Warrior Life

Indigenous Resistance and Resurgence

Pamela Palmater

• Publisher: Fernwood Publishing
• Year: 2020
• Topic: Social Sciences
• eBook ISBN:
  9781773634333
• Subtopic: Global Politics
• Index: Social Sciences

In a moment where unlawful pipelines are built on Indigenous territories, the RCMP make illegal arrests of land defenders on unceded lands, and anti-Indigenous racism permeates on social media; the government lie that is reconciliation is exposed. Renowned lawyer, author, speaker and activist, Pamela Palmater returns to wade through media headlines and government propaganda and get to heart of key issues lost in the noise.

Warrior Life: Indigenous Resistance and Resurgence is the second collection of writings by Palmater. In keeping with her previous works, numerous op-eds, media commentaries, YouTube channel videos and podcasts, Palmater's work is fiercely anti-colonial, anti-racist, and more crucial than ever before.

Palmater addresses a range of Indigenous issues — empty political promises, ongoing racism, sexualized genocide, government lawlessness, and the lie that is reconciliation — and makes the complex political and legal implications accessible to the public.

From one of the most important, inspiring and fearless voices in Indigenous rights, decolonization, Canadian politics, social justice, earth justice and beyond, Warrior Life is an unflinching critique of the colonial project that is Canada and a rallying cry for Indigenous peoples and allies alike to forge a path toward a decolonial future through resistance and resurgence.

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• Dedication
• Acknowledgements
• Foreword by Niigaanwewidam James Sinclair
• Introduction - New Governors, Same Colonialism
• Section I - Politics and Promises
• 1. Harper’s Gone So Now It’s Time to Look Within
• 2. The Worst Thing That Could Happen is a First Nations Minister of Indian Affairs
• 3. Will We See Real Nation-to-Nation Respect With Trudeau?
• 4. Evidence of Good Faith Lacking in Trudeau’s Indigenous Agenda
• 5. Why is Trudeau’s Government Opposing Charter Equality for Indigenous Women?
• 6. Trudeau’s Nation-to-Nation Relationship Disappeared with Empty Budget Promises
• 7. Trudeau’s Dance of Deception on Indigenous Rights
• 8. Trudeau’s Forked-Tongue Reconciliation at UN
• 9. Indigenous Issues Disappear Slowly From Election 2019
• Section II - Racism Kills
• 10. Canada Called to Account by UN for Ongoing Racial Discrimination Against Indigenous Women and Children
• 11. Lethal Impact of Racism on Indigenous Health
• 12. Overincarceration of Indigenous Peoples Nothing Short of Genocide
• 13. First Nations Water Problems: A Crisis of Canada’s Own Making
• 14. Saskatchewan: The Land of the Living Skies and Lethal Racism
• 15. Justice for Our Stolen Children Camp
• 16. How Canada Turned a Blind Eye to the Suicide Crises in First Nations
• 17. Don’t Forget the Racist Canadians Behind the Racist Systems
• 18. The Ongoing Legacies of Canadian Genocide
• Section III - Sexualized Genocide
• 19. Sexualized Genocide
• 20. Corporate Conquistadors Rape Indigenous Lands and Bodies
• 21. Bill S-3 Amendments to the Indian Act and the Never-Ending Battle for Equality for Indigenous Women
• 22. What You Need to Know About Sharon McIvor’s UN Victory on Indian Status
• 23. The People Left Behind by Trudeau’s Promised Nation-to-Nation Relationship
• 24. Federal Budget 2019: Indigenous Women and Children Left Behind Again
• 25. Public Inquiry Needed to Address Sexualized Violence in Policing and Corrections
• 26. Why Canada Should Stand Trial for Tina Fontaine’s Murder
• 27. Justice System Still Not Protecting Indigenous Women and Girls
• 28. Missing and Murdered: Canada’s Genocide Cover-Up
• 29. Transitional Justice Plan Needed to End Genocide in Canada
• Section IV - Canada is an Outlaw
• 30. Indigenous Child Welfare Act: More Pan-Indigenous Legislation Risks Continuing the Status Quo
• 31. Respecting Indigenous Languages: More Hollow Reconciliation
• 32. Canada’s Criminalization of the Indigenous Tobacco Trade
• 33. Cannabis Legalization Ignores First Nations
• 34. NAFTA 2.0: Time to Get it Right or Kill It
• 35. Anti-Terrorism Act: Testimony at the Senate Committee on Public Safety and National Security
• 36. RCMP Invasion of Wet’suwet’en Nation Territory Breaches Canada’s Rule of Law
• 37. Killer Whales, Trans Mountain Pipelein and the Public Interest
• 38. It’s Up to Indigenous and Environmental Groups to Protect the Public Interest
• 39. Clearing the Lands Has Always Been at the Heart of Canada’s Indian Policy
• 40. The Blockages No One Talks About Devastate Indigenous Communities
• Section V: Reconciliation is a Lie, Resistance is Hope
• 41. The Liberals’ Plans for Indigenous Reconciliation are Just Beads and Trinkets
• 42. Abolishing the Indian Act Means Eliminating First Nations’ Rights
• 43. The Source of Our Power Has Always Been in Our Peoples, Not in Voting in Federal Elections
• 44. Indigenous Rights are Not Conditional on Public Opinion
• 45. Reconciliation With Indigenous Peoples in Universities and Colleges
• 46. True Test of Reconciliation: Respect the Indigenous Right to Say No
• 47. The Indigenous Right to Say No
• 48. A Modern Treaty to Save Our Peoples and the Planet
• 49. Social Conflict is Inevitable in the Decolonization Battle
• 50. Indigenous Women Warriors are the Heart of Indigenous Resistance
• 51. Wet’suwet’en: A Wake-Up Call for Canada
• Conclusion - Power of the People