And will the profits of destruction
Forever make your eyes blind
Do you bow to the corporations?
‘Cause they pay their bills on time
God bless Elijah, with the feather in his hand
Stop stealing the Indian land
Stop stealing the Indian land
Stop stealing the Indian land
– Lyric from the lead track, “Fools Like You” from the 1992 Blue Rodeo album Lost Together
Cornell University anthropologist Paul Nadasdy has an interesting idea. The idea that First Nations should be ’empowered’ — thats the call to action in those last few triumphant lines of the Blue Rodeo anthem quoted above — may not be such a progressive idea after all. In fact, Nadasdy suggests that “empowerment” of First Nations might just be one more trick in the colonialist’s bag. Continue reading Annals of colonialism, pt II: Empowerment of First Nations is also their subjection