“Belonging” within the Identity Context of Human Rights

Kevin Chief was quite an inspiration. Not only because of his eloquence and public speaking ability but the influence he has on young people, his society, people of his culture and to the fundamental values of human rights.

Chief made certain pointed statements with specific human rights connotations.

- There is a uniqueness to an aboriginal perspective
- Language has a huge role to play in culture
- If you are in a schools sports team, your chances of graduating increases dramatically
- The complexion of culture and diversity in today's Canada is changing
- $161 billion will be added to the GDP of Canada by bringing parity to the graduation rate (between Aboriginal and non-aboriginal Canadians)
- Generational impact can be reversed with a strong education.

The comment which resonated most with me was the need for belonging as a strong force in maintaining identity in a multicultural society.

The issue of belonging to (or having an identity with) a social class, an ethnic group, a race, remains a challenging aspect in the human rights debate. Chief talks about it in positive lights, naming it as an essential attribute for an increase in graduation rates and downplaying the negative force that identity wields in society. Chief argues that the force of belonging is so strong that young aborigines are willing to deny who they are (change their identity) [emphasis added] to become part of a group. This same argument holds true for most societies. Carl E. James (2003) argues that in

“Pluralistic societies, individuals commonly identify themselves in multiple ways. For example, in Canada,, individuals will refer to themselves as Canadians, Jamaicans, Trinidadians, Americans, British or Caribbeans indicating their identification as citizens of or their allegiance to that nation-state...In contrasts, identifications such as ...French, African, Indian or Italian are more likely to indicate individual ethnic ancestry, primary language and/or the cultural traditions with which they currently identify...Understandably, these two identities are not mutually exclusive, for individuals to have multiple identities.”

Chief, recognizing the relational aspects of society and the multiple possibilities of identities advocates the need to instill a strong sense of belonging to curbing the problems posed by shifting identities not so much in the sense that James (2003) mentions above but aligning to a group for which you would pay your allegiance to.

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Carl E. James (2003), Seeing Ourselves: Exploring Race, Ethnicity and Culture, Third Edition, Thompson Educational Publishing, p28