Unsettling Canada: A National Wake-up Call book tour
- Tiffany Head | June 09, 2015
An Indigenous man reveals his personal journey through residential school, while also providing insights into Indigenous politics, in his recently released book.
Unsettling Canada: A National Wake-up Call was first launched in Toronto on May 12, 2015. Arthur Manuel, an influential activist for Indigenous rights, has travelled across Canada to endorse his book. There had been book signing events and discussions held in Edmonton, Regina, Saskatoon, Winnipeg and Vancouver.
Manuel co-wrote the book with Grand Chief Ron Derrickson, a very successful Indigenous business man in Canada. The foreword is written by celebrated writer and social activist Naomi Klein.
She writes in her foreword:
“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.”
In the book, Manuel says he writes about his life in residential school and the circumstances that led to that. He writes about his father, George Manuel, who in the 1970s was chief of the National Indian Brotherhood (known today as the Assembly of First Nations).
“It’s just my recollection and I’ve lived that life. My dad was a big influence and in the end my dad and I became very close in the struggle. The book explains that, it’s an emotional thing,” said Manuel.
Manuel also shares his insights on how Indigenous political organizing works on the ground and how it scales up to different levels of political action. He strongly advises that the negotiation process with the government is a waste of time and money.
“When you start taking action, the government wants to talk to you and they’ll find you. That’s the way you get into negotiations you take action on the ground, you wait until they phone you, you don’t phone them. And you know what you want to do and that’s the way you move forward,” advises Manuel.
A Toronto publishing company, Between the Lines, have published and supported, Unsettling Canada: A National Wake-up Call. The company publishes books that support social change and justice.
Matthew Adams, one of the publishers, has expressed that the book is gaining a lot of interest.
“I think this kind of book has a long life shelf, it’s not something that’s going to flash in the pan. Obviously there are some substantive issues that are not going to go away tomorrow,” said Adams.
The book tour has been very successful in gaining a following and attracting media attention.
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