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*Some restrictions apply. The Settler Treaty Card is not valid in most areas of British Columbia. Treaties entitle settlers to use the land for agricultural purposes to the depth of a plow. The underlying title to sub-
surface resources, forests, and waters remains with First Nations. The information presented here is based upon an oral understanding of the settler/First Nations relationships dened through the numbered treaties
of the Prairies, and some local variance in the treaty relationship may apply. Settlers and settler-descendents are advised to consult with local First Nations treaty elders regarding the oral understanding of treaties
in your area, as well as any unresolved land claims requiring restitution. For more information, please see Settler Treaty Rightsby Tyler McCreary, Briarpatch Magazine, August 2005.
Clip and post in a public space. This subvertisement is available for download and distribution fromwww.briarpatchmagazine.com/settler-treaty-card . To order copies of this poster for use in the classroom, please contact editor@briarpatchmagazine.com.
Introducing the
Settler Treaty Card

You cant live

here without it!

With your Settler Treaty Card,

YOU get access

to countless privileges that your ancestors
representatives signed on for in perpetuityprivileges
like settler self-government and access to the land.
*

Membership has its privilegesand privilege has its
responsibilities.

Settler Treaty membership entitles the card-holder to: share this territory (except reserves) with First Nations people and move freely throughout it;
freedom of religion; freedom to engage in economic activities and to use the land for the purposes of agriculture; the right to self-government (including
trade and taxation, determination of citizenship, social services such as child welfare, health and education); and peace and goodwill.
Card holders are required to recognize the reciprocal treaty rights of First Nations, including: freedom of movement throughout this shared land as well as those
territories reserved for the exclusive use of First Nations; freedom of religion; freedom to engage in economic activities and assurance to a right to a livelihood as well
as assistance in times of need; self-government (including trade and taxation, determination of citizenship, and social services); and peace and goodwill. All rights
of both settlers and First Nations are further delimited by our shared responsibilities to maintain good relations and to be good stewards of the land.
CERTIFICATE OF SETTLER STATUS - CERTIFICAT DE STATUT COLON
This is to certify that - Le prsent atteste que
JOHNSON
Heather Lynn
of Treaty 6 territory
is a Settler within the meaning of the Settler Act, chapter 27, Statutes of Canada.
est un Colon au sens de la Loi sur les Colons, chapitre 27 des Statuts du Canada.
Citizenship and Citoyennet et
Immigration Canada Immigration Canada
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When I stumbled onto this mock ad by
Briarpatch magazine, it seemed like precisely
the type of intervention I was imagining. I
immediately wondered if I could take this a
step further and actually issue such cards...
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Whlle worklng Lhrough Lhe sLeps ouLllned ln my Workplan and Schedule, l found myself
beglnnlng Lo have doubLs abouL my performance.
My rsL concern revolved around whaL Adams (1999) descrlbes as Lhe acL of repeaung
oppresslon whlle auempung Lo dlsrupL lL." ln Lhelr paper, Lhey look speclcally aL role plays
and oLher acuvlues used ln Lhe conLexL of popular educauon, and especlally educauonal
lnluauves lnLended Lo address lssues of equlLy. 1hese frequenLly Look Lhe form of role plays
lnLended Lo brlng ouL" pre[udlce and raclsm ln order Lo deal wlLh lL crlucally. 1he acL of dolng
so, however, also meanL LhaL Lhose who are Lhe usual sub[ecLs of raclsm were forced Lo go
Lhrough Lhe experlence agaln ln Lhe workshop semng. Adams quesuons wheLher Lhe prlce of
repeaung vlolence ln an eorL Lo address lL ls lndeed worLh paylng, wheLher lL ls a necessary
evll" of sorLs.
1hls quesuon seemed fundamenLal Lo my pro[ecL, as l was plannlng Lo essenually repeaL an
oppresslve pracuce, a vlolenL acL of bureaucracy, ln order Lo (hopefully) supporL a learnlng
process for Lhose (more) prlvlleged by Lhe colonlzauon of Canada. A conversauon l had wlLh
my frlend krysLa, a nauve acuvlsL who works aL Lhe nauve ?ouLh Sexual PealLh neLwork,
hlghllghLed Lhls for me, as she forced me Lo conLemplaLe Lhe dlerenL ways a nauve person
who encounLered my performance mlghL feel. Whlle lL had always been my goal Lo consLrucL
Lhls performance as an lnLer[ecuon lnLo socleLy's usual dlscourse around lndlgenelLy, and as a
prlmarlly seuler Lo seuler acuon, l felL unable and unwllllng Lo do so lf Lhe seuler learnlng was
Lo happen aL Lhe expense of nauve people.
AnoLher concern around Lhe pro[ecL emerged as l lmmersed myself ln sLudylng CnLarlo's
Lreaues. l qulckly came Lo undersLand LhaL Lhey were far more compllcaLed Lhan l had
orlglnally reallzed. lL became clear LhaL l would noL be able Lo boll Lhem down Lo a seL of
Seuler 8lghLs and 8esponslblllues as l had lnlually planned Lo. nor was lL even always clear
whaL verslons of whlch Lreaues were currenLly ln eecL or oughL Lo be ln eecL, and whaL
LerrlLorles Lhey denluvely applled Lo.
lL also was relnforced for me how problemauc Lhe lnsuLuuon of Lreaues Lruly ls. Whlle l do
belleve lL would be a posluve sLep for all Canadlans Lo recognlze LhaL Lhey are lndeed currenLly
LreaLy people" under nauonal and provlnclal law, Lo hold Lhls lnsuLuuon up as exemplary or
as consuLuung Lhe change we need ls mlsleadlng and slmpllsuc.
Clven Lhese concerns, l began Lo enLerLaln oLher lncarnauons of my performance. Cne such
ldea lnvolved me conunulng Lo use Lhe space l had by Lhls polnL already booked aL a ChrlsLmas
falr Lo presenL noL as Lhe governmenL, buL as a nonproL, concerned wlLh Lhe legal educauon
of Canadlans.
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1he anger exerclse we dld ln class, ln whlch we wroLe ouL an angry ranL, ulumaLely
proved really helpful Lo me ln comlng up wlLh my nal performance concepL. 1he
process of wrlung ouL and expresslng Lhe anger l felL abouL a self-defense class LhaL
falled Lo relnforce Lhe rlghL of women Lo noL be sub[ecL Lo vlolence helped Lo remlnd
me of Lhe huge lmporLance of glvlng people an ouLleL for Lhose Lypes of feellngs. lL
relnforced for me Lhe powerful Lypes of Lhlnklng LhaL can emerge from such ouLleLs,
and how creaung Lhe space for Lhls can lead Lo acuon-Laklng LhaL ls noL only more
lnformed, buL more lnLrospecuve.
Soon after, I
stumbled on this
image
online...
This image, on
the same
theme as my anger
exercise, was a
valuable example for
me of the element
of wishful thinking I
had originally
conceived as a big
part of my
performance. It got
me back into
imagining what my
wishful thinking
take on
(de)colonization might
look like...
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Contemplating the problems consequent upon representing Others, some
feminists suggest that the solution is to refuse to be drawn into representing
Others at all. Speaking only for ourselves, we leave Others to represent
themselves. Instead of speaking for Others, we maintain a respectful silence, and
work to create the social and political conditions which might enable Others to
speak (and to be heard) on their own terms.

