Indigenous Studies

Set in a Native community in Maine, Night of the Living Rez is a riveting debut collection about what it means to be Penobscot in the twenty-first century and what it means to live, to survive, and to persevere after tragedy.

In twelve striking, luminescent stories, author Morgan Talty—with searing humor, abiding compassion, and deep insight—breathes life into tales of family and a community as they struggle with a painful past and an uncertain future. A boy unearths a jar that holds an old curse, which sets into motion his family’s unraveling; a man, while trying to swindle some pot from a dealer, discovers a friend passed out in the woods, his hair frozen into the snow; a grandmother suffering from Alzheimer’s projects the past onto her grandson; and two friends, inspired by Antiques Roadshow, attempt to rob the tribal museum for valuable root clubs.

A collection that examines the consequences and merits of inheritance, Night of the Living Rez is an unforgettable portrayal of an Indigenous community and marks the arrival of a standout talent in contemporary fiction.

Reviews
"Morgan Talty's Night of the Living Rez is a beautifully crafted, raw and intimate book about youth, friendship, and family on the reservation. These stories are profoundly moving and essential, rendered with precision and intimacy. Talty is a powerful new voice in Native American fiction." —Brandon Hobson, National Book Award finalist and author of The Removed

"Twelve incredible stories. . . . Haunting, insightful, and just plain excellent." — Book Riot

"Night of the Living Rez is true storytelling. It's a book so funny, so real, so spirited and vivid it brought me back to my own rez life and the people who made me." —Terese Marie Mailhot, author of Heart Berries

Additional Information
250 pages | 5.50" x 8.50" | Paperback 

Through traditional stories, Grandmothers' understandings guide and nurture parents and children as they grow together. 

Sali'j is a Mi'kmaw woman. She is strong, she is happy. Happy to be part of a loving family, happy to be Mi'kmaq. She begins to notice changes to her body, subtle at first, then more noticeable. She realizes that she is pregnant. She and her husband rejoice to think of welcoming a child into their lives. She goes to her Mother, to her Grandmother, to her Godmother. She tells them she is pregnant. They hug her in joy.

They gather their knowledge and their wisdom from teachings passed down from woman to woman, over the generations; they share this knowledge, little by little, story by story. This is the Mi'kmaw way.

Educator Information
Dual-language: English and Mi'kmaq.

This book is created by Prune Harris from the words and wisdom of four Grandmothers from the Mi’kmaw Nation of Eskasoni. They are Diana Denny, Murdena Marshall, Susie Marshall and Veronica (Flo) Young.

Additional Information
64 pages | Paperback

Debunks the pervasive and self-congratulatory myth that our country is proudly founded by and for immigrants, and urges readers to embrace a more complex and honest history of the United States

Whether in political debates or discussions about immigration around the kitchen table, many Americans, regardless of party affiliation, will say proudly that we are a nation of immigrants. In this bold new book, historian Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz asserts this ideology is harmful and dishonest because it serves to mask and diminish the US’s history of settler colonialism, genocide, white supremacy, slavery, and structural inequality, all of which we still grapple with today.

She explains that the idea that we are living in a land of opportunity—founded and built by immigrants—was a convenient response by the ruling class and its brain trust to the 1960s demands for decolonialization, justice, reparations, and social equality. Moreover, Dunbar-Ortiz charges that this feel good—but inaccurate—story promotes a benign narrative of progress, obscuring that the country was founded in violence as a settler state, and imperialist since its inception.

While some of us are immigrants or descendants of immigrants, others are descendants of white settlers who arrived as colonizers to displace those who were here since time immemorial, and still others are descendants of those who were kidnapped and forced here against their will. This paradigm shifting new book from the highly acclaimed author of An Indigenous Peoples’ History of the United States charges that we need to stop believing and perpetuating this simplistic and a historical idea and embrace the real (and often horrific) history of the United States.

Additional Information
392 pages | 5.56" x 8.58" | Paperback 

A transformative journey, guided by Elders’ teachings, that prompts reflection on the values that foster good relations.

