Indigenous in the City by Evelyn Peters, Paperback | Indigo Chapters

Research on Indigenous issues rarely focuses on life in major metropolitan centres. Instead, there is a tendency to frame rural and remote locations as emblematic of authentic or “real" Indigeneity and, as such, central to the survival of Indigenous cultures and societies. While such a perspective may support Indigenous struggles for territory and recognition as distinct peoples, it fails to account for large swaths of contemporary Indigenous realities, not the least of which is the increased presence of Indigenous people and communities in cities. The chapters in this volume explore the implications of urbanization on the production of distinctive Indigenous identities in Canada, the United States, New Zealand, and Australia. The volume editors, both lead researchers in their fields, have called upon key figures to explore the experiences of urban Indigenous modernity, utilizing an interdisciplinary mix of methods, including ethnography, statistical analysis, archival research, and discourse analysis. Throughout the twentieth century, urban locales have been too often regarded as places were Indigenous culture goes to die. This book argues otherwise in its demonstration of the resilience, creativity, and complexity of the urban Indigenous presence, both in Canada and internationally. | Indigenous in the City by Evelyn Peters, Paperback | Indigo Chapters