Cultural Literacy, First Nations and the Future of Canadian Literary Studies

• Published in: Journal of Canadian Studies
• Main Authors: Hulan, Renée, Warley, Linda
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: University of Toronto Press Inc. (UTPress) 1999
• Subjects: History; Cultural Studies; First Nations
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.3138/jcs.34.3.59; https://utpjournals.press/doi/pdf/10.3138/jcs.34.3.59

First Nations literature presents a variety of challenges to scholars and teachers of Canadian literature to which we have a responsibility to respond. Studying First Nations literature is one means by which we can increase our understanding of and respect for First Peoples and create the political will to involve ourselves in the social justice issues that concern them. In this paper, we discuss the reasons for promoting greater cultural literacy (by which we mean the mainstream becoming acculturated by aboriginal cultures) in Canadian students, and we offer pragmatic suggestions as to how it might be achieved.