Change and Continuity in the Political Economy of the Ahousaht

Clifford Gordon Atleo
2018
The intent of this dissertation is to understand the dilemmas of contemporary Ahousaht political economy in the context of settler colonialism and neoliberal capitalism. Our history with settler colonialism is one of dispossession, resistance, re-structuring, assimilation, as well as agency and adaptation. Importantly, we have endured and co-crafted tremendous change in addition to fighting to maintain our cultural and political autonomy, integrity and continuity. Settler colonialism provides a
more » ... broad framework for understanding Nuu-chahnulth political, legal, economic and social engagements with European colonialists, the Canadian state, and the considerable consequent constraints. It represents an asymmetrical relationship that Nuu-chah-nulth-aht, like many Indigenous peoples, have struggled to survive and navigate. A key research question is: How have the Ahousaht co-crafted that change and fought for continuity? Along with our lands, waters, relatives and resources being assaulted via settler colonialism and neoliberal capitalism, our identities and cultures remain targeted for erasure or irrelevance. Through my research, however, I have discovered an unexpected resilience, especially with respect to our traditional governance systems, which began a concerted revival at the end of the twentieth century. Understanding contemporary Ahousaht political economy requires a focus on the centrality of the ha'wiih (hereditary chiefs) and the ongoing resilience of traditional Nuu-chah-nulth governance systems. In my literature review I explore Aboriginal economic development generally as well as the specific notion of Aboriginalized capitalism, and consider it in the context of Nuu-chah-nulth political economic decision-making, both historically and contemporarily. I investigate whether our engagements with capitalism change us in unwanted ways, in addition to exploring efforts to mitigate the damage. Additionally, I examine the concept of C. Atleo iii decolonization as an important aspect of Indigenous community resurgence, including related Indigenous and Nuu-chah-nulth specific concepts. I also ask: is decolonization actually possible in a settler state like Canada, and how is it manifest from both individual and collective contexts? I critically engage Nuu-chah-nulth traditions by identifying core principles that might be adapted and redeployed to meet our contemporary challenges, as well as the identification of undesirable or unjust traditional elements that should be discarded. The latter includes aspects of our contemporary cultures that are misogynistic and patriarchal. 1 Finally, I begin the process of trying to identify Nuu-chah-nulth alternatives to the neoliberal capitalist paradigm that currently dominates our lives and economic, political and cultural landscapes. I introduce several inspiring Nuu-chah-nulth-aht who work to recentre Nuu-chah-nulth perspectives, re-connect with their homelands and waters, and do their (decolonial) best to live Nuu-chah-nulth-aht.
doi:10.7939/r3gt5fw9r fatcat:yavqggv4afdnhbc7cya24xb25u