a decolonizing model that holds space for oral histories. it took me a minute to realize you probably werent referring to that, it made the whole post read in that context like one of the "social facts" you're critical of is the sovereignty of indigenous people on indigenous lands. idk how many people would see that but thought you might wanna know

huh! i've never heard of this usage of the phrase (& was just using it in the sense of the generic legal term meaning 'there is no specific precedent for this because it Has Always Been So' as has historically been used in english law). but i mean that said, like--i don't think that claims to indigenous sovereignty do, should, or can substantively rest on 'time immemorial' (as in, the oral tradition stretching into prehistory). which is not to denigrate the value of that oral tradition in and of itself as a form of historical record but to say that i think the actual case for indigenous sovereignty should be built off the much more recent facts of colonialism (for the same reason that, for example, the israeli claim to indigeneity is specious and the palestinian claim is correct--because 'indigeneity' is comprised of a specific relationship to colonialism)

[snekdood]

idk who needs to hear this but not a single being on earth owns land

[seleneprince]

The story of Palestine

State 1: Before Israel there was a British Mandate, not a Palestinian

State 2: Before the British Mandate, it was the Ottoman Empire, not a Palestinian

State 3: Before the Ottoman Empire Was the Islamic State of the Mamluks of Egypt, not a Palestinian

State 4: Before the Islamic State of the Mamluks from Egypt, the Arab-Kurdish Empire was the Ayyubid, not a Palestinian

State 5: Before the Ayyubid Empire was the Frankish and Christian Kingdom of Jerusalem, not a Palestinian

State 6: Before the Kingdom of Jerusalem was the Umayyad and Fatimid empire, not a Palestinian

State 7: Before the Umayyad and Fatimid empires, the Byzantine Empire was not a Palestinian

State 8: Before the Byzantine Empire, there were Sassanids, not a Palestinian

State 9: Before the Sassanid Empire was the Byzantine Empire, not a Palestinian

State 10: Before the Byzantine Empire was the Roman Empire, not a Palestinian

State 11: Before the Roman Empire it was a Hasmonean state, not a Palestinian

State 12: Before the Hasmonean state was the Seleucid, not a Palestinian

State 13: Before the Seleucid Empire was the Empire of Alexander, not a Palestinian

State 14: Before Alexander's empire it was the Persian Empire, not a Palestinian

State 15: Before the Persian Empire was the Babylonian Empire, not a Palestinian

State 16: Before the Babylonian Empire were the kingdoms of Israel and Judah, not a Palestinian

State 17: Before the kingdoms of Israel and Judah, there was a kingdom of Israel, not a Palestinian

State 18: Before the Kingdom of Israel, the theocracy of the twelve tribes of Israel was not a Palestinian

State 19: Before the theocracy of the twelve tribes of Israel, there was an accumulation of independent Canaanite city-kingdoms, not a Palestinian

State 20: In fact, in this plot of land kingdoms fell and fell .. But there was never a Palestinian state.

The Palestinians are Arabs and they're origined from the Arabian Peninsula. It is pure propaganda to claim that Arabs are native to Palestine or that the Palestinians aren't Arabs.

[enchantedephiphany]

Us generations who were transplanted don't understand the connection to the earth of people whose ancestors lived on a space of land, growing intertwined symbiotic roots there, since long long before living memory.

[galaxyb1tchsblog]

Israel’s existence is lowkey antisemitic

[zhuhongs]

just found out the lead singer of taiwans biggest death metal band is also an active parliament member since like 2015.... and is still active as a death metal singer. he's a pretty standard taiwanese center left anti communist from what i could gather. which like as a leftist i dont really agree with but i also dont know enough abt taiwanese politics to like make a full judgement. though he seems to be a standard liberal nothing remarkable, radical, or new, not overtly horrible but just bland. but that was something i definitely did Not expect. apparently he's very pro indigenous rights and self determination for indigenous people but being in a centre left mega party like the DPP does not seem like the best way to achieve that. But yea, just thought I'd share

[if-you-fan-a-fire]

"Peguis Indians May Carry Fight to Throne, Asking Aid Of "Great, White Mother"," Winnipeg Tribune. December 9, 1933. Page 1. ---- Chief Insists on Letter of Treaty and Promises Made ---- Chief Alex Greyeyes, head of the Peguis Indians that once lived on St. Peter's reserve, with his chief lieutenant, Henry Pahkoo, came to Winnipeg Friday to get help for 17 of his band against whom prosecutions are pending for squatting on land along Netley Creek.

