Why its important for Native artists to dismantle academic imperialism
By Akapa Supay
June 16, 2024
Editors Note: This article brings light on the importance of Native artists, their art, how it can dismantle academic imperialism, and its impact on past and current-day society. My credentials on this subject come from a lived experience as a Quechua and Taino, visual artist, (Photographer Cinematographer, Film Colorist) and Anthropology enthusiast.
As Native people, we are no strangers in knowing the effects of colonialism and how it has and currently still does affect our people. There are many types of colonialism such as settler, exploitation, surrogate, and internal colonialism. Then you have something called imperialism, which is still in the realm of colonialism.
Four Types Of Colonization
Settler Colonialism: involves large-scale immigration by settlers to colonies, often motivated by religious, political, or economic reasons. This form of colonialism aims largely to supplant prior existing populations with a settler one, and involves large number of settlers emigrating to colonies to establish settlements.
Exploitation Colonialism: involves fewer colonists and focuses on the exploitation of natural resources or labour to the benefit of the metropole. This form consists of trading posts as well as larger colonies where colonists would constitute much of the political and economic administration.
Surrogate colonialism: involves a settlement project supported by a colonial power, in which most of the settlers do not come from the same ethnic group as the ruling power.
Internal Colonialism: is a notion of uneven structural power between areas of a state. The source of exploitation comes from within the state. This is demonstrated in the way control and exploitation may pass from people from the colonizing country to an immigrant population within a newly independent country.
National Colonialism: is a process involving elements of both settler and internal colonialism, in which nation-building and colonization are symbiotically connected, with the colonial regime seeking to remake the colonized peoples into their own cultural and political image. The goal is to integrate them into the state, but only as reflections of the state's preferred culture.
Academic Imperialism, is often differentiated as the idea behind the practice of domination where as colonialism is the physical action of domination. Academic Imperialism is now a current threat to Native people and it can simply be dismantled by Native artists. As Native people, we have to navigate in a society that does not favour nor include us as a people. Non-Native academics rule Academia speaking on our culture and histories with great inaccuracies. History books are told through the lens of the oppressor, Images of us are shot by non-Native photographers and Documentaries are shot by Non-Native Cinematographers that perpetuate stereotypes of our people because they have fantisization about what our everyday lives are like or should look like. These things don’t seem harmful at first but they do harm indigenous communities. It’s such a great disservice to our people because these outsiders are not capturing a genuine representation of our people or culture.
The first time I ever took part in a photographers work, they wanted me to put feathers in my hair to represent that I’m Native. The poses and over all idea for the shoot were to fulfill stereotypes. At first I thought nothing of it being excited just to be apart of a big project. However later on getting into photography I began to realize how we as Native people have no representation and that 9/10 of the images of us are in regalia. As an Urban Native, I hardly dress traditional and that’s okay. The point being is visual artists should capture and break stereo types on Being Native. We come in different sizes, shades, cities, reservations, long, or short hair. Full bloods or mixed bloods, we’re still Native and visual artists are not depicting that. A good example of that is the show Reservation Dogs which had no Afro Natives depicted. Reservation Dogs could have been the show to expose the public on how diverse we are as a people.
“Studies show that Authentic representation fosters a sense of belonging and validation among underrepresented groups, affirming their existence and contributions. It dismantles stereotypes and biases, promoting empathy, understanding, and inclusivity.”
Last winter, I released a trailer for my documentary called “Nogemag Lodge” where my wife and I facilitated a hide camp to the youth. As you watch the trailer it gives you a good picture of how life is daily and how teaching Hide Camp can be a great bond between the youth and the adults. Most of all the visual depiction from what L’nu children are wearing, how they are speaking, the environment, etc is all true to how life is daily in Elsipogtog First Nation.
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