Indigenous Perceptions of Time: Decolonizing Theory, World History, and the Fates of Human Societies

Abstract

In this article, I discuss how indigenous understandings of time can contribute to broader studies of human societies, civilizations, and world history. Colonial paradigms have extended into the realm of world history and assumptions of human behavior have been unfairly applied to all human societies and labeled humans as aggressors against nature and each other. This is unjust especially to the populations that remain victims of colonialism and imperialism. I have developed or, put more appropriately, revealed an indigenous historical paradigm that can be applied to the study of human societies, but my primary goal is to provide a model that links indigenous histories in comparative studies of humans and human societies. To provide an adequate discussion of this model, I use examples from two indigenous societies (Maya and Hopi) to develop my thesis, and two other indigenous societies (Haudenosaunee and Cheyenne) for evaluation under this thesis. I conclude with a final discussion of Christian societies and their place in an indigenous view of world history.

“I Have Strong Hopes for the Future”: Time Orientations and Resilience Among Canadian Indigenous Youth

“…Despite the evidence that young people who maintain hopeful and optimistic views of their futures are less likely to engage in problem health-related behaviors (Morselli, 2013; Nurmi, 2005; Seginer, 2008), questions remain about the relevance and consistency of these findings across cultural and social settings. As Killsback (2013) explained, many Indigenous groups internationally tend to hold present and past time orientations, living primarily for the “here and now”—a historically and culturally relevant survival tradition in many “hunter–gatherer” societies. In addition, many Indigenous cultural groups do not perceive time as linear (Dumont, 1976; Janca & Bullen, 2003; Wenger-Nabigon, 2010).…”

“…Although it is clear that FTO has powerful associations with various health outcomes, time orientations are nonetheless socially, historically, and culturally mediated (Killsback, 2013). As such, the current research remained grounded within the local social and cultural contexts of the urban Indigenous youth in this study.…”

Youth Participatory Action Research in School: A Posthumanist Account of Participation and Mattering

“…I recognize that time is entangled with differently in different communities (e.g., Indigenous North American communities, African communities, The Slow Movement, etc.) (See Barad, 2017;Killsback, 2013;Ulmer, 2017;Wildcat, 2005). The linearity of time has even been challenged in the Western tradition via temporal diffraction (see Barad, 2017).…”

Time for “resilience”

“…Despite the evidence that suggests that young people with FTO are more likely to flourish, questions remain regarding the relevance and consistency of these findings across cultures and contexts (Killsback, 2013). Some cultures, for example, do not regard time as linear, perceiving time events that are important to communities or people as "closer in time" even though they, when viewed chronically, have occurred a longer time ago ( Janca and Bullen, 2003).…”