Resistance

"The front page of the nation's newspapers have never been the same since June, 1987, when the Assembly of First Nations decided upon a confrontational course of direct action. All across the country, Indian bands have taken to blockading roads, setting up picket lines and occupying government-held properties in an attempt to publicize their disputes and get governments to respond.

"This book is an ethnography of the cultural politics of Native/non-Native relations in a small interior BC city – Williams Lake – at the height of land claims conflicts and tensions. Furniss analyses contemporary colonial relations in settler societies, arguing that “ordinary” rural Euro-Canadians exercise power in maintaining the subordination of aboriginal people through “common sense” assumptions and assertions about history, society, and identity, and that these cultural activities are forces in an ongoing, contemporary system of colonial domination.

"Despite significant strides over the past quarter century, Native peoples of North America face an uncertain future due to their unstable political, legal, and economic positions. Views of their predicament, however, continue to be dominated by non-Indian writers. In response, a dozen Native American writers here reclaim their rightful role as influential 'voices' in the debates about Native communities at the dawn of a new millennium.

"On June 11 and 20, 1981, the Quebec Provincial Police (QPP) raided Restigouche Reserve, Quebec. At issue were the salmon-fishing rights of the Mi’kmaq. Because salmon has traditionally been a source of food and income for the Mi’kmaq, the Quebec government’s decision to restrict fishing aroused consternation and anger. Released in 1984, this groundbreaking and impassioned account of the police raids brought Alanis Obomsawin to international attention.

"There is an unconscious racism at work in Canada—an ignorance of Aboriginal peoples and culture that breeds indifference to, and ambivalence about, Aboriginal poverty and ill health. Warry examines conservative arguments and mainstream views that promote assimilation and integration as the solution to Aboriginal marginalization. He argues that we must acknowledge our denial of colonialism in order to reach a deeper understanding of contemporary Aboriginal culture and identity, both on and off the reserve.

"When Hydro-Quebec announced its intention to proceed with the enormous James Bay II hydroelectric project, the 15,000 Cree who live in the region decided to stand up to the giant utility. With unprecedented access to key figures like Cree Leader Matthew Coon Come and American environmental activist Robert Kennedy Jr., "Power" is the compelling, behind-the-scenes story of the Cree's five-year battle to save the Great Whale River and their traditional way of life." -- Provided by publisher

Part 1 - This documentary short captures a lively confrontation between the American community organizer and writer Saul Alinsky, and members of the Company of Young Canadians (CYC). Among other topics, the parties argue and disagree about the means and costs of securing social change.

"In the pre-reserve era, Aboriginal bands in the northern plains were relatively small multicultural communities that actively maintained fluid and inclusive membership through traditional kinship practices. These practices were governed by the Law of the People as described in the traditional stories of Wisashkechak, or Elder Brother, that outlined social interaction, marriage adoption, and kinship roles and responsibilities.

"Fragile Settlements compares the processes through which colonial authority was asserted over Indigenous people in southwest Australia and prairie Canada from the 1830s to the early twentieth century. At the start of this period, there was an explosion of settler migration across the British Empire. As a humanitarian response led to the unprecedented demand for land, Britain's Colonial Office moved to protect Indigenous peoples by making them subjects under British law.

"This book analyses efforts to advance the rights of Indigenous People within peace-building frameworks: Section I critically explores key issues concerning Indigenous Peoples’ Rights (struggles for land, human, cultural, civil, legal and constitutional rights) in connection with key approaches in peace-building (such as nonviolence, non-violent strategic action, peace education, sustainability, gender equality, cultures of peace, and environmental protection).