Indigenous Perspectives on Civilisation and Tolerance

Abstract

This paper presents the results of a narrative driven qualitative investigation into first nations people’s conceptions of civilisation and tolerance. Thematic analysis reveals useful insights into the specific notions of civilisation and tolerance. Critiques on civilisation run parallel to actor network theory critiques, mirroring the call for peace with both humanity and environment through a system reflecting LaTour’s Parliament of Things. Critiques of tolerance reveal strong post-colonial narratives, which when considered in line with the earlier post-structuralist threads of analysis, challenge the taxonomy and classification necessary in the generation of tolerance. The paper concludes with a reconsideration of civilisation and tolerance as a construct, suggesting that a useful path may properly lie in the conjunctive ‘and’, rather than the civilisation and tolerance in and of themselves.