'Academia, Twitter wars, and suffocating social justice in Canada: the case of unrecognised Indigenous peoples by Michel Bouchard, Sébastien Malette and Jo-Anne Muise Lawless in (2022) Dialectical Anthropology comments
The “woke movement” is now under fire globally. Seeking to right social injustice and battle racism, the woke movement has laudable intentions, but its implementation can exacerbate social inequalities. In the case of Canada, a social movement seeks to ferret out “Pretendians” or those White individuals deemed to be falsely assuming, and thus appropriating, Indigenous identity. Though this movement may seem righteous, the problem arises that individuals targeted are those who are Non-Status Indians and have yet to be recognised by the state, as well as Métis (or mixed-heritage people) whose historical communities have yet to be sanctioned by governments or courts, and who are also portrayed as being “Fétis” or fake Métis. Our challenge as researchers is to do the deep ethnographic, historical, and legal research to provide a nuanced understanding of indigeneity that does not constrain it solely to colonial models as the case studies provided will demonstrate.
The authors argue
Social media has become the go-to tool for social justice activism. Through tweets and other digital media, individuals can successfully reach thousands, if not millions, globally. There are increasing concerns that the polarization of positions and the search for quick validation on social media may contribute to stifling academic exchanges, suffocating nuanced analysis, and discouraging discussions potentially leading to greater equity. As Beckerman (2022) highlights, online success necessarily requires resort to the use of algorithms which cater to a narrow spectrum of emotions, notably outrage, anger, and shame (Jones 2022). Though Twitter certainly fuelled large and important protests such as the Black Lives Matter movement, it arguably provides few pathways to lasting change, as this requires “[c]arefully crafted manifestos and patient debate” (Jones 2022). Rather, social media risks amplifying expressions of moral outrage, which is what is rewarded (Hathaway 2021). Those expressions in turn feed into moral panic, generating further social problems (Walsh 2020). Sociologically, a moral panic occurs when a mass movement propagates a false or exaggerated perception that some behaviour or group of people is deviant and poses a threat to society’s values and interests (Cohen 2011). Moral panic is generally fuelled by saturated media coverage of a perceived deviant behaviour.
Recently, Canada has witnessed an uproar surrounding the legitimacy of those who are outside state-sanctioned spaces claiming Indigenous identity (Basken 2022; Martens 2021) As media attention on this topic grows, circles of activists and academics are trying to seize on these concerns with notions of pan-indigeneity, turning them into a crisis that can boost their own social influencer and righteous gatekeeper status. A consequence is disregard of concerns for diversity of Indigenous experiences within Canada’s colonial context—especially regarding Non-Status and “Other Métis” communities. Traditional media and online activists do not seek out those claiming a Métis identity outside of the state-sanctioned Métis Nation and Non-Status individuals who are not members of recognised bands. Instead, they publish anonymous accusations based on superficial analysis which, in turn, has led to individuals losing their jobs or having their work repudiated. Filmmaker Michelle Latimer is one example (Dowling 2021; Bresge 2018). Another is the Ardoch Algonquin First Nation community. Our paper examines those two cases within the larger colonial structure which has sought, and still seeks, to slowly limit and decrease the number of Indigenous identities in Canada. We also argue that, as online aggression builds, calls to censor academic research will increase as communities deemed to not exist a priori are deemed unworthy of research and the very act of studying these communities is described as promoting what Leroux (2019) termed “race-shifting”.