In the words of Cayuga Elder Gae Ho Hwako Norma Jacobs: “We have forgotten about that sacred meeting space between the Settler ship and the Indigenous canoe, Odagahodhes, where we originally agreed on the Two Row, and where today we need to return to talk about the impacts of its violation.”

Odagahodhes highlights the Indigenous values that brought us to the sacred meeting place in the original treaties of Turtle Island, particularly the Two Row Wampum, and the sharing process that was meant to foster good relations from the beginning of the colonial era. The book follows a series of Indigenous sharing circles, relaying teachings by Gae Ho Hwako and the responses of participants - scholars, authors, and community activists - who bring their diverse experiences and knowledge into reflective relation with the teachings. Through this practice, the book itself resembles a teaching circle and illustrates the important ways tradition and culture are passed down by Elders and Knowledge Keepers. The aim of this process is to bring clarity to the challenges of truth and reconciliation. Each circle ends by inviting the reader into this sacred space of Odagahodhes to reflect on personal experiences, stories, knowledge, gifts, and responsibilities.

By renewing our place in the network of spiritual obligations of these lands, Odagahodhes invites transformations in how we live to enrich our communities, nations, planet, and future generations.

Reviews
“This book is a testament to the power of respectful, collaborative thinking and the merging of Indigenous intellectual tradition with a Western academic approach. It is engaging, deeply thoughtful, sincere, and uplifting, exactly the kind of work that is needed now to assist in the rebuilding of relationships amongst, and between, Indigenous communities and non-Indigenous Canadians.” - Rick Monture, Six Nations of the Grand River / McMaster University

Additional Information
336 pages | 6.00" x 9.00" | Hardcover

A first-hand account of a Swampy Cree boy’s experiences growing up in the Saskatchewan River Delta, one of the world’s largest inland deltas and one of North America’s most important ecosystems.

Depicting an Indigenous lifestyle that existed in Northern Saskatchewan way past the Fur Trade era, Ken Carriere shares his first-hand account of experiences as a young boy helping his father trapping, fishing, and hunting in the Saskatchewan River Delta.

Opimōtēwina wīna kapagamawāt Wītigōwa / Journeys of The One to Strike the Wetigo contains interviews with elders, stories, personal photographs, and poetry, along with some original Swampy Cree translations.

Creating a vivid portrait of what it was like to live off the land, Carriere also reveals how hydro-electric dams and other Western endeavours have impacted the livelihoods of so many Northern communities.

Reviews
"Wow! This is an excellent resource for those engaged in, or interested in, land-based education. It gives a wonderful, engaging account of living on the land in the past and, to some extent, in the present day. It's also a good resource for N-dialect speakers." —Solomon Ratt, author of The Way I Remember and Beginning Cree

Additional Information
328 pages | 5.00" x 8.00" | Paperback

Most Canadians know only a tiny part of the Ipperwash story – the 1995 police shooting of Dudley George. In Our Long Struggle for Home, George’s sister, cousins, and others from the Stoney Point Reserve tell of broken promises and thwarted hopes in the decades-long battle to reclaim their ancestral homeland, Aazhoodena, both before and after the police action culminating in George’s death.

Offering insights into Nishnaabeg lifeways and historical treaties, this compelling account conveys how government decisions have affected lives, livelihoods, and identity. We hear of the devastation wrought by forcible eviction when the government re-purposed Nishnaabeg ancestral territory as an army training camp in 1942, promising to return it after the war. By May 1993, the elders had waited long enough. They entered the still-functioning training camp, under cover of a picnic outing, and constituted themselves as the interim government of the reclaimed Stoney Point Reserve. The next two years brought cultural and social revival, though it was ultimately quashed as an illegal occupation.

Our Long Struggle for Home also shows what can be accomplished through perseverance and undiminished belief in a better future. This is a necessary lesson on colonialism, the power of resistance, persistence, and the possibilities inherent in recognizing treaty rights.

