Pamela Palmater - Warrior Life: Indigenous Resistance and Resurgence

This book is dedicated to all the social justice and Earth justice warriors who continue to stand in defence of our sovereignty, our lands and our peoples all over Turtle Island. We would not be here today engaged in acts of Native resurgence and cultural revitalization had our ancestors not been steadfast in their resistance. Our ancestors resisted the colonizers assimilation, oppression, domination and genocide of our peoples, as well as the theft and destruction of our lands and waters, and our relations, the plants, animals, birds, fish and insects. We owe them our very lives.

Today, new generations of Native warriors continue the work of our ancestors to resist racialized and sexualized violence, forced poverty and marginalization and the continued invasion and destruction of our territories. Their strength, determination and commitment to our sovereignty is passed on to a new generation who continue the resistance while also standing in defence of the human rights of all peoples and the protection of our planet for all living things.

Our only hope of saving this planet rests on the strength, determination, resilience and sacrifices of our Native warriors. They deserve all of our support.

Welalin. Miigwetch. Ekosi. Woliwon. Nia:wen. Thank you. Merci.

Acknowledgements

This book would not be possible without the love, support and guidance I receive from my family. My writing literally reflects all of the knowledge they have shared with me which I in turn get to share with my children. I will be forever grateful that they have maintained these important connections to the knowledge systems of our ancestors and shared them with me. My family encourages me to think critically about the issues we face as individual Indigenous people and within the larger social context of our extended families, our communities and nations. They have always counselled me to be aware of the unavoidable impacts of 500 years of colonization on our identities, our cultures and even our ways of thinking about the world. In so many ways, they are the uncited experts, analysts, philosophers and futurists that inform my writing. Thank you I love you all dearly.

I also want to thank everyone who has ever helped and supported me during my life and my career even though there will never be enough space to recognize you all. My colleagues at Ryerson University have been especially supportive of not only my work at Ryerson, but also my advocacy activities and social justice work. Working at Ryerson allows me to combine my identity, education, work and community obligations in a holistic way. They have supported me to make social justice work part of work and Ryersons contribution back to society. For all my partners in crime at Ryerson thank you for being steadfast supporters.

To all the universities, colleges, school districts, unions, policy think tanks, social justice organizations, human rights groups and community-based organizations who have supported my work thank you. You have helped changed the discussion we have in Canada and are part of a growing peoples movement which will bring about the change we need. A special thank you to the Feminist Alliance for International Action, which has provided much needed support and guidance for my advocacy at the international level. This is what real solidarity looks like.

I am especially grateful to Fernwood Publishing and their commitment to social justice and amplifying Indigenous voices. They represent more than a publishing company but are also social justice warriors working to make the world a better place. Thank you to Wayne, Curran, Brenda, Jessica, Oyinda and the whole team at Fernwood Publishing for their hard work in making this second blog book become a reality. Thank you to my good friend and brother, Niigaan Sinclair (Anishinaabe) for contributing the foreword to this book. I appreciate that he is is always there supporting me professionally and being the sounding board I need when the tidal wave of work seems overwhelming. Niigaan represents kindness, empathy, generosity and community, and makes me want to be a better person.

Thank you to all the Indigenous parents, aunties, uncles, cousins, matriarchs, Elders, warriors and leaders of all backgrounds elected, traditional and grassroots. I appreciate all the time you have spent with me over the years sharing your experiences and knowledges. I acknowledge the work you all do in an effort to do right by our Nations; even in the context of ongoing genocide and the impacts of colonization on our families and communities. The majority of the work you do is unseen, uncredited and often criticized. But your strength, determination and persistence inspires me to do the same and never give up the cause.

There are also individuals with incredible insight about the complex issues that we face many of them I acknowledged in my last book, Indigenous Nationhood: Empowering Grassroots Citizens . There is never enough space to mention everyone, so this time around Id like to mention some of the warrior women who inspire me: Mary Two-Axe Early (Kahnawake); Sandra Lovelace-Nicholas (Tobique); Jeannette Corbiere-Lavell (Wikwemikong); Yvonne Bedard (Six Nations); Sharon McIvor (Lower Nicola); Cindy Blackstock (Gitxsan); Ellen Gabriel (Kahnesatake) Kanahus Manuel (Secwepemc); Molly Wickham (Wetsuweten); Freda Huson (Wetsuweten); Cheryl Maloney (Sipeknekatik); and Viola Robinson (Sipeknekatik). I am so thankful for their unwavering commitment to protecting our lands, peoples and cultures and representing strong womens voices. For the many I could not mention, you are all in my heart. Thank you all for your contributions to my growth as a Mikmaw woman, mother, sister, aunty and friend. Welaliog.