“WALGAJUNMANHA”: STORYTELLING AND INDIGENOUS CULTURAL RESURGENCE

Abstract

Historically, Indigenous cultures have been rendered “transparent” (Byung-Chul Han 2014; Di Blasio 2020) through oppressive legal mechanisms such as the “terra nullius” doctrine in Australia and the 1876 Indian Act in Canada, whose effects persist up to the present time. These frameworks have denied Indigenous existence itself, contributing to systemic marginalization. However, Indigenous narratives have become vital to the decolonization process, both locally and transculturally, fostering the preservation and regeneration of Indigenous languages and knowledge systems. This study examines the role of storytelling, understood in a broad Indigenous sense, in cultural resistance and resurgence by analyzing the works of contemporary Indigenous poet Charmaine Papertalk Green in dialogue with other textualities. Through literature, it identifies recurring themes and discursive strategies employed by Indigenous artists to contest colonial narratives and assert collective identity and memory. Drawing on an interdisciplinary framework that integrates literary studies, postcolonial theory, and Indigenous studies, this paper contributes to understanding Indigenous literature as a political and cultural practice of resurgence. In a global context where Indigenous peoples continue to struggle for recognition and historical justice, the analysis of Indigenous literary production offers crucial insights into ongoing decolonization processes.