On Reconciliation and Resurgence
Author: Taiaiake
Kahnawà:ke Mohawk writer.
A Critical Reflection on “From Bad to Worse: Internal Politics in the 1990 Crisis at Kahnawake”
I was honoured to contribute to a special edition of Recherches amérindiennes au Québec by writing a critical reflection, three decades post-facto, on my first ever academic publication, which was an article about the political situation in Kahnawà:ke in the immediate aftermath of the 1990 Crisis. The new critical reflection as well as the original 1991 piece from Northeast Indian Quarterly/RAQ are provided below in both their French and English versions.
Expert Report on the Sovereignty of the Mohawks of Kahnawà:ke
This paper is a type corrected version of the report I submitted as an expert witness on the question of the sovereignty of the Mohawks of Kahnawà:ke in the case of R. v DEREK WHITE AND HUNTER MONTOUR argued in 2021 before the Superior Court in Montrèal.
Report: Indigenous Collaboration in Impact Assessment
This report was produced in support of the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada’s Indigenous Advisory Committee in the development of advice for the Agency on collaboration agreements with Indigenous Peoples in Impact Assessment. Under the direction of the Indigenous Advisory Committee’s collaboration sub-committee, I conducted research on past agreements and arrangements with the intent of providing information and perspective to the Committee to inform their discussions at the big-picture level and provide a basis for the Committee’s advising the Agency on challenges and opportunities in this area. The report is the result of research and analysis conducted with the goal of providing an objective analysis of past and present examples of collaboration agreements and advice on designing agreements drawing on the experiences and perspectives of participants in various collaborations.
No Accountability Without Community
In this conversation with host Ian MacKenzie I share stories of growing up Mohawk, fatherhood, the demands of leadership and the question of toxic masculinity, naming the necessity for the soil of rooted community to live true accountability – as there is no good man without the health of the land.
Political Activism in Perspective
In this interview with host Chris Swietch, I share my experiences of living and confronting colonialism and striving for decolonization of myself and this land.
Warrior Life
Listen here to the extended interview with host Pam Palmater in June, 2020 about the development of the idea of Indigenous resurgence, and striving to live as an Indigenous resurgent.
Reconciliation as Recolonization
Video (CUTV): Reconciliation as Recolonization – Concordia Univ., September 2016
Audio Highlights (CKUT Radio): Reconciliation as Reconciliation – September 2016
Land Claims, Reconciliation and Resurgence
KEYNOTE ADDRESS
National Native title Conference – Darwin, Australia
Thursday, 2 June 2016
The presentation details the shortcomings of land claims processes and the limitations of “reconciliation” in Canada as a framework for advocating for justice and decolonizing the relationship between Indigenous peoples and the state. It outlines an alternative vision and set of strategic objectives of struggle that have emerged in response, framed as Indigenous Resurgence, which focus on restoring Indigenous presences on the land and water, reinvigorating language and traditional cultural practices, and strengthening Indigenous nationhood through the decolonization of family and inter-personal relationships.
Land Claims, Reconciliation, and the Resurgence of Indigenous Nationhood
Taiaiake 