Shifting the Gaze

• Main Authors: Dénommé-Welch, Spy, Mizzi, Robert C.
• Format: Book Part
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford University PressNew York 2023
• Subjects: Indian; First Nations; inuit
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780197687000.003.0008; https://academic.oup.com/book/chapter-pdf/58123847/oso-9780197687000-chapter-8.pdf

Abstract This chapter investigates the various ways in which the colonial structures of Indian residential schools have been used to disrupt and control Indigenous (First Nations, Inuit, and Métis) identity and expression. By drawing on decolonial queer theory and examining a series of archival photographs taken at Indian residential schools, the research unpacks some of the implications of colonialism as a process once used to impose heteronormative ideals that uphold a rigid sex-gender system. The findings point toward three themes in the analysis: structure and land as cultural hegemony, gender binary dominance, and refusal and resistance. The chapter recommends decolonial queer studies to include exploration of how physical spaces and placement of bodies enact and uphold cisgender heteronormative ideologies.