Navigating Erasure: Exploring the Limits and Potential of Indigenous Studies within the Settler Colonial Academy through Haudenosaunee Critical Self Reflexivity

This thesis explores the double-bind Indigenous Peoples encounter when pursuing post-secondary education in the field of Indigenous Studies. I argue that Indigenous voices deemed tolerable are incorporated into the commodification of Indigenous thought and experience for the Settler audiences who profit most from post-secondary institutions. My analysis discusses the possibilities for Indigenous Studies to navigate this parasitic relationship and assist Indigenous lives that academia renders unrecognizable. I examine my educational journey and conduct a literature review of the role that Settler Colonialism plays within Indigenous Studies. Through the use of critical self-reflexivity, this thesis employs Haudenosaunee political thought and Indigenous storywork to tell my personal narrative navigating the macro and micro dynamics within the academy that exploits Indigenous student's self-interest to maintain the Settler-Colonial status quo in higher education. I identify strategies to assist academics in conducting ethical research within Indigenous Studies and imagine insurgent education within the Canadian university.

Author Keywords: Commodification, Critical Indigenous Studies, Haudenosaunee, Settler Colonialism