Same Difference: Biocentric Imperialism and the Assault on Indigenous Culture and Hunting‪.‬

Abstract Advocates of biocentrism maintain that social consciousness in Canada now favours redressing historical and current wrongs against Aboriginal peoples. However, restoration of Aboriginal pre-existing rights such as hunting are regarded by biocentrists as obstacles to nature preservation and species continuity. From cultural studies and anti-racist perspectives I contend that the vision of environmental protection proposed by biocentrists is dangerously anthropocentric and Eurocentric. Theirs is a dominative anthropocentrism, which claims to represent nature while disguising the cultural location and prerogatives of White biocentrists. Ostensibly articulating natures voice through the White body as a "universal" vector, this perspective posits a dialectic in which nature must be protected from Aboriginal people and their rights. Placing priority on environmental justice over social justice, as if the two are separate, imperialism and whiteness permit biocentrists to promote cultural genocide as a rational option in environmental protection. Imperialism and whiteness allow biocentrists to reconstruct the White self by appropriating the mythical "Indian" while constructing present day Aboriginals and Euro-Canadians as equal threats to the environment. Through historical appropriation and the discursive economy of sameness and difference, biocentrists legitimate their claims while invalidating the rights of Aboriginal peoples.