Visibility and meaningful recognition for First Peoples: A critical discourse studies approach to communication, culture and conflict intersections in seeking social justice

Abstract

Conflict revolves around communication and culture intersections. This interplay has historical antecedents and contemporary applications. Conflicts involving Indigenous Peoples and colonizers appear in literary representations (e.g. Shakespeare’s The Tempest), and contests between communities and cultures in historical, political and social settings. Amnesty International reports Indigenous Peoples’ realities and efforts to lobby for social justice. One effort is in becoming visible and seeking meaningful recognition examined in media coverage of the First Peoples’ holiday in Trinidad and Tobago, and resonates in conflicts reported elsewhere between Indigenous Peoples and others. Using media reports, interviews and other texts, this article employs a critical discourse studies approach to trace narrative elements and themes of communication, culture and conflict interplay, and interpret the contested expression and meaning of these texts to describe, understand, explain and construct a theoretical and applied account of resistance against unequal treatment.