Indigenous perspectives

Indigenous resistance to Western individualism

Modern society is characterised by a culture of individualism: the goals, interests, and desires of the individual are prioritised over those of the community. Under the reign of capitalism, selfishness is necessary and reliance on others is a weakness. However, contrary to commonly-held neoliberal myths, this hyper-individualism is not an inevitable or essential characteristic of human society, nor is it a reflection of so-called “human nature.” Indigenous histories are proof of this: prior to European contact, many societies implemented highly complex collective – as opposed to individualist – social and economic structures. Despite centuries of colonial violence, Indigenous peoples have sustained these communal values, which contain a potentially revolutionary alternative to the current hegemonic system of individualism.

Philosophy / Worldview
In Aotearoa New Zealand, Indigenous Māori values of collectivity are grounded in a comprehensive philosophy, starting with the concept of whakapapa. Usually translated as “genealogy,” whakapapa in its most simplified form is an organising framework weaving together all phenomena, living and non-living, in a complex network of interrelations. One’s whakapapa situates a person in their local context by referencing their native land, family, and tribe. However, it also emphasises their inescapable interdependence with nature as a whole. Understanding and expressing one’s identity in this way reinforces a worldview of non-hierarchical relationality, in which people and nature are tied together through bonds of mutual responsibility to one another.

Although Indigenous societies and cultures around the world are endlessly varied, many share similar relational philosophies. This is due to their strong connection to the land (not as property, but as belonging to itself); their dependence on and relationship with the natural world; and their distinction from modern capitalist ideas imported from Europe, including the elevation of humanity over the rest of nature and the alienation of the individual from the community. Locally-specific Indigenous worldviews serve as the basis for alternative ways of living and relating, united by similar histories and values.

Treatment of Elders
The degree to which a society values collectivism or individualism becomes especially clear when one considers those groups with heightened vulnerability and additional needs, such as the elderly. In the West, reaching a certain age signals retirement and a certain isolation from the community. Without work, older people often struggle to find a sense of purpose in a society that perceives citizens as valuable only as long as they are economically productive. Even within families, the elderly are treated in highly impersonal ways, sent off to retirement homes or hospitals, where the burden of care is offloaded onto strangers.

In Māori tribes, elders are known as kaumātua and are generally the most respected members of a family.

By contrast, in Indigenous societies, the changing needs and abilities of older generations signals not an exclusion or removal from society, but simply updated roles. In Māori tribes, elders are known as kaumātua and are generally the most respected members of a family. The knowledge and experience of kaumātua is indispensable for their responsibilities of conflict resolution, decision making, and leadership of the family or tribe. Additionally, the oldest members have the most nuanced understanding of the tribe’s cultural practices; thus, the guidance of kaumātua is essential to ceremonies and traditions. In more daily life, kaumātua also have unique roles and responsibilities. While younger adults are busy with manual labour, children are left in the care of their grandmothers and grandfathers, great-aunts and great-uncles. This is another benefit of a society founded on collective values: parents, especially mothers, are relieved of much of the stress of raising a child alone; children grow up with many role-models; and the volatility that comes with a nuclear family is side-stepped. In this way, children are able to learn from the wisdom and experience of the tribe’s kaumātua.

Indigenous elders’ roles as bearers and guardians of cultural and historical knowledge is especially important under conditions of colonialism. Indigenous knowledge has been under centuries-long attack from colonising governments, who have used Eurocentric criteria to invalidate other ways of knowing and being in the world. Indigenous languages, which carry within them entire alternative worldviews, have been subject to laws and policies banning their use or teaching and, as a result, are today under threat of extinction. Those elders who have managed to hold onto their traditions throughout this onslaught are key to keeping entire cultures alive. Thus, the very practice of Indigenous traditions becomes an important form of resistance to a hegemonic Western, individualist culture.

Agriculture & Food
In North America, prior to European contact, many Indigenous nations organised themselves based on collective models. The Haudenosaunee of Northeast North America and upstate New York are a confederacy of five Native American and First Nations peoples whose complex systems of governance provided inspiration for American democratic ideals. As a predominantly agricultural society, land holds a special cultural and spiritual significance to Haudenosaunee people as the source of food and, by extension, life. Nature is understood as belonging to itself, with humans there merely to act as temporary guardians or caretakers. Thus, the ideas of “ownership” over land understood by the Haudenosaunee are vastly different than those employed by the Europeans. Before colonisation, land was owned and managed collectively, with small parcels being distributed amongst families every few years. However, this allocation was contingent upon proper care and use; if the owners were to abuse or neglect the land, it would be reverted back to communal ownership and redistributed by the tribe.

Labour in Haudenosaunee society was divided by gender, with men fishing, hunting, and gathering while women farmed the land. Women were not tied to the lands owned by their family, but instead worked together in large groups and moved between fields. Likewise, any food produced did not belong to those possessing the land, but was shared between families. By working collectively, the Haudenosaunee were much more efficient; the tribe was able to provide for everyone, and hunger was extremely rare.

