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Reviewed by:
  • Being Again of One Mind: Oneida Women and the Struggle for Decolonization
  • Bonita Lawrence
Lina Sunseri, Being Again of One Mind: Oneida Women and the Struggle for Decolonization (British Columbia: UBC Press 2011)

This book discusses Oneida women, nationalism and decolonization. While Oneida women’s voices – based on interviews with twenty women from the Oneida territory in Ontario – are central to the narrative, so are crucial aspects of Onyota:aka epistemolog y, particularly the Creation Story and the formation of the Haudenosaunee Confederacy. Perhaps the most unique aspect of the book, however, is its rigorous attention to theories of nationalism, and the appropriateness of nationalism for decolonizing the Oneida nation and as a process of liberation for Oneida women. Sunseri, who is Turtle Clan from Oneida of the Thames and an active participant in the Longhouse at Oneida, began her research at Oneida in a respectful manner, by discussing it first with her Clan mother and other Oneida women, and refining the research topic in that manner. Her research also involved participating in traditional ceremonies, teachings, workshops and conferences, in particular a weekend workshop at Oneida territory in New York State where the land claim dispute between Oneida and New York State was addressed. Her concerns in writing the book were twofold: on the one hand, to include Oneida women’s perspectives as knowledgeable contributors to Indigenous discourse and, on the other, to engage with postcolonial and feminist theories of nationalism and to explore their relevance to Oneida women’s struggle for decolonization.

Sunseri grounds the work in two formative narratives of Haudenosaunee peoples: the Creation story and the formation of the Haudenosaunee League (otherwise known as the Iroquois Confederacy). Indeed, the Creation story is analyzed a number of times, in order to exemplify the healthy relationships Oneida women seek to build in order to “Be of One Mind,” to address the women-centredness of Oneida cosmolog y, and to introduce a history of the Oneida nation. Similarly the foundation of the [End Page 301] Haudenosaunee League is addressed as part of Oneida history, as are the principles of the League and their relevance to contemporar y decolonization. In doing this, Sunseri reflects a circular process of building knowledge, rather than more typical linear academic models. The effects of colonial wars on the Haudenosaunee League, the splitting of the confederacy and Oneida’s experience as allies of the United States, their loss of land and the fragmenting of the nation into three communities (New York, Wisconsin and London, Ontario), as well as the imposition of a colonial order within Canada are all addressed in order to frame the issues the community faces.

It is Sunseri’s analysis of nationalism, however, which makes this book truly unique. While a number of Indigenous scholars have addressed aspects of Indigenous nationalism, Sunseri tackles this issue front and centre. She focuses first on mainstream theorists who view nations as social constructions irrevocably tied to modernity and the state, including Ernest Gellner, E. J. Hobsbawm, Benedict Anderson and Anthony Smith. In carefully articulating the different approaches utilized by these theorists it becomes clear that through their profound Eurocentrism they cannot address the existence of pre-colonial Indigenous nations. Turning to postcolonial theorists next, Sunseri articulates the important contributions of Homi Bhabha, Stewart Hall, Edward Said, and, of course, Franz Fanon in connecting colonialism to questions of nationalism, race, culture, identity, and hybridity. While she notes that these theorists provide important questions that Indigenous peoples engaged in decolonization struggles need to consider, she challenges the pervasive assumption of many of the writers that colonialism inevitably eradicates pre-colonial cultures and identities or that the nation is always a modern phenomenon. She then turns to Indigenous theorists such as Kiera Ladner, Taiaiake Alfred, Audra Simpson, and Dale Turner. In examining their writings she expounds on the different ways in which they address the relevance of nationalism to different Indigenous communities; ultimately these theorists create space whereby different frameworks of Indigenous self-determination can be understood.

While Sunseri’s rigorous exploration of nationalism clarifies its relevance for Indigenous communities, her discussions with Oneida women reveal that the women are struggling with the downgrading of their...

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