This is an important read for anyone who seeks a better understanding of the continuing influence of Canada’s colonial history and the injustices that Indigenous people have faced, and is a story that will inspire the Indigenous youth of today. It belongs in schools, public libraries, and reserves.

Reviews
"Our Long Struggle for Home is a beautiful articulation of Nishnaabeg world building and the deep relationality that is our practice to make and remake home. The Azhoodenaang Enjibaajig have gifted us the stories of their struggle to live as Nishnaabeg in their homeland and teach us how to live together in a way that brings forth more life." — Leanne Betasamosake Simpson, author of Noopiming: The Cure for White Ladies

"This is an incredible story about resistance and truth. Our Long Struggle for Home is critically important to the discussion about healing and reconciliation because it brings some clarity to what is taking place in Canada. It is brilliant in its simplicity." — Jerry Fontaine, former chief of the Sagkeeng First Nation

"This excellent book captures the honesty, dignity, and resilience of the Nishinaabe people involved in reclaiming their homeland at Stoney Point. It’s the first time the Ipperwash story has been told from their perspective; it’s a substantial contribution." — Justice Sidney B. Linden, commissioner for the Ipperwash Inquiry

"Our Long Struggle for Home is an excellent book of public education. It illustrates the havoc wreaked on Indigenous communities and complex outcomes of systemic poverty, frustration, and injustice. Through beautiful, and at times devastating, stories, it also offers powerful examples of healing, nourishment, and restoration." — Nicole Latulippe, assistant professor, Geography and Environmental Studies, University of Toronto Scarborough

Educator Information
Table of Contents
Foreword / John Borrows

Maps

Genealogy

Introduction

1 No Word for Surrender

2 “The House Was Gone”

3 Disruption and Determination

4 Under Cover of Prayer Meetings

5 Burying the Hatchet under a Peace Tree

6 Peacekeepers and Nation Builders

7 Taking the Barracks

8 September 5–6, 1995, Project Maple

9 September 5–6, 1995, from Our Point of View

10 After the Shooting

Epilogue: Two Boats Travelling Side by Side

Afterword: Learning to Be Treaty Kin / Heather Menzies

Notes; Index

Additional Information
208 pages | 6.00" x 9.00" | 2 maps, 1 genealogy chart | Paperback 

A wildfire of a debut memoir by internationally recognized French/Cree/Iroquois journalist Brandi Morin set to transform the narrative around Indigenous Peoples.

Brandi Morin is known for her clear-eyed and empathetic reporting on Indigenous oppression in North America. She is also a survivor of the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls crisis and uses her experience to tell the stories of those who did not survive the rampant violence. From her time as a foster kid and runaway who fell victim to predatory men and an oppressive system to her career as an internationally acclaimed journalist, Our Voice of Fire chronicles Morin’s journey to overcome enormous adversity and find her purpose, and her power, through journalism. This compelling, honest book is full of self-compassion and the purifying fire of a pursuit for justice.

Reviews
"Our Voice Of Fire is a searingly honest, thought-provoking, and ultimately empowering exploration of pain and the quest for justice. By sharing her stories with the world, Brandi Morin makes a beautiful proclamation that there can be a hopeful path through trauma without diminishing the significance of the trauma itself, both personal and intergenerational. These are stories that need to be told and stories that need to be read." — Dan Levy

"Brandi Morin is one of the most important Indigenous journalists and warriors of our time. Her raw, honest, and beautifully written story of her experiences, trauma, reliance, and perseverance is a must-read for all." — Crystal Echo Hawk, founder and executive director, IllumiNative

Additional Information
224 pages | 5.00" x 7.50" | Paperback

A riveting new biography of America’s greatest all-around athlete by the bestselling author of the classic biography When Pride Still Mattered.

Jim Thorpe rose to world fame as a mythic talent who excelled at every sport. He won gold medals in the decathlon and pentathlon at the 1912 Stockholm Olympics, was an All-American football player at the Carlisle Indian School, the star of the first class of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and played major league baseball for John McGraw’s New York Giants. Even in a golden age of sports celebrities, he was one of a kind.

