Felt Theory: An Indigenous Feminist Approach to Affect and History
Abstract
Felt TheoryAn Indigenous Feminist Approach to Affect and History Dian Million (bio) An ideology is made of what it does not mention; it exists because there are things which must not be spoken of —Pierre Machery1 We were not normal children at these schools, we were more like robots, always taking orders, never involved in decision-making of any kind. We were never asked what we thought or even encouraged to think for ourselves. We learned soon after arriving at the schools not to express ourselves. We got into trouble when we spoke our minds, expressed feelings, or dared to question anything. —Bev Sellars2 [End Page 53] In this essay I make the case for remembering and understanding the impact of Canadian First Nation women’s first-person and experiential narrative on white, mostly male mainstream scholarship. I argue that these narratives were political acts in themselves that in their time exploded the measured “objective” accounts of Canadian (and U.S.) colonial histories. First Nations women in Canada changed the actual conditions for what could be said about the poverty and discrimination that were their daily fare. I wish to discuss the conditions under which these women spoke at all: of sex discrimination in their lives and communities, of what it took to challenge their own families, particularly the men. It is these women’s acknowledgment of their actual experiences that illuminated a space for both men and women to speak one of colonialism’s nastiest “domestic” sec…
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This philosophy constructs educational systems around objectivity, rationality, and scientific inquiry in ways that give little or no regard to subjectivities, 'felt theories', and other ethical modes of inquiry.
“This philosophy constructs educational systems around objectivity, rationality, and scientific inquiry in ways that give little or no regard to subjectivities, 'felt theories', and other ethical modes of inquiry (Million 2009).”
From Embracing Indigenous ethics as collective voices and participation: new beginnings for educational leadership (2025) · cites this paper as Million 2009
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“On 2 June 2008, Canada established the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to address the appalling legacy of Canada’s boarding (residential) school system and to provide a forum for former boarding school “survivors” and families to come together in dialogue, support and healing [18].”
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- Authors
- Million, D.
- Corresponding author
- Dian Million
- Venue
- Wicazo Sa Review
- Publisher
- Project MUSE
- Published
- 2009
- Volume
- 24
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 53-76
- ISSN
- 0749-6427 (ISSN-L)
- 1533-7901
- OpenAlex
- W1992271780
- Cited by
- 397
- References
- 20
- Citations by year
- 2026: 44 · 2025: 49 · 2024: 70 · 2023: 31 · 2022: 38 · 2021: 33 · 2020: 47 · 2019: 14 · 2018: 16 · 2017: 10 · 2016: 16 · 2015: 4 · 2014: 19 · 2012: 5
- FWCI
- 10.17
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Wicazo Sa Review (publishedVersion)
- Project Muse (Johns Hopkins University) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- University of Toronto
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Anthropology › Indigenous Cultures and History
- Social Sciences › Health › Indigenous Health, Education, and Rights
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Memory, Trauma, and Testimony
- Keywords
- Indigenous feminism, affect, colonialism, First Nations women, residential schools, child abuse, personal testimony, Maria Campbell, Lee Maracle, emotional knowledge, assimilation policy, Indigenous self-determination
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