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'THE ELDERS HAVE SAID' - PROJECTING ABORIGINAL CULTURAL VALUES INTO CONTEMPORARY NEWS DISCOURSE
- University of Ottawa Press
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Steffi Retzlajf 'THE ELDERS HAVE SAID' - PROJECTING ABORIGINAL CULTURAL VALUES INTO CONTEMPORARY NEWS DISCOURSE INTRODUCTION I n recent years, it has become obvious that Aboriginal people in Canada are growing stronger in their assertiveness as"nations within/' as distinct peoples with aright to self-determination, land and resources, and treaty concessions. The evolving status of Aboriginal people is mediated through a powerful discourse that challenges the existing paradigm. This discourse in the media can be analyzed using various linguistic concepts and models. This article examines how Aboriginal people in Canada represent themselves and their issues in their own media and how they counteract and resist the dominant discourse in Canada by (re)constructing and (re)affirming positive Aboriginal identities. Using various linguistic concepts and models, a number of strategies can be identified, which Aboriginal people writers of newspaper articles employ to (re)construct and (re)affirm positive identities and specific world views, thereby asserting the status of Aboriginal people as distinct peoples with special rights and a collective memory. I am aware of the danger of talking 330 about "one" Aboriginal discourse. There is no such thing as a monolithic Aboriginal culture but many different Aboriginal nations with distinct histories and cultures and thus with a variety of discursive practices. However, their common history of internal colonialism and discrimination; including destruction or even loss ofidentity and language, loss ofland, and intense suffering , forms part of a collective memory which is reflected in their discursive practice today.Furthermore, in their strugglefor self-determination and their efforts to revitalizeAboriginal cultures and languages, Aboriginal people in Canada pursue avariety of common goals and thus employ similar strategies to talk about the world and to create membership categories. I use the term "Aboriginal discourse" to refer to a distinctive discursivepractice in contrast to a Euro-Canadian discourse, that is, the hegemonic discourse ofCanada. TheAboriginal discourse is based partly on Aboriginal discursive models; positive self-presentation; and the propagation and consistent use ofkeyitems of terminology. This division, however, serves mainly structural purposes. The discursive features of each of these categories necessarilyoverlap in their (multi)functionality. The three main categories and associated linguistic realizations will be illustrated, in turn, in the followingthree sections. ABORIGINAL DISCURSIVE MODELS The Aboriginal discourse is shaped by various properties of traditional discourses, which are used for projecting cultural values in contemporary contexts and for positively (re)affirming Aboriginal identities. These properties include, cultural address markers; the concept offamily and emphasis on later generations; pronouncements by Elders; the concept of the Medicine Wheel and of Turtle Island. Explicit references or allusions to these features are linguistically realized through repetition, which has also been identified as a typical discourse feature ofAboriginal text and talk. As Lisa Philips Valentinepoints out, repetitions are a typical discourse feature ofAboriginal text and talk (1995, 202). In her analysis of orally transmitted teachings and legends in Algonquian languages, she notes that in many narrative texts repetitions of phrases or 331 ABORIGINAL CHILD WELFARE [34.229.223.223] Project MUSE (2024-03-19 05:10 GMT) STEFFI RETZLAFF lines occur. Repetitions are used throughout as a means of adding force to particular parts of the story and also serve as a local structuring device. With regard to repetition in Aboriginal storytelling Roger Spielmann notes, "They appear to be most noticeable at crucial points in the story and thus may be considered to be instrumental in the structuring ofthe narrative" (1998,200). Generally, the function of such repetition is quite clear: to enhance and make the repeated proposition more prominent in order to be communicatively more effective.1 CULTURAL ADDRESS MARKERS I usethe term cultural address markersto identifyopening or closingformulae in an Aboriginal language, for example, Ojibway, Mohawk and Lakota Sioux phrases such as Aaniin/Ahnee, Boozhoo, Sago, Ona/z, Meegwetch/Miigwetch, Nia:wen, otMitakuye Oyasin: Aaniinl Greetings everyone. There are very few things in this world today that challenge us more asNations than the retention andrestoration of our First Nation languages. (Fontaine 2000, s)2 I would like to say Miigwetch to all who made this week possible ... Special Miigwetch to our Chief and Council, band manager and bookkeeper ... (Stone 2000,13) Cultural address markers can be found in many texts in Aboriginal newspapers . Aaniin, for example, is Ojibway and considered a greeting and opening formula establishing the right context for an exchange. It is generally translated as "hello." The different spelling alternatives (e.g., "Ahnee" "Aanii" or "Aam'w") represent different dialects and are due to the fact...