Ideologias e políticas linguísticas – uma análise da obra Amik loves school: a story of wisdom

Abstract

We use the literary work Amik loves school: a story of wisdom (VERMETTE, 2015a) in this article as a motivator to reflect upon language ideologies (WOOLARD, 1998; KROSKRITY, 2004; BAKHTIN, 2009), colonization (HELLER; MCELHINNY, 2017), erasure (IRVINE; GAL, 2000) and, thus, problematize some Canadian linguistic policies, such as the Indian Act (1876). According to the document in question, the indigenous education had to follow the standards adopted by white European linguistic and cultural identities, which strengthened imperialistic ideologies that delegitimized the languages and cultures of Canadian first nations in contexts such as the residential schools. However, Katherena Vermette reveals that her literary work is designed with the aim of promoting ruptures with the assimilation processes in question, which intend to engage her readers not only with indigenous characters and their stories, but, above all, with reflections able to both deconstruct imperialistic ideologies and value the linguistic and cultural identities of these indigenous peoples. Vermette’s text reminds us of the trajectory faced by Brazilian indigenous peoples when subdued by colonization and their current subaltern condition. This way, historical and sociocultural similarities shared by both Canadian and Brazilian ethnic groups lead us to believe that the reading and the discussion of Vermette’s work in English teaching-learning contexts in Brazil can promote dialogues between different languages and cultures and their value by students.