Oldal 277 [277]
OCR
JAY TREATY: INDIGENOUS RIGHTS OF FREE CROSS-BORDER PASSAGE... In some cases, the border has also acted as a means for family separation. Louise Erdrich’s account provides an apt description of what role exactly the border officers play in removing children from their parents. Erdrich recounts how she found herself in the middle of an interrogation about the maternity of her newborn baby as she was unable to provide any official documentation required by the patrol agent. As she was directed to enter the interrogation room, she wondered if she was “going to be required to nurse [her] baby in front of some border-crossing guard” to prove she was her mother. Even though Erdrich was eventually cleared by a female guard (she and her baby “[ha]ve passed some mother/daughter test”) she admits to have been properly shaken. Such experiences can leave behind traces of trauma and understandably discourage from subsequent cross-border trips.” Dealing with authorities is not only humiliating but also traumatic for those who still vividly remember assimilationist policies such as residential schools, where physical and sexual abuse was institutionalized, or removal of children from reservations to white foster families. As stories from the border describing heavy scrutiny are not sporadic, many Indigenous people choose to avoid crossing the border even if it means cutting ties with their families and not participating in cultural events. As a result, traditional contacts are either weakened or lost, which threatens cultural preservation and can negatively reflect on shared identities. For some, crossing the border is an everyday necessity. Major complications arise when permanent residence or entry is denied, for example to American Indian women who are not recognized as status Indians in Canada and cannot thus take up residence there even if they are married to a First Nation spouse.*” The lamentable situation of some of these nations will be discussed in more detail in the second part of this paper. IDENTITY DOCUMENTS: TRIBAL CARDS AND PASSPORTS Ultimately, border discrimination and disregard of Indigenous nations’ sovereignty is most evident in the failure to recognize the validity of tribal passports or enrollment cards. To be able to identify as a member of an Indigenous nation is an important aspect of one’s identity that also contributes to cultural preservation. Most Indigenous nations issue tribal cards for their members and some also produce their own international passports. Joe Kennedy, a member of the Western Shoshone Nation, describes the pride and empowerment he feels when traveling internationally with his tribal passport: “I feel good and I feel honored that the Guatemalan authorities welcomed 3° Erdrich, The Border Crossing, n.p.n. (Kindle). #7 Caron, Report, n.p.n. +275 +
