Description
Issues of identity figure prominently in Native North American communities, mediating their histories, traditions, culture, and status. This is certainly true of the Mi'kmaw people of Nova Scotia, whose lives on reserves create highly complex economic, social, political, and spiritual realities. This ethnography investigates identity construction and negotiations among the Mi'kmaq, as well as the role of identity dynamics in Mi'kmaw social relationships on and off the reserve. Featuring direct testimonies from over sixty individuals, this work offers a vivid firsthand perspective on contemporary Mi'kmaw reserve life.
Simone Poliandri begins First Nations, Identity, and Reserve Life with a search for the criteria used by the Mi'kmaq to construct their identities, which are traced within the context of their different perceptions of community, tradition, spirituality, relationship with the Catholic Church, and the recent reevaluation of the iconic figure of late activist Annie Mae Aquash. Building on the notions of self-identification and ascribed identity as the primary components of identity, Poliandri argues that placing others at specific locations within the social landscape of their communities allows the Mi'kmaq to define and reinforce their own spaces by way of association, contrast, or both. This identification of others highlights Mi'kmaw people's agency in shaping and monitoring the representations of their identities. With its theoretical insights, this richly textured ethnography will enhance understanding of identity dynamics among Indigenous communities even as it illuminates the unique nature of the Mi'kmaw people.
Enhances understanding of identity dynamics among Indigenous communities, even as it illuminates the unique nature of the Mi'kmaw people
About the Author
Simone Poliandri is an assistant professor of anthropology at Framingham State University.
Reviews
"Featuring direct testimonies from over sixty individuals, this work offers a vivid firsthand perspective on contemporary Mi'kmaw reserve life."-Canadian Anthropology Society Newsletter: Culture
"Poliandri has captured a unique cultural identity . . . and the appreciation of identity and appreciation of our past, present, and future understanding of our cultural traits by the Mi'kmaq people today."-Donald M. Julien, executive director of the Confederacy of Mainland Mi'kmaq
Book Information
ISBN 9780803237711
Author Simone Poliandri
Format Hardback
Page Count 376
Imprint University of Nebraska Press
Publisher University of Nebraska Press
Simone Poliandri begins First Nations, Identity, and Reserve Life with a search for the criteria used by the Mi'kmaq to construct their identities, which are traced within the context of their different perceptions of community, tradition, spirituality, relationship with the Catholic Church, and the recent reevaluation of the iconic figure of late activist Annie Mae Aquash. Building on the notions of self-identification and ascribed identity as the primary components of identity, Poliandri argues that placing others at specific locations within the social landscape of their communities allows the Mi'kmaq to define and reinforce their own spaces by way of association, contrast, or both. This identification of others highlights Mi'kmaw people's agency in shaping and monitoring the representations of their identities. With its theoretical insights, this richly textured ethnography will enhance understanding of identity dynamics among Indigenous communities even as it illuminates the unique nature of the Mi'kmaw people.
Enhances understanding of identity dynamics among Indigenous communities, even as it illuminates the unique nature of the Mi'kmaw people
About the Author
Simone Poliandri is an assistant professor of anthropology at Framingham State University.
Reviews
"Featuring direct testimonies from over sixty individuals, this work offers a vivid firsthand perspective on contemporary Mi'kmaw reserve life."-Canadian Anthropology Society Newsletter: Culture
"Poliandri has captured a unique cultural identity . . . and the appreciation of identity and appreciation of our past, present, and future understanding of our cultural traits by the Mi'kmaq people today."-Donald M. Julien, executive director of the Confederacy of Mainland Mi'kmaq
Book Information
ISBN 9780803237711
Author Simone Poliandri
Format Hardback
Page Count 376
Imprint University of Nebraska Press
Publisher University of Nebraska Press