He went to Col. H. M. Hannesson, former Dominion member for Selkirk constituency, and told him that if he couldn't get justice from the authorities he intended to tell his troubles to "The Great Mother, the Queen."

"You mean King George," he was told.

'No, not King George," he answered. "We mean the Great Mother." He took from his pocket a copy of the treaty agreement of August 3, 1871, made at Lower Fort Garry, and pointed to the words on which he said his band relied.

Promise of Treaty "The Great Mother, the Queen, knows you are poor," the treaty said. "She will assist you all when you settle, and our Great Mother will give you 160 acres of land per five of a family. When you will be on your Indian reserve, no white man will be allowed to stop there inside the reserve, and if a white man does anything wrong inside the Indian reserve, I will punish him myself."

About 26 years ago the white man did begin to go inside the reserve and in a series of negotiations that the Indians said never was fair, St. Peter's reserve was surrenderd. The Dominion government arranged their transfer to Fisher Branch reserve, about 100 miles from St. Peter's, a location between Hodgson and Koostatak.

Started a Battle The surrender proceedings years ago started a bitter battle in political circles and at Ottawa the cause of the Indians was taken up by Senator Geo. Bradbury, then the House of Commons member for Selkirk. The surrender of the reserve was put through, and a Royal Commission investigation was forced. Some of the Indians moved from St. Peter's to Fisher Branch and others never moved at all.

When the surrender was made each family was given 16 acres of land in a part of St. Peter's Reserve or near it. This concession was a sort of compromise. but it never satisfied members of the band. A number of them sold the holding for little or nothing. In 1914 Mr. Bradbury got through parliament a bill that placed a lien of $1 an acre on the 16-acre holdings. This was intended as a trust fund for familles of the reserve. It was to bear Interest at five percent from July 1, 1913, until paid, and although registered as an encumbrance on the titles, little or no attempt has ever been made to collect it.

Lacked Local Market Things never went well for the band at Fisher Branch. There used to be a local market for their wood and hay at Selkirk, but in the northern reserve there is little or none. Members of the band who used to act as guides in the hunting marshes have no chance for this occupation at Fisher Branch. Mostly they were deprived of what chance they once had of making a little money.

Two years ago Chief Grey Eyes and some 50 families packed up their belongings at Fisher Branch and returned. Their lands on St. Peter's were gone and they pitched their tents on the north end of Netley Creek. A year after, they started to build log huts, and there they intend to stay. About nine months ago the Dominion government started prosecutions for trespass, and two members of the band, John Muningwav and Charlie Thompson, were given three-month jail sentences. Munnigway has served his time, and Thompson 's still at Headingly. Prosecutions against 17 others are pending.

Petition Government Two months ago the band petitioned the Dominion government and asked that the prosecutions be dropped and the two prisoners released. They asked that they be permitted to organize again as a band and settle on some undisposed parts of the former St. Peter's Reserve, in return for which they agree to surrender all rights in the Fisher Branch Reserve.

In the petition they also undertook to abandon all agitation to set aside the surrender, provided the government would collect the assessments under the 1914 act and distribute them among families of the Peguls band as originally constituted.

[More about St. Peter’s here.]

[penguicorns-are-cool]

me, someone who has been exposed to zionism and Israeli culture/history since elementary school and has done quite a bit of research into both topics as a result: zionism and i/p are a lot more complicated than that

some rando who only talks about i/p conflict when the violence escalates and has no understanding of what zionism is: it's really simple actually zionism is evil

[waffle-bubbles]

As soon as a marginalized groups fights against their oppression, they're seen as a threat

[turtlesandfrogs]

What I was taught growing up: Wild edible plants and animals were just so naturally abundant that the indigenous people of my area, namely western Washington state, didn't have to develop agriculture and could just easily forage/hunt for all their needs.

The first pebble in what would become a landslide: Native peoples practiced intentional fire, which kept the trees from growing over the camas praire.

The next: PNW native peoples intentionally planted and cultivated forest gardens, and we can still see the increase in biodiversity where these gardens were today.

The next: We have an oak prairie savanna ecosystem that was intentionally maintained via intentional fire (which they were banned from doing for like, 100 years and we're just now starting to do again), and this ecosystem is disappearing as Douglas firs spread, invasive species take over, and land is turned into European-style agricultural systems.

