University of British Columbia Press
Life against States of Emergency
Revitalizing Treaty Relations from Attawapiskat
9780774867887
9780774867870
Distributed for University of British Columbia Press
Life against States of Emergency
Revitalizing Treaty Relations from Attawapiskat
Responding to the activism of former Attawapiskat chief Theresa Spence, this book explores what it means to be in a treaty relationship today.
For six weeks in 2012 and 2013, Attawapiskat chief Theresa Spence undertook a high-profile ceremonial fast to advocate for improved Canadian-Indigenous relations. Framed by the media as a hunger strike, her fast was both a call to action and a gesture of corporeal sovereignty.
Life against States of Emergency responds to the central question she asked the Canadian public to consider: What does it mean to be in a treaty relationship today? Arguing that treaties are critical and vital matters of environmental justice, Sarah Marie Wiebe offers a nuanced discussion of the political environment that caused treaty relations in Attawapiskat to break down amid a history of repeated state-of-emergency declarations.
This incisive work draws on community-engaged research, lived experiences, critical discourse analysis, ecofeminist and Indigenous studies scholarship, art, activism, and storytelling to advance a transformative, future-oriented approach to treaty relationships. By centering community voices, Life against States of Emergency cultivates a more deliberative, democratic dialogue.
For six weeks in 2012 and 2013, Attawapiskat chief Theresa Spence undertook a high-profile ceremonial fast to advocate for improved Canadian-Indigenous relations. Framed by the media as a hunger strike, her fast was both a call to action and a gesture of corporeal sovereignty.
Life against States of Emergency responds to the central question she asked the Canadian public to consider: What does it mean to be in a treaty relationship today? Arguing that treaties are critical and vital matters of environmental justice, Sarah Marie Wiebe offers a nuanced discussion of the political environment that caused treaty relations in Attawapiskat to break down amid a history of repeated state-of-emergency declarations.
This incisive work draws on community-engaged research, lived experiences, critical discourse analysis, ecofeminist and Indigenous studies scholarship, art, activism, and storytelling to advance a transformative, future-oriented approach to treaty relationships. By centering community voices, Life against States of Emergency cultivates a more deliberative, democratic dialogue.
312 pages | 19 halftones, 1 map | 6 x 9 | © 2023
Native American and Indigenous Studies
Sociology: Race, Ethnic, and Minority Relations, Social Change, Social Movements, Political Sociology
Reviews
Table of Contents
Foreword: Nanabush and the Emergence of Butterflies / Lindsay Keegitah Borrows
Preface
Introduction: “You Are Treaty, Too”
1 Artistic Movements for Alternative Decolonial Futures
2 Creative Engagement through Mixed Media Storytelling
3 Chief Spence’s Story
4 Community Voices: Reimagining Attawapiskat
5 Discursive Responses to Attawapiskat, Chief Spence, and the Hunger Strike
6 Treaties Are Alive
7 Fleshing Out New Directions for Environmental Justice
Afterword: Emergency Feelings – Reflections on the Body Politics of Sudden and Slow Emergencies
Appendices; Notes; Bibliography; Index
Preface
Introduction: “You Are Treaty, Too”
1 Artistic Movements for Alternative Decolonial Futures
2 Creative Engagement through Mixed Media Storytelling
3 Chief Spence’s Story
4 Community Voices: Reimagining Attawapiskat
5 Discursive Responses to Attawapiskat, Chief Spence, and the Hunger Strike
6 Treaties Are Alive
7 Fleshing Out New Directions for Environmental Justice
Afterword: Emergency Feelings – Reflections on the Body Politics of Sudden and Slow Emergencies
Appendices; Notes; Bibliography; Index