Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2022 Mar;57(2):292-312.
doi: 10.1177/10126902211005681. Epub 2021 Apr 6.

Sport for Indigenous resurgence: Toward a critical settler-colonial reflection

Mariana Essa, Alexandra Arellano  1 , Stephen Stuart  2 , Stephen Sheps  3
Affiliations

Sport for Indigenous resurgence: Toward a critical settler-colonial reflection

Mariana Essa et al. Int Rev Sociol Sport. 2022 Mar.

Abstract

This article examines the field of sport for development (SFD) while considering Indigenous resurgence amidst Canada's neoliberal settler-colonial landscape. While sharing challenges encountered within their practice, program staff from the Promoting Life-skills in Aboriginal Youth program revealed high levels of constructive self-criticism and reflexivity. There are three emergent themes, the adoption of which appeared essential for transforming the sector in recognition of Indigenous resurgence: growth and pace; Indigenous agency and knowledge; and political engagement. Grounded in settler colonialism and resurgence, this paper also reflects on the field of SFD and what it would mean to decolonize the practice. The article concludes by asking if non-Indigenous scholars can study SFD by subverting the colonial status quo that is also reproduced in this research field.

Keywords: Indigenous; resurgence; settler colonialism; sport for development.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of conflicting interests: The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/ or publication of this article.

References

    1. Alfred T. (2009) Peace, Power, Righteousness: An Indigenous Manifesto. Toronto: Oxford University Press.
    1. Alfred T. (2010) Foreword. In: Regan P. (ed.) Unsettling the Settler Within: Indian Residential Schools, Truth Telling, and Reconciliation in Canada. Vancouver: University of British Columbia Press, I–IX.
    1. Alfred T. (2014) The Akwesasne cultural restoration program: A Mohawk approach to land-based education. Decolonization: Indigeneity, Education and Society 3(3): 134–144.
    1. Alfred T, Corntassel J. (2005) Being Indigenous: Resurgences against contemporary colonialism. Government and Opposition 40(4): 597–614.
    1. Altheide DL, Johnson JM. (2013) Reflections on interpretive adequacy in qualitative research. In: Denzin NK, Lincoln Y. (eds) Collecting and Interpreting Qualitative Materials. 4th ed. London: SAGE, 581–594.

LinkOut - more resources