The Land Slide: Actually, the native peoples had a complex agricultural and food processing system that allowed them to meet all their needs throughout the year, including storing food for the long, wet, dark winter. They collected a wide variety of plant foods (along with the salmon, deer, and other animals they hunted), from seaweeds to roots to berries, and they also managed these food systems via not only burning, but pruning, weeding, planting, digging/tilling, selectively harvesting root crops so that smaller ones were left behind to grow and the biggest were left to reseed, and careful harvesting at particular times for each species that both ensured their perennial (!) crops would continue thriving and that harvest occurred at the best time for the best quality food. American settlers were willfully ignorant of the complex agricultural system, because being thus allowed them to claim the land wasn't being used. Native peoples were actively managing the ecosystem to produce their food, in a sustainable manner that increased biodiversity, thus benefiting not only themselves but other species as well.

So that's cool. If you want to read more, I suggest "Ancient Pathways, Ancestral Knowledge: Ethnobotany and Ecological Wisdom of Indigenous Peoples of Northwestern North America" by Nancy J. Turner

[tibli]

i will say, i think ive previously used the word "ethnostate" or reblogged posts using that term to refer to israel, and i am starting to think that that's probably not a fully correct term to use, regardless of my anti-israel sentiments. i dont think its wrong because its a country composed of largely a specific group of people, its wrong because its enacting a genocide and displacing the palestinian population that was already living there.

also, ethnostate apparently has two different definitions, which further muddies the waters. it can just mean a country largely composed of one ethnicity (which honestly most countries would probably fit into this definition), or a country that restricts citizenship only to certain groups of people.

based on my research, israel allows citizenship for non-jews, and even though jewish foreigners get preferential treatment because the end goal is specifically a jewish state, i dont think 'ethnostate' is a fully accurate term to use, so i think I'll avoid it in the future. i dont think i have enough knowledge on the laws of citizenship there to make that claim

im still fully against israel as an existing country, by the way, i just want to be accurate in my criticisms so that that cant be used as a talking point against them. and i dont hate israeli people for being israeli, especially if they are actively against what their government is doing. im hating the ones that are actively participating in the stealing of palestinian land that does not belong to them.

regardless of who you believe lived in the area first (ive seen some sources say it was hebrews, and some say it was arabs), that was literally CENTURIES ago, and WELL out of personal family memory. what matters is that it has been palestinians living there for hundreds of years, and european/american-jewish citizens thinking they had any claim on that land is ridiculous. i am not denying that the formation of israel was largely due to countries not wanting their jewish population after the holocaust. that is a tragedy. but that does not give those people the right to then steal the homes of others. plenty of jewish people today recognize and understand this, but those that dont have likely been brainwashed and deluded into thinking they have an ancestral claim to land their families havent lived on for hundreds and hundreds of years.

[woobie-wan]

So upset I've added a Canadian flag to my emoji bar.

[generalzaroff456]

I'm thinking that land acknowledgements in social media bios should focus on where the platform's servers are located. You know what I mean?

Land acknowledgements come from the real world— if your university or something is located on Indigenous territory, it makes sense that you'd acknowledge it. Your implicated in your government's argument that, because it has functioning institutions, it effectively owns the land. So it's your responsibility to say otherwise.

At first glance, social media isn't a physical space in the same way. Sometimes people acknowledge where they live, but it doesn't have the same effect. However, the data you access on social media are very much located in a real space.

These servers take up land and electricity and water. They generate heat and e-waste. Not knowing much about this topic, I'm guessing they hire staff who, doing equivalent work in the first world, would have way better working conditions.

That's information that should be acknowledged.

Does anyone know where Tumblr servers are located? Or any social media server, for that matter?

[scarabies-real]

Rip to the poor ndn in this shitstain’s blood. Get them OUT!!!!!!

Genuinely so flabbergasted how the entire (*cough* white *cough*) mcyt community just. Forgot. About Dream’s blatant racism. Bruh.

“Why does he keep bringing up Quackity, why does he hate Quackity so much??”

Okay so clearly we did not watch the same smp 👍

Also never gonna forgive y’all for letting the anti-Indigenous racism slide so easily. Btw. Like even anti-dream ppl were sooooo quick to come to his defense when the few Indigenous mcyt fans (myself included) spoke up about it. I and several others got run off Twitter for MONTHS and y’all don’t give a shit. Lol.