But despite his colossal skills, Thorpe’s life was a struggle against the odds. As a member of the Sac and Fox Nation, he encountered duplicitous authorities who turned away from him when their reputations were at risk. At Carlisle, he dealt with the racist assimilationist philosophy “Kill the Indian, Save the Man.” His gold medals were unfairly rescinded because he had played minor league baseball. His later life was troubled by alcohol, broken marriages, and financial distress. He roamed from state to state and took bit parts in Hollywood, but even the film of his own life failed to improve his fortunes. But for all his travails, Thorpe did not succumb. The man survived, complications and all, and so did the myth.

Path Lit by Lightning is a great American story from a master biographer.

Reviews
“Path Lit By Lightning is a flat-out masterpiece. The story of Jim Thorpe, one of America’s greatest and most misunderstood heroes, is told in riveting detail by David Maraniss, one of our greatest biographers. The result is a portrait as powerful, dazzling, and nuanced as Thorpe himself.” — Jonathan Eig, author Luckiest Man, Opening Day and Ali: A Life

Additional Information
672 pages | 6.12" x 9.25" | Hardcover 

Bold, passionate, and more urgent than ever, Debra Magpie Earling’s powerful classic novel is reborn in this new edition.

On the Flathead Indian Reservation, summer is ending, and Louise White Elk is determined to forge her own path. Raised by her Grandmother Magpie after the death of her mother, Louise and her younger sister have grown up into the harsh social and physical landscape of western Montana in the 1940s, where Native people endure boarding schools and life far from home. As she approaches adulthood, Louise hopes to create an independent life for herself and an improved future for her family—but three persistent men have other plans.

Since childhood, Louise has been pursued by Baptiste Yellow Knife, feared not only for his rough-and-tumble ways, but also for the preternatural gifts of his bloodline. Baptiste’s rival is his cousin, Charlie Kicking Woman: a man caught between worlds, torn between his duty as a tribal officer and his fascination with Louise. And then there is Harvey Stoner. The white real estate mogul can offer Louise her wildest dreams of freedom, but at what cost?

As tensions mount, Louise finds herself trying to outrun the bitter clutches of winter and the will of powerful men, facing choices that will alter her life—and end another’s—forever.

Reviews
“Perma Red has no equal. You will be mesmerized by the poetically intimate prose, the realistically graphic details of life on a Montana Indian reservation, and the humor, love and pain you’ll experience through these richly drawn, honest characters. As another of Montana’s greatest writers, James Welch, put it: Perma Red ‘borders on mythic . . . a wonder-filled gift to all.’”—Mark Gibbons, NPR

Additional Information
368 pages | 5.50" x 8.50" | Paperback 

For readers of Tommy Orange's There There and Terese Marie Mailhot's Heart Berries, Probably Ruby is an audacious, brave and beautiful book about an adopted woman's search for her Indigenous identity.

Relinquished as an infant, Ruby is placed in a foster home and finally adopted by Alice and Mel, a less-than-desirable couple who can't afford to complain too loudly about Ruby's Indigenous roots. But when her new parents' marriage falls apart, Ruby finds herself vulnerable and in compromising situations that lead her to search, in the unlikeliest of places, for her Indigenous identity.

Unabashedly self-destructing on alcohol, drugs and bad relationships, Ruby grapples with the meaning of the legacy left to her. In a series of expanding narratives, Ruby and the people connected to her tell their stories and help flesh out Ruby's history. Seeking understanding of how we come to know who we are, Probably Ruby explores how we find and invent ourselves in ways as peculiar and varied as the experiences of Indigenous adoptees themselves. Ruby's voice, her devastating honesty and tremendous laugh, will not soon be forgotten.

Probably Ruby is a perfectly crafted novel, with effortless, nearly imperceptible shifts in time and perspective, exquisitely chosen detail, natural dialogue and emotional control that results in breathtaking levels of tension and points of revelation.

