Synopses & Reviews
Synopsis
In Treaty 6 Deixis, Christine Stewart investigates what it means to be in Edmonton, on Treaty 6 territory, "in this city, on this land, in this country, on this planet, in a way that acknowledges and honours all my obligations and all my relations, the complex web of connective tissues that keep me here." Her work considers the ways in which language can be formally and contextually engaged to reconsider and potentially re-articulate the world. How might certain poetic practices undermine racist ideologies and colonialism, engendering ecological attentiveness, anomalous and compassionate communities?
Synopsis
How might poetic practices undermine racist ideologies and colonialism, engendering ecological attentiveness, and anomalous and compassionate communities? Christine Stewart's Treaty 6 Deixis takes up these timely and pressing questions as it investigates what it means to be a non-Indigenous inhabitant of Canada's Treaty 6 territory, "in this city, on this land, in this country, on this planet, in a way that acknowledges and honours all my obligations and all my relations, the complex web of connective tissues that keep me here." (Deixis is a word or phrase - like "this," "that," " now," "then" - that points to the time, place, or situation in which a speaker is speaking or a writer is writing.)
Written beside the kisisk ciwani-s piy (North Saskatchewan River) on Treaty 6 land - which encompasses most of the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan - this gorgeous long poem reinstates and re-sounds the extent of the author's obligations, considering the ways in which language can be formally and contextually engaged to refigure and potentially re-articulate the world. Treaty 6 Deixis, Stewart's long-anticipated first solo trade colection, is an exemplary, ethically engaged, and much-needed exploration, and a step towards reconciliation.