Sir John Payn Macdonald And Aboriginal People In Canada

It is clear that the author lists her ideas thoroughly at the beginning of the essay so the reader can justify what arguments the author will be discussing. The author starts by stating her points in chronological order. She organized her points into the following sections; the history of photography, portrait comparison between Sir John A. Macdonald and Aboriginal people, and photographs from the Charles Camsell Indian Hospital. She drew upon theories of how photography was and is still a subjective medium. She concluded her article with varying degrees of success in that she allowed Aboriginal figures who are resisting the assertion of imperialism and authority into the foundation of her assertions. She surmises that, “by reframing dominant representations of First Peoples… have found a way… to ‘turn the gaze of the discriminated back upon the eye of power.’” 5 (321)

Her writing style is at times over-stated and intellectualized instead of communicative, but she has managed to draw on examples to vividly illustrate her points. Many of her examples and explanations capture how institutionalized racism is compelling and disturbing in photographs. For instance, she discusses how photographs are being used to promote colonialism and subjugating Aboriginal peoples in Canada. 6 (313) As noted, the primary examples used in her article are images of Aboriginal people around Canada from the Chippewas figures at a gravesite, to the chief of the Eagle clan, and Aboriginal patients in the Charles Camsell Indian Hospital. She focused around the notion of Canadian culture as a social identity. Her arguments of how people create a subtext and how images are a cultural production are explained in a precise manner throughout the paragraphs on page