Exploring the Concept of the "Urban Indigenous" by Guest Blogger, Author Kamilah Haywood

BY GUEST BLOGGER, AUTHOR KAMILAH HAYWOOD


In 2017 there I was, a third generation African-Jamaican-Canadian woman in the ice cold of winter, downtown Winnipeg at Tim Horton's, standing in the busy morning rush line up waiting to order breakfast. Our team had taken a trip from Toronto to do some research on bridging the literary gap, while comparing the commonalities between Urban Indigenous communities across Canada and the Urban Toronto communities we were familiar with.

 An older white woman at the cash register was kicking out a disheveled (possibly homeless) Indigenous woman. “You are not allowed in here. I already told you that this morning! I don’t care how much money you have! Miss, how can I help YOU?”

Me. I was surprised at her disdain for the lady, and warmth toward me. “It’s OK to serve the woman," I said to her. "I can wait.”

Her response. “We don’t serve her kind in here.”

Just like that.

That was just one of MANY particularly eye-opening, and disturbing incidents that took place during the informal research portion of our journey. The sightseeing, the libraries, the campus tours, and the conversations were one thing...but it was the casual interactions that resonated the most with me. It was the blatant, disrespectful, and hurtful speech that we heard that made us realize that there was so much for us to learn. So much we didn't know about the racial tensions in Winnipeg. Our "urban" framework would just be a starting point. This was one of many Canadian cities that we had never experienced first hand. Already, we were overwhelmed at how Toronto-centric we had been.

The length of our stay in Winnipeg, the amount of racism, neglect, and abuse I witnessed towards Indigenous Canadian people was a shock, and something I had never experienced in my life. It was the complete opposite for me being a Black woman born in the 80’s, growing up in the GTA. Our Blackness was truly overlooked. Irrelevant in Winnipeg. This too, was a new feeling.

I remembered my first experience with racism first hand in the 90’s on the Mississauga Transit. I witnessed a white male making fun of two Black children's hair calling it dirty to his children and saying it looked like sheep hair because they had locs. It would definitely not be the last of my experiences with racism, and there was much more to come. Whether blatant or quiet, it was going to continue to exist.

Spending time walking the sidewalks of Winnipeg, listening casually to conversations from professionals, and studying the body language of those around us, we quickly discovered that the category of "urban" (that we have found ourselves frequently defending, and sometimes second-guessing, as so-called "urban authors") had many similarities in different urban centres, in different lands. Even just within our beloved country of Canada.

This wasn't urban Detroit, LA, or Brazil. It was Manitoba. We saw the harsh discrimination. Deeply. In hotels. Stores. Streets. Dialogue. Looks. Vibe. We felt it, as our own Blackness somehow vanished from attention in this setting. We became unseen, and their presence was amplified.

In these moments, "urban" was not a label, it was geography. And with that geography came additional meaning. To be an "Urban Indigenous" individual, simply meant that you lived in an urban centre The Indigenous Canadians have populated Winnipeg as a city, more than any other Canadian city.

Here is some more information I discovered from the Evaluation of the Urban Aboriginal Strategy from the Government of Canada, with a goal of increasing "the economic participation of Aboriginal people living in cities across Canada." I learned that "more than half of the people identifying as Inuit, Metis, or First Nations live in urban areas" and the report shows that "the Indigenous population is younger and growing faster than non-Indigenous populations in Canada."

We recognized that while we were looking into our own perceived "urban identities" that the term was actually much more literal in this context, and within the various Urban studies centres across the Universities. We learned that the goal of the Urban Aboriginal Strategy was to "remove the disparity in socio-economic circumstances between Indigenous and non-Indigenous populations in Canada's urban centres."

URBAN: In relating to a town or city.

INDIGENOUS: Originating or occurring in a particular space and/or place. Native.

The word "urban" is not without its controversy, and at times I have had to explore if it is a word that fully resonates with me, in the way I originally hoped it would. What I have discovered is that it resonates more, with a new layer of context. Not as an "urban author" but as an individual that can see urban beyond racial or cultural stigmas, and instead view the conditions of urban existence instead. City living.


My lesson from 2017 continues into 2020. I recognize that to dig deep into the origins of the various Indigenous histories is a long journey of many unanswered questions, and untold stories.

The Strategy had a list of recommendations for Indigenous and Northern Affairs Canada to implement, including funding models, communication strategies, and enhancing cultural sensitives from social services.

We see it every day. Every day. Economic disparities. Insensitive perspectives. The injustice is everywhere. But what we also see, is that truths are being awakened, and the barriers of race and patriotism are not the only factors. There is also an awareness of the systems and the preservation of basic human rights and respect.

The Urban Indigenous have taken on a broader representation in my mind. Here's a link to the full report. I will use this as a starting point for my research, and am challenging myself to learn, understand, and stand as an ally with this community.

“There’s no such thing as someone else’s war.” Jason Isabell


Written by Kamilah Haywood.
*Please note, the views and opinions of individual Kya Publishing authors are their own.