Was�se: Indigenous Pathways of Action and Freedom / Edition 1

by Taiaiake Alfred

Overview

The word Wasáse is the Kanienkeha (Mohawk) word for the ancient war dance ceremony of unity, strength, and commitment to action. The author notes, "This book traces the journey of those Indigenous people who have found a way to transcend the colonial identities which are the legacy of our history and live as Onkwehonwe, original people. It is dialogue and reflection on the process of transcending colonialism in a personal and collective sense: making meaningful change in our lives and transforming society by recreating our personalities, regenerating our cultures, and surging against forces that keep us bound to our colonial past."

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781551116372
Publisher:	University of Toronto Press
Publication date:	08/01/2005
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	320
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.67(d)

About the Author

Taiaiake Alfred is a Kahnawà:ke Mohawk philosopher and political strategist with more than three decades of experience in First Nations governance, political activism, and cultural restoration. After twenty-five years as a university professor, he now works directly with Indigenous nations to help breathe life into their visions of self-determination. He has been awarded a Canada Research Chair, a National Aboriginal Achievement/Indspire Award, and the Native American Journalists Association award for best column writing. He is the author of three highly acclaimed books: Heeding the Voices of Our Ancestors: Kahnawake Mohawk Politics and the Rise of Native Nationalism; Peace, Power, Righteousness: An Indigenous Manifesto; and Wasáse: Indigenous Pathways of Action and Freedom.

Table of Contents

Foreword

Acknowledgements

First Words

Rebellion of the Truth

Paths of Least Resistance

The Ethics of Courage

Regardless of the Consequences

Sacred Protectors

Colonial Stains on our Existence

Imperial Arrogances

The Other Side of Fear

Spaces We Occupy

My Grandmother, She Raised Me Up Again

Indigenous Resurgence

Liberatory Fantasies

The Great Law of Change

Old Roots Into the Earth

Vigilant Consciousness

Glossary

Bibliography

Index

What People are Saying About This

Linda Smith

With each of his books, Taiaiake Alfred challenges us to confront the future with new ways of thinking about where we as indigenous communities have been, where we are now and what thinking tools and warrior tools we need to move forward as indigenous nations. This is a book that needs to be read by indigenous leaders, activists, politicians, scholars, community workers, artists, teachers—in fact anyone who sees their future as an indigenous person in an indigenous world.

Richard Day

Taiaiake Alfred's way is the warrior's way, which is to say that he speaks truly dangerous words about Canadian colonialism, the need for substantive restitution rather than mere recognition of 'Aboriginal rights,' for autonomy rather than dependent forms of 'self-government,' and for peaceful coexistence between and among indigenous and non-indigenous peoples. In this book he rejects Aboriginalism as a legalistic, integrating ideology that destroys individuals and communities, and argues instead for an anarcho-indigenist perspective that is non-capitalist, non-statist, pro-feminist, and based on a sustainable relation to nature.

Anthony J. Hall

This eminent scholar of North American indigenism boldly proposes new strategies for the new warriors of cultural and spiritual resurgence. Taiaiake Alfred does not shy away from the really hard issues of war and peace in a genuinely innovative text embedded in many tens of thousands of years of human history on Turtle Island and in more than five centuries of concerted resistance to the ongoing violence of the Columbian conquests.

Editorial Reviews

Taiaiake Alfred's way is the warrior's way, which is to say that he speaks truly dangerous words about Canadian colonialism, the need for substantive restitution rather than mere recognition of 'Aboriginal rights,' for autonomy rather than dependent forms of 'self-government,' and for peaceful coexistence between and among indigenous and non-indigenous peoples. In this book he rejects Aboriginalism as a legalistic, integrating ideology that destroys individuals and communities, and argues instead for an anarcho-indigenist perspective that is non-capitalist, non-statist, pro-feminist, and based on a sustainable relation to nature.

—Richard Day, Queen's University

This eminent scholar of North American indigenism boldly proposes new strategies for the new warriors of cultural and spiritual resurgence. Taiaiake Alfred does not shy away from the really hard issues of war and peace in a genuinely innovative text embedded in many tens of thousands of years of human history on Turtle Island and in more than five centuries of concerted resistance to the ongoing violence of the Columbian conquests.

—Anthony J. Hall, Founding Coordinator of Globalization Studies at the University of Lethbridge and author of The American Empire and the Fourth World

With each of his books, Taiaiake Alfred challenges us to confront the future with new ways of thinking about where we as indigenous communities have been, where we are now and what thinking tools and warrior tools we need to move forward as indigenous nations. This is a book that needs to be read by indigenous leaders, activists, politicians, scholars, community workers, artists, teachers—in fact anyone who sees their future as an indigenous person in an indigenous world.

—Linda Smith, University of Auckland, New Zealand

From the Publisher