As We Have Always Done
Indigenous Freedom through Radical Resistance
Ratings4
Average rating4.3
"Across North America, Indigenous acts of resistance have in recent years opposed the removal of federal protections for forests and waterways in Indigenous lands, halted the expansion of tar sands extraction and the pipeline construction at Standing Rock, and demanded justice for murdered and missing Indigenous women. In As We Have Always Done, Leanne Betasamosake Simpson locates Indigenous political resurgence as a practice rooted in uniquely Indigenous theorizing, writing, organizing, and thinking. Indigenous resistance is a radical rejection of contemporary colonialism focused around refusing the dispossession of Indigenous bodies and land. Simpson makes clear that the resistance's goal can no longer be cultural resurgence as a mechanism for inclusion in a multicultural mosaic. Instead, she calls for unapologetic, place-based Indigenous alternatives to the destructive logics of the settler colonial state, including heteropatriarchy, white supremacy, and capitalist exploitation."--Dust jacket.
Tags
Series
Featured Series
3 released booksIndigenous Americas
Indigenous Americas is a 3-book series with 3 released primary works first released in 2003 with contributions by Thomas King, Paul Chaat Smith, and Leanne Betasamosake Simpson.
Reviews
Popular Reviews
Reviews with the most likes.
This is one of the most resonating works I've ever read, forging resistance against the entwined forces of colonialism, capitalism, white supremacy, heteropatriarchy, with a radical resurgence centred on living relationships with the land; engaging with stories; constellating with communities that do not replicate anti-Blackness, transphobia, anti-queerness; embracing the foundational Nishnaabeg ethics of consent, noninterference, respect for self-determination, and diversity.
“Heteropatriarchy isn't just about exclusion of certain Indigenous bodies, it is about the destruction of the intimate relationships that make up our nations, and the fundamental systems of ethics based on values of individual sovereignty and self-determination. The more destruction our intimate relationships carry, the more destruction our political systems carry, and the less we are able to defend and protect our lands, and the easier it is to dispossess.”“...the opposite of dispossession is not possession, it is deep, reciprocal, consensual attachment. Indigenous bodies don't relate to the land by possessing or owning it or having control over it. We relate to land through connection—generative, affirmative, complex, overlapping, and nonlinear relationship.”
A book club friend finished this earlier than I did, and said she felt like she needs a re-read to fully absorb this; now having finished, I feel similarly. Now having read 2 nonfiction books and a novel by Betasamosake Simpson, I don't know that I will ever love her nonfiction as much as her fiction (If you're reading this, go read Noopiming: The Cure for White Ladies right now!), which is glorious, but this is almost on par with Hospicing Modernity for me in terms of reads where you have feel your worldview experiencing growing pains (and delight!) as you go along. I'm excited to see what that pain and delight looks like in action as I continue to let Betasamosake's vision for radical resurgence sit with me, and what solidarity with that resurgence looks/feels like.
Top Prompts
Featured Prompt
43 books#7 in What are your favorite books by Indigenous Authors?
Books written by authors who identify as First Nations, Alaskan Native, Native American, Indígena, First Peoples, Aboriginal, and other Indigenous peoples of North and South America.
Featured Prompt
174 books#174 in What books did you learn most from?
Whether it's a course textbook or a fictional romance, we remember books that impact us deeply. Which books do you remember being forever changed by due to learning something new – either about you...
Featured Prompt
4,125 books#4,124 in What are your favorite books of all time?
When you think back on every book you've ever read, what are some of your favorites? These can be from any time of your life – books that resonated with you as a kid, ones that shaped your personal...