Reviews
"Lisa Bird-Wilson holds all her characters with such compassion, even when they go spectacularly off-course, they remain sympathetic in this wildly electric novel. Each fragment builds a provocative mosaic, refusing easy redemption, embracing Ruby's complex, volatile emotional landscape with masterstrokes of observation and insight." —Eden Robinson, author of the Trickster Trilogy

"Brilliant. . . . Lisa is an extraordinary stylist, and this novel explores Indigenous women's lives in a way that is empowering and that doesn't follow the usual tropes of trauma and victimization. I think of her as a Michif Alice Munro." —Warren Cariou

"Soft as it is hard, Probably Ruby reminds us how displacement comes to be commonplace in the lives of some. Never before have I seen a writer represent the constellation of people impacted by this kind of fractured kinship with such righteous critique that is at once restrained and nuanced. Each member of Ruby's web of people is shaped with care, empathy, and grace—even the most unforgivable ones. Simply put, Probably Ruby is one of the very best things I’ve ever read about adoption, race, and want." —Jenny Heijun Wills, author of Older Sister. Not Necessarily Related.

Additional Information
272 pages | 5.18" x 8.00" | Paperback

Qummut Qukiria! celebrates art and culture within and beyond traditional Inuit and Sámi homelands in the Circumpolar Arctic — from the continuance of longstanding practices such as storytelling and skin sewing to the development of innovative new art forms such as throatboxing (a hybrid of traditional Inuit throat singing and beatboxing). In this illuminating book, curators, scholars, artists, and activists from Inuit Nunangat, Kalaallit Nunaat, Sápmi, Canada, and Scandinavia address topics as diverse as Sámi rematriation and the revival of the ládjogahpir (a Sámi woman’s headgear), the experience of bringing Inuit stone carving to a workshop for inner-city youth, and the decolonizing potential of Traditional Knowledge and its role in contemporary design and beyond.

Qummut Qukiria! showcases the thriving art and culture of the Indigenous Circumpolar peoples in the present and demonstrates its importance for the revitalization of language, social wellbeing, and cultural identity.

Educator Information
Qummut Qukiria! means "up like a bullet" in Inuktitut and is used to convey excitement and enthusiasm. It also signifies the connection to the land and nature's offerings in the Circumpolar North. 

Features over 200 images as well as essays from artists, educators, and scholars on contemporary Inuit and Sámi life and art, including filmmaking, sculpture, storytelling, and design.

Additional Information
368 pages | 9.25" x 6.75" | Hardcover

A significant moment in Canadian history is portrayed in this documentary musical about race relations between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people. Weaving hundreds of real interviews conducted with Saskatchewan residents and the court transcripts surrounding the killing of Colten Boushie and trial of Gerald Stanley, a kaleidoscopic picture is formed of the views of the incident, the province, and Indigenous people in Canada.

Reasonable Doubt—with interviews by Joel Bernbaum, music by Lancelot Knight, and dramaturgy by Yvette Nolan—provides a space to honestly talk to each other about what has happened on this land and how we can live together.

Reviews
“Verbatim theatre usually does a good job of putting the audience in the shoes of the people speaking, but Reasonable Doubt puts you in your own shoes and makes you deal with the mud splattered across them.” — Matt Olson, Saskatoon StarPhoenix

Additional Information
128 pages | 5.37" x 8.38" | Paperback

The horrors of the Indian residential schools are by now well-known historical facts, and they have certainly found purchase in the Canadian consciousness in recent years. The history of violence and the struggles of survivors for redress resulted in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which chronicled the harms inflicted by the residential schools and explored ways to address the resulting social fallouts. One of those fallouts is the crisis of Indigenous over-incarceration. While the residential school system may not be the only harmful process of colonization that fuels Indigenous over-incarceration, it is arguably the most critical factor. It is likely that the residential school system forms an important part of the background of almost every Indigenous person who ends up incarcerated, even those who did not attend the schools. The legacy of harm caused by the schools is a vivid and crucial link between Canadian colonialism and Indigenous over-incarceration. Reconciliation and Indigenous Justice provides an account of the ongoing ties between the enduring trauma caused by the residential schools and Indigenous over-incarceration.

