Steps Towards a Relationship between Quechua/Kishwa People and First Nations, Métis, and Inuit People

Authors

  • Brenda Polar Aliaga University of Waterloo

Keywords:

Quechua, immigrants, First Nations, Métis, Inuit, allyship

Abstract

This article examines how Quechua immigrants can collaborate with First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Nations. It analyses their understanding of these fellow Indigenous groups; developing such a collaborative process first requires grasping the pre-existing beliefs the Quechua immigrants living in these lands now known as Canada have of First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Peoples. The article focuses on an interview with one of the 17 Quechua and Kishwa participants I recruited for my doctoral research. Her interview along with my review of related literature suggest that racialized immigrants, such as Quechua immigrants from South America, often have limited access to information about First Nations, Métis, and Inuit cultures, their struggles, and their resilience, which hinders potential collaboration. At the same time, education is not sufficient to address colonization. A critical analysis of settlers’ complicity in colonization is also necessary.

Author Biography

Brenda Polar Aliaga, University of Waterloo

Brenda Polar Aliaga, PhD Candidate (she/her) is Lecturer, School of Social Work, Renison College, University of Waterloo, ON, Canada (brendapolaraliaga@gmail.com).

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Published

2025-04-19

How to Cite

Polar Aliaga, B. (2025). Steps Towards a Relationship between Quechua/Kishwa People and First Nations, Métis, and Inuit People. Reflections: Narratives of Professional Helping, 31(1), 25–45. Retrieved from https://reflectionsnarrativesofprofessionalhelping.org/index.php/Reflections/article/view/2082