First Nations Identity, Contemporary Interpretive Communities, and Nomadic Legacies

• Published in: Arcadia - International Journal for Literary Studies
• Main Author: Darnell, Regna
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Walter de Gruyter GmbH 2008
• Subjects: Literature and Literary Theory; First Nations
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/arca.2008.009; https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/ARCA.2008.009/xml; https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.1515/ARCA.2008.009/pdf

The concept of interpretive community provides a bridge between literary studies and the social sciences. As an anthropologist and ethnographer, I consider First Nations [e.g. Aboriginal Canadian] identity in light of an historical tradition of nomadic subsistence refracted in contemporary decision-making procedures about such resources as employment, education, and social services. The structures of First Nations imagination are cultural, and must be approached through the standpoint of contemporary First Nations persons and communities.