Futurities in Anishinaabe arts practices: beading as decolonial praxis

Abstract

This dissertation explores ways of knowing, being, and doing that are made present and possible through Anishinaabe creative practice and the role and value of beadwork as decolonial praxis. This study draws upon framings of desire and theoretical constructs of the future imaginary to de-link learning from schooling and the wider world of educational policy and research that seek solutions within settler colonial institutions and structures. Inspired by concepts of generative refusal, fugitivity, and futurity, this study is guided by three main questions: 1) How might Indigenous creative practice, as a site of learning, offer new possibilities for decolonial thought and action?; 2) How do Anishinaabe art-makers imagine, create, or conceptualize “otherwise” worlds through their work?; and 3) What learning is made present through beadwork? Using Indigenous methodologies informed by visiting and storywork, and conversation, arts elicitation, and beading circles as methods, this study engaged the experiences and perspectives of eight beadworkers from Northwestern Ontario, Canada. Topics elicited from discussion with participants about their beadwork included relationships to beadwork practices, motivations for learning, material knowledges, socio-cultural and political aspects of beadwork, visions of success, and hopes for the future. Motifs that illuminate the knowledges and learning that occurs within spaces of Anishinaabe creative practice include: art from an Anishinaabe perspective does not conform to the conventions of Western aesthetics; beadwork is an inherently relational practice that reflects Anishinaabe onto-epistemologies; learning is not centered solely on the transmission and receiving of information and is a lifelong process; and beadwork is an intimate practice of care for ourselves, our families, and our communities. This research highlights the importance of beadwork (specifically) and creative practice (more generally) as one strategy for building Indigenous futurities in the present, shifting conversations away from learning as a neoliberal imperative towards learning as a pathway to personal growth and the creation of vibrant Indigenous futures.