Reviews
“David Milward provides a clear-sighted and accessible engagement with the challenge of Indigenous over-incarceration and the continuing legacy of Indian Residential Schools, using compelling examples to present a pathway for doing justice better in Canada.” — Andrew Woolford, author of The Politics of Restorative Justice and Professor, Department of Sociology and Criminology University of Manitoba

“Essential reading for anyone who wants to understand how the Canadian criminal justice system fails Indigenous people and how Indigenous Justice can, under the right conditions, be fairer, less expensive and more effective.” — Kent Roach, Professor of Law, University of Toronto

Educator Information
Chapter 1: The Legacy of the Residential Schools

Chapter 2: Different Views of Crime
1. Theoretical Constructions of
2. Constructions of Crime and Justice Policy

Chapter 3: The Seeds of Intergenerational Trauma
1. Stories and Studies of Trauma
2. Victimized by the Residential Schools
3. Abuse All Around: School and Home
4. Subsequent Substance Abuse
5. Mental Health
6. Racism in and outside of Residential Schools
7. Loss of Culture
8. Deficient Parenting

Chapter 4: Intergenerational Trauma and Crime
1. Intergenerational Domestic Violence
2. Intergenerational Sexual Abuse
3. Poverty
4. Child Welfare
5. Substance Abuse in Later Generations
6. FASD
7. Multiple Traumas
8. At a Community Level

Chapter 5: Reconciliation So Far
1. What is Meant by Reconciliation
2. The Calls to Action and Indigenous Justice
3. Reconciliation Moving Forward

Chapter 6: The Status Quo is Not Reconciliation
1. The Settlement Agreement
2. The Aboriginal Healing Foundation
3. The Problem with Deterrence
4. Punishment as Retribution
5. Indigenous-Specific Sentencing
6. Need for More Comprehensive Resolution

Chapter 7: Preventative Programming
1. Justice Reinvestment and Long-Term Savings
2. Preventative Programming as Social Reparations
3. Indigenous-Specific Preventative Programming

Chapter 8: Arguments for Indigenous Criminal Justice
1. Comparing Indigenous Justice to Restorative Justice
2. Why We Need Alternatives to Incarceration
3. Greater Victim Inclusion
4. Encouraging the Offender to be Responsible
5. Repairing Relationships
6. More Effective Than Incarceration

Chapter 9: Arguments against Restorative Justice
1. Power Imbalances
2. Getting Off Easy
3. Doubts about Greater Efficacy
4. Divergence of Interests between the Participants
5. Not Taking Harm Seriously
6. Economic Concerns

Chapter 10: Ways Forward for Indigenous Justice
1. Procedural Protections
2. Making Indigenous Justice More Effective
3. Indigenous Justice and Offender Responsibility
4. Will No Progress Be Made?

Chapter 11: Indigenous Corrections and Parole
1. The Theory of Indigenous Healing in Prison
2. Canadian Correctional Law
3. Does It Work?
4. Lack of Resource Commitment
5. Security Classification and Parole
6. Risk Assessment and Parole
7. Indigenous Gangs and Parole

Chapter 12: Reconciliation in the Future

Additional Information
240 pages | 6.00" x 9.00" | Paperback

An Indigenous artist blends the aesthetics of punk rock with the traditional spiritual practices of the women in her lineage in this bold, contemporary journey to reclaim her heritage and unleash her power and voice while searching for a permanent home.

Sasha taqʷšəblu LaPointe has always longed for a sense of home. When she was a child, her family moved around frequently, often staying in barely habitable church attics and trailers, dangerous places for young Sasha.

