New online course counters harmful stereotypes about Indigenous peoples

When a friend of Janice Hurlburt took to social media to share a carved “totem pole” she received as a birthday present from a non-Indigenous artist, Hurlburt was quick to message her.

“I suggested she call it a sculpture, just not using the word ‘totem’ because it’s specific to a cultural practice and sacred.”

Hurlburt’s gentle heads-up to her friend was a small way she learned how to be a settler ally for indigenous peoples after taking NS 161: Countering Stereotypes of Indigenous Peoples. The University of Alberta’s new course explores and challenges society’s prejudices and misunderstandings.

“It made me more aware of the different stereotypes out there and the harm they do,” says Hurlburt, a retiree who enrolled to learn more about Indigenous issues.

“The course opened my eyes, opened my heart and gave me more respect and appreciation for the indigenous peoples of this country and what they deal with on a daily basis.”

Get to the bottom of the stereotypes

The course, offered online by the Faculty of Native Studies, challenges students to question “what they think they know about indigenous peoples,” says Tasha Hubbard, a member of Peepeekisis Cree Nation, an associate professor, filmmaker and one of the Course Creators and Instructors.

The course begins by exploring the basics of colonialism — which is at the root of stereotypes about indigenous peoples, says Hubbard. She co-designed the class with graduate student and podcaster Molly Swain and former faculty members Savage Bear and Sara Howdle.

“We talked about what the course could look like and everyone agreed that we needed to spend some time making sure the students understood what a stereotype is, how they work and work, and then impart some basic knowledge to understand the space in which colonial stereotypes emerged and how they are perpetuated.”

The course explores how these stereotypes contribute to the oppression of tribal peoples, she adds.

“We look at the life-defining cases of how stereotypes can work. For example, there are cases where people have died due to lack of care in waiting rooms because of assumptions that health care workers have about tribal peoples.”

The course also examines the effects of microaggressions – hurtful everyday humiliations, such as B. Tracking an Indigenous buyer in a store.

“People who haven’t lived with this treatment don’t understand the impact it can have,” notes Hubbard.

The course looks at 10 common colonial stereotypes about indigenous peoples and how those beliefs were “consciously created and perpetuated” by settler-colonialism, she adds.

One of the myths, that indigenous peoples are inherently lazy, particularly stood out for Hurlburt, who was dismayed to learn of his merciless origins.

“The reality is that obstacle after obstacle has been put in the way of indigenous peoples trying to keep them from doing better than the white settlers,” she says. “There was a deliberate decimation of the buffalo herds, so the natives starved and were moved to reservations to shift the focus to agriculture. But the land they were given was unsuitable and the tools given them were inferior. When they found success in communal farming, the government divided the land into plots.

“It is completely disgusting and heartbreaking to learn that tribal peoples have been and are being treated in this way.”

The course covers why settler society is interested in keeping these stereotypes alive, says Swain, who is Métis and one of the trainers.

“Stereotypes continue to serve to dehumanize indigenous peoples and to naturalize our ongoing dispossession and marginalization,” she says, noting that the settler colonial system is positioned as “naturally superior to indigenous ways of life” and settlers as “naturally” superior to indigenous ones peoples.

“This benefits the settlers by enabling the discursive and often physical ‘cleansing’ of the land for their use, enrichment and enjoyment. Indigenous peoples continue to be present on our land, of course, and here stereotypes justify pushing aside, erasing, or denying our needs, concerns, and rights, conditioning us as two-dimensional tropes that vary from denigrated to hypersexualized to threatening depending on the situation at hand.”

The course was an eye-opener for Vince Jobling, who wanted to learn more after taking Indigenous Canada, U of A’s open online offering with 12 lessons exploring the diverse stories and contemporary perspectives of the Indigenous peoples who live here.

The retired family counselor was saddened to see Indigenous families being stereotyped as dysfunctional.

“I learned that pre-colonial indigenous family life was more functional day and night than that of the colonizing cultures.” The plight of boarding schools is “unutterably tragic,” Jobling adds. “It’s so difficult to repair generational damage.”

Hurlburt believes the lessons she learned on the course raise difficult questions for settlers like her.

“To accept that these stereotypes are false and harmful would require us to analyze and rethink our policies, and that would mean abandoning much of the gains made by colonial society through persistent exploitative and unjust practices.”

For his part, Jobling is now challenging the notion of “superior” civilizations.

“The course has challenged my belief from childhood that Britain, where I was born, and Canada, where I now live, are both benevolent, courteous and morally superior nations, and the assumption that ‘civilisation’ equals ‘superior’ .”

Reverse the narrative

Hubbard hopes that everyone who takes the course will develop a greater awareness of how to resist these stereotypes in everyday life.

To help with this, the course suggests ways to challenge stereotypes effectively and safely.

One way is to “flip the narrative” when someone says something harmful, Hurlburt learned.

“Settlers talk about the ‘Indian problem,’ but if you flip that around and talk about the ‘settler problem,’ that’s the real problem. If news sources spoke of land “protectors” instead of land “protesters,” it would completely change the narrative. They are not nuisances causing traffic jams, but people with a deep love for the country.”

Instead of arguing with someone who disagrees, it’s better to ask where they’re from, Hurlburt learned. “It might plant a seed to think about where they got their information from.”

Jobling says he knew little about indigenous peoples or cultures when he immigrated to Canada in 1981, but the courses he took “broadened my horizons and opened my eyes.” He plans to enroll in U of A’s Indigenous Peoples and Technoscience course next.

“From what I have learned so far, it is evident that historically, indigenous peoples have had a much clearer and wiser understanding of the relationship humans have with planet Earth and its creatures than did colonial settlers.

“I want to take more indigenous courses to clarify who I am and how I relate to planet earth.”

Hurlburt says she is now more aware of the “privileged white settler zone” she inhabits.

“It has become clear to me that there are tribal peoples who struggle against the weight of false stereotypes, but who nonetheless have a major impact on how society treats them. These stereotypes are kind of frozen in time and we have to say, ‘Okay, it’s time to stop this.’”

The three-credit course is open to students from all over the world and can also be taken without credit points.