Language Culture and Curriculum
Editor and Book Reviews Editor: Eoghan Mac Aogain (St Patrick's College)
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Volume: 11 Number: 3 Page: 339–353
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Towards a New Age in Innu Education: Innu Resistance and Community Activism
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James Ryan
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In Canada, as elsewhere, past and present practices towards indigenous peoples have been characterised by the exploitation of their land, and the stigmatisation of their languages and cultures by subsequent
European colonisers. Control of the decision-making processes which affect indigenous peoples has also invariably been in the hands of Europeans. This paper explores the example of the indigenous Innu in
Labrador, Canada, in relation to these past and present patterns of exploitation and marginalisation. It then proceeds to examine how one Innu community has recently begun to seriously contest such practices.
This community has invested much time and effort in activist strategies that seek to wrest control of their lives from non-Innu and place it firmly back in their own hands. Recently these efforts, which
have included direct civil disobedience, have extended to educational matters. The paper describes how this process has unfolded, particularly with respect to recent activism, and its potential for reviving
Innu language and education practices.
© Multilingual Matters 1998
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