With little more to guide her than a passion for the thriving punk scene of the Pacific Northwest and a desire to live up to the responsibility of being the namesake of her beloved great-grandmother—a linguist who helped preserve her Indigenous language of Lushootseed—Sasha throws herself headlong into the world, determined to build a better future for herself and her people.

Set against a backdrop of the breathtaking beauty of Coast Salish ancestral land and imbued with the universal spirit of punk, Red Paint is ultimately a story of the ways we learn to find our true selves while fighting for our right to claim a place of our own.

Examining what it means to be vulnerable in love and in art, Sasha offers up an unblinking reckoning with personal traumas amplified by the collective historical traumas of colonialism and genocide that continue to haunt native peoples. Red Paint is an intersectional autobiography of lineage, resilience, and, above all, the ability to heal.

Awards

• Winner of the 2023 Pacific Northwest Book Award 

Reviews
"Red Paint is a miraculous book. Sasha LaPointe walks us through the sites of her evisceration while rebuilding a home within her body using sturdy materials: rose quartz, cedar bark, red clay, and the words of her ancestors. With each potent sentence, she shows us what access to power looks like. She shows us how to become whole.” —Elissa Washuta, author of White Magic

"As luminous as the morning sun over the fir forests, Red Paint is a story of where strength takes us. Sasha taqwšəblu LaPointe goes looking to the past to help heal from terrible traumas, finding inspiration in her ancestors, the Salish people. This is a book destined to be a classic. Read it." —Rene Denfeld, bestselling author of The Child Finder

Additional Information
240 pages | 5.31" x 8.29" | Hardcover

A revolutionary collaboration about the world we're living in now, between two of our most important contemporary thinkers, writers and activists.

When the world entered pandemic lockdown in spring 2020, Robyn Maynard, influential author of Policing Black Lives, and Leanne Betasamosake Simpson, renowned artist, musician, and author of Noopiming: The Cure for White Ladies, began writing each other letters—a gesture sparked by a desire for kinship and connection in a world shattering under the intersecting crises of pandemic, police killings, and climate catastrophe. These letters soon grew into a powerful exchange about where we go from here.
 
Rehearsals for Living is a captivating and visionary work—part debate, part dialogue, part lively and detailed familial correspondence between two razor-sharp writers. By articulating to each other Black and Indigenous perspectives on our unprecedented here and now, and reiterating the long-disavowed histories of slavery and colonization that have brought us to this moment, Maynard and Simpson create something new: an urgent demand for a different way forward, and a poetic call to dream up other ways of ordering earthly life.

Reviews
“This book must be read for its future vocabularies, its political intimacies, its careful assemblage of the materials of our activisms, and its generous and fulsome thinking.”—Dionne Brand, poet, novelist, and essayist

“Using the age-old practice of letter writing and the land itself as a palimpsest, Robyn Maynard and Leanne Betasamosake Simpson find common ground to challenge the moral legitimacy of the settler nation state, and reinscribe new ways of what it means to be beings who are human in the forensic landscapes of Canada. In Rehearsals for Living, two women, one Indigenous, the other Black and African-descended confront their shared yet different experiences of colonialism, provide new and subversive meanings to the colonial trope of being landed, the mechanism by which the land was (un)settled. Unflinchingly, and in long-overdue and profoundly-needed “reasonings” that reverberate with shared breath, Simpson and Maynard weave their ideas, thoughts and reflections and their deep caring for community and society through the network of issues that impact us today—the pandemic and the differentials in treatment for Black and Indigenous people, the role of BLM, abolition, the necessity of Nibi and homespace for the Nishnaabeg, the joys of living on the land, and parenting in the face of ecological and racial disasters are but a few of the challenges they grapple with. Rehearsals for Living is fundamental to understanding the interlocking, founding crimes of the Americas; necessary for remembering the many erased histories of the on-going struggle for justice, and altogether indispensable to those wanting to create possible solutions.”—M. NourbeSe Philip, author of Zong!

Additional Information
336 pages | 5.46" x 8.32" | Hardcover