Tag Archives: Decolonization

Political Depression in a Time of Reconciliation

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By Billy-Ray Belcourt It’s tough: knowing that you might not get the world you want and the world that wants you back, that your bones might never stop feeling achy and fragile from the wear and tear of mere existence, from the hard labour of getting through the day. Ours are bodies that have been depleted by time, that have been… Read more »

A Smudgier Dispossession is Still Dispossession

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By Leanne Betasamosake Simpson  The waning months of 2015 signaled a seemingly dramatic albeit likely superficial shift in Indigenous-state relations in Canada. When the fall began, the Prime Minister was steadfast in his refusal to call an inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls, which surprised few, as it was beautifully consistent with the contempt, paternalism and outright hatred… Read more »

Politics and Personal Experiences: An Editor’s Introduction to Indigenous Research in Canada

By Crystal Fraser A few summers ago, I was sitting along the Nagwichoonjik (Mackenzie River) at my family’s fish camp. I had hauled nearly fifty pounds of books with me – to, arguably, one of the most remote places in Canada – to continue reading for my PhD comprehensive exams. The presence of these academic monographs at an ancient Gwich’in… Read more »

Vicarious Trauma: Collecting the Herd

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By Jesse Thistle Author’s Preface “Vicarious Trauma: Collecting the Herd” is written in a first-person narrative style in line with Indigenous ways of knowing and disseminating knowledge, as seen in the works of Campbell (1974), Koebel (2007), and Devine (2010), among other Métis scholars, writers, and activists. This piece opens with oral testimony from a Cree-Métis Elder Rose (pseudonym) recording during… Read more »

The Spirit of 1763: The Royal Proclamation in National and Global Perspective

By Ken Coates It is an auspicious moment for Canadians to revisit one of the founding documents in Canada’s legal and political history.  After a century of near neglect from politicians, bureaucrats and lawyers, the last forty-to-fifty years have seen this document brought to new life and vigor.  The renewal of interest in the Proclamation, however, was not solely a… Read more »

New Active History Paper: David Webster, Narratives of Colonization, Decolonization and Recolonization in Papua

We are happy to publish a paper by David Webster of the University of Regina. This is the third paper written for ActiveHistory.ca. Check back next week for a translation of our first paper: Yves Montenay, Pourquoi le Vietnam s’en tire et Cuba s’enfonce. If you would like to contribute a paper to this website please consult our Paper Guidelines… Read more »