Indigenous Nationhood

de Pamela Palmater, Niigaanwewidam James Sinclair

"This book is a collection of the best blogs from Indigenous Nationhood produced by well-known lawyer, activist and academic Pamela Palmater. Her blogs offer critical legal and political commentary and analysis on legislation, Aboriginal rights, Canadian politics, and First Nation politics and social issues like murdered and missing Indigenous women, poverty, economics, and identity and culture. The intent of the blogs and the book is to help rebuild the connections between Indigenous citizens and their home communities, local governments, and Indigenous Nations for the benefit of future generations. Underlying those connections is knowledge and capacity within the Indigenous population to support their self-advocacy efforts and to forge relationships with academics, students, lawyers, politicians, like-minded organizations, volunteers and others to undertake activities supporting the efforts of grass roots Indigenous peoples. For too long and too often, the struggles faced by individual citizens have been forgotten or subsumed under other issues faced by their home communities. Under the current Conservative government, urgent Indigenous issues have been sacrificed for political posturing. Right-wing "academics," news media and others have dominated the public debate such that the information being absorbed by the public at large is skewed against Indigenous peoples. These blogs tackle myths and stereotypes about Indigenous people head-on and provide accessible, critical analysis of government laws and policies being imposed in Indigenous peoples. This book is part of an attempt to develop good old fashioned leadership to work with grass roots people to make the change we owe our children."--