Pam Palmater is from the Mi'kmaw Nation, a member of the Eel River Bar First Nation. She is also a lawyer with a way of cutting right to the heart of the matter, and does some media commentary so you may have seen her speaking truth to power. I discovered her through her academic work, and now follow her on twitter. I would call her a major voice in the decolonization movement.
This morning she posted a link to her podcast, here: https://soundcloud.com/pampalmater/native-women-warriors-are-the-heart-of-the-resistance
Today's episode is about the role women play in indigenous culture, and while I've given this Pam's title of "women warriors," some caution is due for settlers. "Warrior" is a complicated concept with a deeper, more spiritual meaning in indigenous culture than in the European tradition (see Taiaiake Alfred's work for more on this). As you can imagine, it's not just a case of schlepping on your combats and heading out to battle. Palmater provides a waaay more holistic context, from women's role as live-givers and nurturers to decision makers to resistors. Women like Freda Husan, Molly Wickham, Kanahus Manuel (Art's daughter) are at the forefront of the #decolonization movement in BC, defending their lands, while Jody Wilson-Raybould is taking the fight to Ottawa. Lots of role models.
Thanks Anne for sharing this "diary entry". I have been a fan of Pam's since INM. She played a big role in that movement and while not one of the founders was a key spokesperson. I remember watching her speak on videos where she explained the new FNS laws that Harper was trying to implement. In fact, she wrote in her book "Indigenous Nationhood", which a good friend from the Blackfoot nation lent to me over the summer, that there are about 100,000 non indigenous allies in Canada. I follow her on twitter and have tried to engage her to no avail. Recently, I listened to her sound cloud podcast in which she interviewed Russ Diablo and left a thank…