Unsettling Canada

A National Wake-Up Call

by Arthur Manuel & Grand Chief Ronald M. Derrickson, foreword by Naomi Klein, read by Darrell Dennis

tagged: native american studies, political advocacy, environmental policy, indigenous studies, native american, discrimination & race relations, canadian, post-confederation (1867-)

Description

Unsettling Canada, a Canadian bestseller, is built on a unique collaboration between two First Nations leaders, Arthur Manuel and Grand Chief Ron Derrickson.

Both men have served as chiefs of their bands in the B.C. interior and both have gone on to establish important national and international reputations. But the differences between them are in many ways even more interesting. Arthur Manuel is one of the most forceful advocates for Aboriginal title and rights in Canada and comes from the activist wing of the movement. Grand Chief Ron Derrickson is one of the most successful Indigenous businessmen in the country.

Together the Secwepemc activist intellectual and the Syilx (Okanagan) businessman bring a fresh perspective and new ideas to Canada’s most glaring piece of unfinished business: the place of Indigenous peoples within the country’s political and economic space. The story is told through Arthur’s voice but he traces both of their individual struggles against the colonialist and often racist structures that have been erected to keep Indigenous peoples in their place in Canada.

In the final chapters and in the Grand Chief’s afterword, they not only set out a plan for a new sustainable indigenous economy, but lay out a roadmap for getting there.

About the Authors

Arthur Manuel

ARTHUR MANUEL was a widely respected Indigenous leader and activist from the Secwepemc Nation. He entered the world of Indigenous politics in the 1970s, as president of the Native Youth Association. He went on to serve as chief of the Neskonlith Indian Band near Chase, BC, and elected chair of the Shuswap Nation Tribal Council. He was also active in the Assembly of First Nations and a spokesman for Defenders of the Land, an organization dedicated to environmental justice. Manuel is the co-author of Unsettling Canada: A National Wake Up Call, with Grand Chief Ron Derrickson. This book won the 2015 Canadian History Association Literary Award He was known internationally, having advocated for Indigenous rights and struggles at the United Nations, The Hague, and the World Trade Organization.

Naomi Klein

Grand Chief Ronald M. Derrickson

Darrell Dennis, a Secwépemc native, is the writer/performer of the Dora-nominated Tales of an Urban Indian, The Trickster of 3rd Ave East, Home of the Running Brave, and numerous other plays, television, film, and radio, as well as the award-winning non-fiction novel Peace Pipe Dreams: The Truth about Lies about Indians.

Contributor Notes

Arthur Manuel fought for decades for Indigenous land and human rights in Canada and internationally. He participated in the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues from its inception in 2002 and served as spokesperson for the Indigenous Network on Economies and Trade (INET) from 2003 to 2016. Working through INET, Manuel succeeded in having the struggle for Aboriginal title and treaty rights injected into international financial institutions, setting important precedents for Aboriginal title and rights in Canada. Manuel was a spokesperson for the Defenders of the Land.

Grand Chief Ronald M. Derrickson has been elected chief of his Westbank First Nation six times and is one of the most successful First Nations business people in Canada. He was made a Grand Chief by the Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs in recognition of a lifetime of political and economic leadership.

Awards

Winner, Canadian Historical Association Aboriginal History Book Prize

Editorial Reviews

Now more than ever Unsettling Canada is a must-read book.

— rabble.ca

This is the back story of both grassroots and backroom struggles that created the context in which we find ourselves today, one in which a new generation of First Nations leaders is demanding sovereignty and self-determination, and more and more non-Indigenous Canadians finally understand that huge swaths of this country we call Canada is not ours—or our government’s—to sell.

— from the Foreword