Autobiography as Indigenous Intellectual Tradition: Cree and Metis acimisowina

Autobiography as an Indigenous Intellectual Tradition challenges Western academic approaches to Indigenous texts and proposes a new theory based on Indigenous life writing practices. Deanna Reder's study highlights longstanding autobiographical practices in Cree and Métis culture and examines censored and suppressed writing by nêhiyawak intellectuals. It encourages a re-evaluation of past and present engagement with Indigenous storytelling forms across scholarly disciplines.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 200 pages
Publication date: 30 June 2022
Publisher: Wilfrid Laurier University Press

Autobiography as an Indigenous Intellectual Tradition offers a fresh perspective on the study of Indigenous literature, departing from the traditional approaches informed by Western academic traditions. Since the 1970s, non-Indigenous scholars have perpetuated the notion that Indigenous people were reluctant to share their life experiences, often attributing the origins of autobiography to European cultures. Deanna Reder, however, challenges these long-held assumptions by highlighting the existence of longstanding autobiographical practices within the Cree and Métis, or nêhiyawak, culture. Through a comprehensive examination of various examples of Indigenous life writing, Reder sheds light on the censored and suppressed writings of nêhiyawak intellectuals such as Maria Campbell, Edward Ahenakew, and James Brady.

Drawing from nêhiyawak ontologies and epistemologies that view life stories as a means of intergenerational knowledge transmission about a shared world, this study encourages a re-evaluation of past and present engagements with Indigenous storytelling forms across scholarly disciplines. By adopting an Indigenous intellectual tradition, we can gain a deeper understanding of the complexities and richness of Indigenous cultures, challenging the dominant narratives that have shaped our understanding of the world.

Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781771125543