INS356H1

Indigeneity, Identity, Belonging

This course critically examines how Indigenous identity and belonging are constructed, contested, and lived in North America. It explores the historical and contemporary forces that shape Indigenous identity—including settler colonialism, Indigenous legal and kinship systems, governance, land relations, gender, and state recognition. Drawing on key works in Indigenous Studies, we ask: Who defines Indigeneity? What are the consequences of state-defined identities? How do Indigenous people assert their own frameworks of belonging? Topics may include kinship, adoption, the Indian Act, Métis peoplehood, urban Indigeneity, self-Indigenization, and critiques of cultural appropriation. The course emphasizes that citizenship and belonging are not just legal statuses, but key sites of Indigenous sovereignty and refusal.