Oratory : Coming to Theory

Critiquing European notions of theory and theory's relation to power, Maracle argues for native definitions of theory as storytelling rooted in lived experience

Indigenous People in the Global Context

There are 350 million indigenous people in the world, all are in a similar circumstance. They are still classically colonized, robbed of their territory and live on the periphery of a globalized imperial economy that is threatening the globe. Generally speaking the Indigenous people have been “dumbed down” to a pre-civilized state. It is generally agreed that Indigenous people were non-scientific, non-theoretical, incapable of abstraction and so forth. In fact, science is just now catching up to some key understandings that Indigenous people have had for a very long time. For the most part, Indigenous people are oral and therefore cannot be believed, nor studied by western intellectuals. Why is this a problem? About the Lecturer: Ms. Maracle is the author of a number of critically acclaimed literary works including: Ravensong [novel], Canadian Scholar’s Press, Bobbi Lee [autobiographical novel], Three O’clock Press, Daughters Are Forever, [novel] Theytus Will’s Garden [young adult novel] Theytus books, “Bent Box” [poetry] Theytus books, “I Am Woman” [non-fiction], Polestar/Raincoast and the co-editor of a number of anthologies including the award winning publication, “My Home As I Remember” [anthology] Natural Heritage books. Ms. Maracle is widely published in anthologies and scholarly journals worldwide. Ms. Maracle is a member of the Sto: Loh nation