Indigenous Nationhood

Empowering Grassroots Citizens

By Pamela Palmater  Foreword by Niigaanwewidam James Sinclair  

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EPUB $19.99

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Indigenous Nationhood is a selection of blog posts by well-known lawyer, activist and academic Pamela Palmater. Palmater offers critical legal and political commentary and analysis on legislation, Aboriginal rights, Canadian politics, First Nations politics and social issues such as murdered and missing Indigenous women, poverty, economics, identity and culture. Palmater’s writing tackles myths and stereotypes about Indigenous peoples head-on, discusses Indigenous nationhood and nation building, examines treaty rights and provides an accessible, critical analysis of laws and government policies being imposed on Indigenous peoples.

Fiercely anti-racist and anti-colonial, this book is intended to help rebuild the connections between Indigenous citizens and their home communities, local governments and Indigenous Nations for the benefit of future generations.

“Like the tools that our ancestors used for survival, Palmater’s words are sharp like a knife.”

— Chief Lynn Acoose, Sakimay First Nation

“Through Palmater’s relentless pursuit for justice and improved quality of life, she will undoubtedly set a new era for positive change for this country.”

— Chief Deborah Robinson, Acadia First Nation

“Palmater’s blogs provide a glimpse of the deep complexities we face as indigenous peoples living in a colonial Canada. Her words are the articulation of this generation’s frustration with Canadian colonial policy.”

— Derek Nepinak, Grand Chief, Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs

“This work is vital in terms of ‘de-entrenching’ a Canadian problem affecting an entire country — a colonial experiment gone bad. Pam’s insights are important and reliable.”

— Chief Isadore Day (Wiindawtegowinini), Serpent River First Nation

“Pamela Palmater is one of the strong voices of a new generation of Native activists and intellectuals. Her essays on Indigenous Nationhood are intelligent, thoughtful, and well informed. And they take no prisoners.”

— Thomas King, author of An Inconvenient Indian

  • EPUB
  • ISBN: 9781552667965
  • November 2015
  • $19.99
  • For sale worldwide
  • Kindle
  • ISBN: 9781552668665
  • January 2016
  • $19.99
  • For sale worldwide

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Reviews

  • A must-read book for those who wish to increase their knowledge about the issues that impact on First Nations Peoples, both collectively and individually.

    — Shirley Honyust/ Yenatli:yo, Anishinabek News (full review)

  • As a privileged white Canadian woman I know everyday that I have easy access and unearned positive assumptions that work in my favour. What I need to do now is find out what I can actually do to change things.

    I suggest that anyone wanting to know more gives the book a read. It’s not easy to process but so important.

    — Finding The Magic - blog entry (full review)

  • Palmater tackles myths and stereotypes about Indigenous peoples and provides an accessible, critical analysis of the laws and government policies being imposed on Indigenous peoples like no other writer of her time.

    — Rabble.ca, November 2015 (full review)

Contents

  • Foreword by Niigaanwewidam James Sinclair
  • Introduction
  • Indigenous Identity
  • Justice for Indigenous Peoples
  • Confronting Racism
  • Legislation
  • National Politics
  • Conclusion

Authors

  • Pamela Palmater

    Pamela Palmater is a Mi’kmaw lawyer, professor and Chair in Indigenous Governance at Ryerson University. She is the author of Indigenous Nationhood and Beyond Blood.

  • Niigaanwewidam James Sinclair

    Niigaanwewidam James Sinclair is Anishinaabe (St. Peter’s/Little Peguis) and an Assistant Professor at the University of Manitoba. He is a regular commentator on Indigenous issues on CTV, CBC, and APTN, and his written work can be found in the pages of The Exile Edition of Native Canadian Fiction and Drama, newspapers like The Guardian, and online with CBC Books: Canada Writes. Niigaan is the co-editor of the award-winning Manitowapow: Aboriginal Writings from the Land of Water (Highwater Press, 2011) and Centering Anishinaabeg Studies: Understanding the World Through Stories (Michigan State University Press, 2013), and is the Editorial Director of The Debwe Series with Portage and Main Press.

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