Indigenous Elitism
Within academia there’s been a rise in prominent Indigenous scholars, in particular Taiaiake Alfred, Glen Coulthard, Daniel Justice, and Leanne Simpson, the four horsemen (aka Indian Horsemen) of an intellectual apocalypse--drudging a teleological facade unimpeded by skeptical inquiry. Careers built on perpetuating a utopian decolonial occupation where inherent rights reign supreme. These delusional constructs defy any basis in reason, rationality, or logic and are fed to undergraduates as doctrine. The pedestal of Indigenous elitism must be obliterated with seasoned skepticism, their ideas buried in the existential graveyard with Jesus, Buddha, and Nanabush. This cadre of political academics tyrannizes the scope of Indigenous scholarship, idolizing a lost and forgotten cultural identity that no longer exists, the headdresses are gone and deer flaps aren’t in fashion.
These metaphorical connotations towards a complete decolonization is riddled with paradox. While I agree with Taiaiake’s criticisms against the settler-colonial stronghold on Indigenous soveriegnty (see Alfred & Tomkins 2011, pg.3), I disagree with the necessity that “...fishing, hunting, or picking medicines...”(Alfred & Tomkins 2011, pg. 15) is the proper initiation to Indigenous identity. A postmodern analysis of reality indicates a trend towards diversity in identity politics wherein outdated mechanisms of survival and passage are blasphemous. The Indian Horsemen’s feeble attempt to resuscitate tribal identities in bona fide fashion depicts sustained ignorance in the face of actuality.