Three crops are central to the Haudenosaunee culture: corn, beans, and squash. As well as playing a vital role as the staple foods of the Haudenosaunee diet, the practices surrounding these crops, known as the “Three Sisters,” reflect Indigenous values of collectivity. The Three Sisters would always be planted together, and each provided their own “gift”: corn grows fast, and acts as a support for the vines of the bean plant; squash has large, hairy leaves that keep pests away; and the roots of bean plants house bacteria which converts nitrogen into a form that can be used by all three plants. Thus, while modern single-crop agriculture degrades the soil over time and is prone to attacks by pests or disease, Indigenous techniques of interplanting are more sustainable long-term, as they maintain a healthy ecosystem.

Every aspect of traditional Haudenosaunee food production and consumption followed ideals of collectivism.

Every aspect of traditional Haudenosaunee food production and consumption followed ideals of collectivism: land was owned communally, work was done in large groups, agricultural techniques emphasised the interrelationship of plants, and meals were shared family or tribal affairs. Food was eaten thoughtfully, and rituals of thanksgiving acknowledged the collective contributions of both humans and nature.

Historical Context / Mission of Assimilation
Before colonisation, the lands now known as the United States of America were home to hundreds of sovereign Native American nations like those that made up the Haudenosaunee confederacy, each with their own cultures, social structures, and value systems. Although diverse, these nations shared similar belief systems and collective values: land and other property was owned communally, resources were shared, and many tribes developed democratic systems of governance.

When Europeans arrived in the 16th century, these Native American peoples not only represented an obstacle to claiming land and profitable resources. Their social structures and value systems also posed a threat to the basic assumptions necessary for capitalism to function –  in particular, the privileging of man over nature, and of the individual over the collective. Thus, when attempts to physically eradicate Indigenous peoples (either by murder or forced removal) became impractical, a mission of assimilation was launched. If they were to integrate into modern society, Indigenous peoples would have to learn to speak, act, and think like a modern European man, and the main obstacle to this was their tribal identities. To overcome this, Indigenous children were separated from their lands and families and, through means such as the infamous Indian boarding schools, re-educated, and Westernised; similar operations were implemented in other settler colonies, such as Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. Without the strength of the tribe and community, an individual Indigenous person was no longer a threat to the ruling system.

Song and Dance as Political
These colonial projects of systematic cultural genocide targeted every aspect of Indigenous tradition, including performing arts. Countless varieties of song and dance have been developed to play many different roles in Indigenous cultures around the world: they may be used as a form of storytelling; to pass down knowledge about the tribe, its history, and its relations to the world through embodiment; and to forge and strengthen relations. Across North America, there are rituals of song and dance to mark every important tribal event and punctuate each stage of life. Although forms and styles are often locally and culturally specific, forced assimilation has had an effect on both the practice of performing arts and on their political implications.

In the late 19th century, as Native American peoples in the United States were being forced off their lands and into reservations, tribes that were highly distinct and previously had little to no contact found a new solidarity in their shared oppression. Music and dance took on new meanings, acting as a means of carving out new connections through intertribal cultural exchange, and as a form of resistance against the colonial state. These circumstances were repeated half a century later, when large numbers of Native Americans were relocated to urban areas; once again, these rituals provided a space for the expression of and connection to Indigenous identities. Modern day “powwows” – large gatherings of Native American peoples from many different cultures, tribes, and lands – have their roots in these early intertribal celebrations.

Powwows are not the only way Indigenous people have reclaimed and adapted traditional performing arts for contemporary means. In the winter of 2012, a group of women in Canada protested legislation that would harm the land and its First Nations people by starting a movement called Idle No More. Flash mobs, led by Indigenous people, were organised in malls, highways, and reservations throughout Canada, North America, and eventually the rest of the world. The style of dancing performed at these flash mobs, known as “round dancing” has its origins in funeral ceremonies; as dancers held hands and formed a circle, it was believed that their ancestors would be dancing with them. Today, its meaning has evolved to be more generally celebratory, but it still holds onto those early connotations of community. In the context of the Idle No More movement, circle dancing emphasised the political potential of collective values and connection. As everyone was welcome to these dances of protest, this sense of love and allyship was fostered not only within pre-existing communities, but also between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples.

Conclusion
Since the first stages of colonisation, Western capitalism has recognised the threat posed by Indigenous ways of living. This is evidenced by widespread projects to wipe out Indigenous populations, either through genocide, or through the eradication of culture and the conversion of communities into Western individuals. Despite these attempts at total destruction by colonising nations, Indigenous peoples worldwide have, in many ways, managed to hold on to values of collectivity and harness them as a means of resistance. From encouraging survival and healing while living under colonisation to creating bonds of solidarity and resistance against that system, Indigenous tradition provides many important and necessary alternatives to the individualism of the modern day.