Settler Colonialism and Carcerality: Disrupting Indigenous Relationships and Territories

Adam J Barker & Emma Battell Lowman- University of Hertfordshire
Image: Mohawk Industrial School, Brantford, Ontario
Personal position – settlers & decolonization
Research expertise
Previous work
How places become storied & how settlers come to see themselves as
belonging in a place
The importance of story, language, place, and relationships to understanding
settler colonialism
Ties between settler identities & material & cultural landscapes (deathscapes)
Building on previous work (1
st
Carceral Geog Conference, AAG
2017)
Settler colonial carcerality –
immobilization of Indigenous peoples
as method of disrupting relationships
to place & claims to territory
Interlocking carceral spcaes – official
(prisons), unofficial (schools,
hospitals), unrecognized (urban
segregation, rural invisibility)
Carceral ‘churn’ – settler society
imposes movement but not mobility;
Indigenous bodies repeatedly moved
from one carceral space to the next
until they ‘self-eliminate’ (assimilate)
or experience bodily death
But: what about time?
Kevin Bruyneel: Settler societies see
Indigenous people as both out of place &
out of time
Circuits of carcerality overlap with circuits of
capital
Experience of modernity – efficiency &
regularization
Time and the Other 
(Fabian, 1983)
‘Indian time’ & temporal racism
Location: Niagara-Haldimand region
Our homelands – personal responsibility
Six Nations of the Grand River and Haldimand Grant
Material landscape
Transport & communication infrastructure
Settlement patterns & private property
Cultural landscape
Racism & exclusion
Settler colonial memory & forgetting
Right: a map of the original Haldimand Grant to the Haudenosaunee (in
grey), and present day Six Nations of the Grand River reserve (in orange)
- Image courtesy of Six Nations Lands & Resources Development Office
Example: Upper Canada Centennial
1893 – speeches celebrate Lord Simcoe, first
Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada
Mythology: Simcoe’s canoe trip – choosing
the capital, Simcoe travelled around Lake
Ontario by canoe because there ‘were no
roads’
Historical reconstruction of ‘Indian trails’ –
forgetting in action – records of British use of
these roads in early 1800s, so where did
they/the memory of them go?
New roads built over old – appropriation of
network, erasure of Indigenous labour &
presence
Example 2: Grand River Navigation
Company
Indian Department of Upper Canada
authorizes creation of canal system for
shipping on the Grand River
Company (illegally) funded by Six Nations
funds held in government trust
Company is corrupt, mismanaged, goes
bankrupt
Six Nations lose their money, do not benefit
from canals, but river traffic now changed to
meet needs of settler economy
Larger project:
Scoping research in summer of
2017 & 2018
Identification of corduroy roads as
important but temporary feature
of settler colonial landscape
Investigation into how changes in
movement indicate changes in
power affecting relative mobility in
settler colonial contexts, how
particular colonial memories are
imposed on the landscape
Includes strands on consideration
of bodies & death, public history &
heritage, memorials & social
narrative, and invisible violence &
carceral erasure
An uncovered corduroy road in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada
underneath present day King Street, the main urban artery – image
via Wikimedia Commons, licensed under Creative Commons
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This study delves into the impact of settler colonialism on Indigenous peoples, focusing on the immobilization and movement imposed on them through carceral spaces. It explores the intersections of official and unofficial carceral spaces, shedding light on the disrupting effects on Indigenous relationships to land and claims to territory. Additionally, the research examines the dimension of time within the context of colonialism, highlighting how settler societies perceive Indigenous people as out of place and time. Overall, it offers a critical analysis of the historical and contemporary implications of settler colonial practices.


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  1. Doing Colonial Time Doing Colonial Time Adam J Barker & Emma Battell Lowman- University of Hertfordshire Image: Mohawk Industrial School, Brantford, Ontario

  2. Overview Overview Personal position settlers & decolonization Research expertise Previous work How places become storied & how settlers come to see themselves as belonging in a place The importance of story, language, place, and relationships to understanding settler colonialism Ties between settler identities & material & cultural landscapes (deathscapes)

  3. Settler Colonial Settler Colonial Carcerality Carcerality Building on previous work (1st Carceral Geog Conference, AAG 2017) Settler colonial carcerality immobilization of Indigenous peoples as method of disrupting relationships to place & claims to territory Interlocking carceral spcaes official (prisons), unofficial (schools, hospitals), unrecognized (urban segregation, rural invisibility) Carceral churn settler society imposes movement but not mobility; Indigenous bodies repeatedly moved from one carceral space to the next until they self-eliminate (assimilate) or experience bodily death But: what about time?

  4. Time, Colonialism & The Time, Colonialism & The Carceral Carceral Kevin Bruyneel: Settler societies see Indigenous people as both out of place & out of time Circuits of carcerality overlap with circuits of capital Experience of modernity efficiency & regularization Time and the Other (Fabian, 1983) Indian time & temporal racism

  5. Research Framework Research Framework Location: Niagara-Haldimand region Our homelands personal responsibility Six Nations of the Grand River and Haldimand Grant Material landscape Transport & communication infrastructure Settlement patterns & private property Cultural landscape Racism & exclusion Settler colonial memory & forgetting Right: a map of the original Haldimand Grant to the Haudenosaunee (in grey), and present day Six Nations of the Grand River reserve (in orange) - Image courtesy of Six Nations Lands & Resources Development Office

  6. Carcerality Carcerality & Progress & Progress Example 2: Grand River Navigation Company Example: Upper Canada Centennial 1893 speeches celebrate Lord Simcoe, first Lieutenant Governor of Upper Canada Mythology: Simcoe s canoe trip choosing the capital, Simcoe travelled around Lake Ontario by canoe because there were no roads Historical reconstruction of Indian trails forgetting in action records of British use of these roads in early 1800s, so where did they/the memory of them go? New roads built over old appropriation of network, erasure of Indigenous labour & presence Indian Department of Upper Canada authorizes creation of canal system for shipping on the Grand River Company (illegally) funded by Six Nations funds held in government trust Company is corrupt, mismanaged, goes bankrupt Six Nations lose their money, do not benefit from canals, but river traffic now changed to meet needs of settler economy

  7. Corduroy Road Corduroy Road Larger project: Scoping research in summer of 2017 & 2018 Identification of corduroy roads as important but temporary feature of settler colonial landscape Investigation into how changes in movement indicate changes in power affecting relative mobility in settler colonial contexts, how particular colonial memories are imposed on the landscape Includes strands on consideration of bodies & death, public history & heritage, memorials & social narrative, and invisible violence & carceral erasure An uncovered corduroy road in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada underneath present day King Street, the main urban artery image via Wikimedia Commons, licensed under Creative Commons

  8. Questions & Comments Questions & Comments

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