Wilkinson, S., & Kitzinger, C. (2008) Representing the Other. In Prentki, T., & Preston, S. (Eds.). The

applied theatre reader. Routledge.
As I discussed on page 12 of this portfolio, throughout the whole course
I had been continuously mulling over ideas of othering and representation,
central questions to any thinking around testimonial work. At the point in
my performance work where I needed to figure out how I would bring
the participants/performers to a collective thinking space around
decolonization and facilitate the production of thought bubbles I came
back to Wilkinson and Kitzingers article (2008), and the quote above.
It made sense to me to address the question of representing the Other
by, as much as possible, allowing an already-produced collective indigenous
testimony to speak for itself, and to follow this by leading performance
participants in speaking very personally, and overtly not trying to
represent anything other than their own thoughts.
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my final performance plan...
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! Introduce and show Justice for Aboriginal People video.
! Ask everyone to write down the first thoughts and questions that come to
mind.
! Explain: We're about to participate in a performance of wishful thinking. I
believe that we can only get to the place the testimony is asking us to move
towards when settlers and indigenous people alike are thinking about this
and sharing those thoughts. We are going to enact that wishful thinking
version of this neighborhood where the types of thoughts we're having
around de/colonization are happening in the course of daily life.
! Ask everyone to pick 1 or 2 thoughts to move around the neighborhood
with, and to write them on their thought bubbles.
! Assign everyone routes, tasks, and partners.
! Reconvene and debrief: How did it go? Did you interact with anyone, and if
so, how? How did it feel to move in the neighborhood in that way?
some of the thoughts participants jotted down after watching
the video testimony...
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