23 Anti-oppression Theory and Your Personal Role, Responsibility, and Agency in Indigenization

In the Foundations Guide,^[1] you learned about the many tactics that have been used throughout history and into the present to reinforce the oppression of Indigenous Peoples in Canada by settlers. Some examples include the creation of reserves and the theft of Indigenous lands; the residential school system, and other efforts to promote assimilation; social and economic restrictions created by the Indian Act and other federal and provincial laws and policies; personal racism toward Indigenous Peoples that resulted in denied opportunities and exclusion; and the omission of Indigenous history and knowledge in education systems. These acts of colonization are instances of how systemic oppression against Indigenous Peoples has been practiced since Europeans first arrived in the Americas.

In this section, we will seek to understand different forms of oppression as they apply to Indigenous Peoples. Anti-oppression theory is important because it provides a framework for understanding the world and your own place in it, questioning and challenging your practices, and creating new approaches that counter oppression and lead toward reconciliation and decolonization.

What is oppression?

Oppression is exploitation based on perceived difference of a group of people who share a social category (such as race, class, cultural background, religion, gender, sexuality, age, language, or ability). Characteristics of oppression include:

• Systemic: It is systemic and societal. It is not just individuals with prejudiced beliefs and actions, but rather is embedded within the structure of society.
• Power imbalance: It involves a dominant or more powerful group exploiting a less powerful group based on perceived differences between the groups. There is always a power imbalance at play.
• Denial: The powerful group often denies that oppression exists or accepts it as being normal or right.

Forms of oppression

There are multiple ways in which oppression can manifest. Oppression can be categorized into personal, cultural, and structural or systemic. In our society, all three of these forms are operating at all times in an interconnected manner (Thompson 1997).

Personal oppression comprises the thoughts, behaviours, and actions that constitute a negative judgment or treatment of an oppressed group. Here are some examples:

• A student raises her hand during a class discussion of a book by an Indigenous author and asks, “Why are Aboriginal people so screwed up?”
• After a faculty meeting about the university’s Indigenous plan, a professor comments that he doesn’t understand why “Indigenous people always get special treatment.”

Cultural oppression includes shared societal values and norms that allow people to see oppression as normal or right. Here are some examples:

• It is considered “normal” that an English course would include only white, male authors, but it is considered something special when non-white or female authors are included.
• It is assumed that everyone celebrates Thanksgiving in Canada. (Some Indigenous people do not celebrate the holiday because of its colonial origins.)
• It is expected that all Indigenous people are spiritually wise experts in Indigenous culture and protocol.

Structural (or systemic) oppression is manifested in societal institutions (such as governments, religions, education systems, health care, law, and the media). Here are some examples:

• Indigenous people are overrepresented in the criminal justice system and child welfare system. Meanwhile, Indigenous people are underrepresented in positions of power within government.
• First Nations schools receive less per-student funding than provincial public schools (Drummond & Rosenbluth, 2013).
• Indigenous reserves are located in isolated areas with few job prospects, contributing to poverty and dependency.

Oppression can manifest in different ways. It may be conscious or unconscious. Unconscious oppression is especially hard to tackle, because it is less visible and overt. However, both conscious and unconscious oppression can manifest in one’s attitudes and beliefs or in one’s behaviour. For example, an employer may be less likely to hire an Indigenous employee because of preconceived beliefs that the employer may or may not be conscious of. Or a professor may have different expectations for Indigenous students because of an unconscious bias.