- Simon Fraser University, Geography, Alumnusadd
- Legal Geography, • Indigenous law and politics in Canada, Violence, Indigenous or Aboriginal Studies, Intersectionality Theory, Human Geography, and 10 moreGender Studies, Law, Geography, Intersectionality, Indigeneity, Gender, Critical Theory, Community-Based Participatory Research, Community Engagement & Participation, and Sex Work/sex Workers Rightsedit
- My scholarship in Indigenous and legal geographies critically takes up questions of violence, justice, resistance, se... moreMy scholarship in Indigenous and legal geographies critically takes up questions of violence, justice, resistance, self-determination and resurgence. My research and writing emerge from 15 years of work as a community-based researcher & educator in both rural and urban Indigenous communities, with a particular focus on issues facing girls, women and two-spirit people.
I am passionate about the revitalization of Indigenous knowledge, including the development of emergent methodological and pedagogical approaches as well as guidelines for Indigenous research ethics. I am Kwakwaka’wakw from the Kwagu’ł people of Tsax̱is.edit
Geographers have long reflected on our discipline's colonial history. Both Indigenous and non‐Indigenous geographers have discussed ways of engaging Indigenous geographies and sought new ways of opening and expanding spaces for Indigenous... more
Geographers have long reflected on our discipline's colonial history. Both Indigenous and non‐Indigenous geographers have discussed ways of engaging Indigenous geographies and sought new ways of opening and expanding spaces for Indigenous peoples and Indigenous ways of knowing and being in our discipline. Like many social scientists, geographers name and frame this work in different ways; of late, decolonizing concepts and practices are increasingly deployed. As documented by especially Indigenous scholars, however, the discipline has yet to achieve much semblance of decolonization. This paper takes as a starting point that, despite good intentions, efforts at decolonizing geography are inherently limited because colonization continues to structure the field of geography and the academy more broadly. We begin by placing ourselves in conversations about Indigenous geographies and colonial violence, using this placement as a jumping off point for discussing ways geographers past and present approach decolonization. We pay particular attention to ways theories and articulations about decolonization may be falling short. Second, we offer a critical analysis of decolonization in relation to settler colonial power, including theories and praxes of engaging Indigeneity and Indigenous peoples and places. We discuss Indigenous geographies, what they mean, and to whom they have those meanings. We then turn to Indigenous knowl- edges and Indigenous ways of being and living in the world, problematizing how within more purely conceptual realms and often by non‐Indigenous peoples and geographers, these can be uncoupled or disconnected from ways decolo- nization is circulated and lived. We conclude with cautions and suggestions, based especially on provocations of Indige- nous scholars, about ways geographers might unsettle our work in ongoing efforts toward decolonizing our discipline.
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This paper asks how Indigenous ways of being and knowing can become legitimized within western theorizations of ontology, given the ongoing (neo)colonial relations that shape geographic knowledge production. My analysis emerges within my... more
This paper asks how Indigenous ways of being and knowing can become legitimized within western theorizations of ontology, given the ongoing (neo)colonial relations that shape geographic knowledge production. My analysis emerges within my narrative accounts of being a Kwakwaka’wakw scholar in two spaces of knowledge production: a geography conference and a potlatch. Through these stories, I engage with the individual embodied scales at which we reproduce geography as a discipline and reproduce ourselves as geographers. I argue that making ontological shifts in the types of geographic knowledge that is legible within the discipline requires destabilizing how we come to know Indigeneity and what representational strategies are used in engaging with Indigenous ontologies, as differentiated from western ontologies of Indigeneity.
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This article examines the emergence of the discourse of "domestic trafficking" of Indigenous girls and women for the purpose of sexual exploitation. Drawing on community-based experience, the author argues that the shift toward the... more
This article examines the emergence of the discourse of "domestic trafficking" of Indigenous girls and women for the purpose of sexual exploitation. Drawing on community-based experience, the author argues that the shift toward the language and framework of "human trafficking" to capture a range of offences and injustices facing Indigenous women is one of many efforts to recategorize violence against Indigenous women as worthy of legal response in the context of ongoing colonial legal violence.
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Indigeneity is a relatively recent area of geographic scholarship. Conceptualizations of indigeneity are shifting and contested, and emerge within specific socio-political and historic contexts. Yet indigeneity has provided the originary... more
Indigeneity is a relatively recent area of geographic scholarship. Conceptualizations of indigeneity are shifting and contested, and emerge within specific socio-political and historic contexts. Yet indigeneity has provided the originary place-based modes of thinking and knowing across the globe, existing long before the formation of the western discipline of geography. Indigeneity can be understood from the diverse place-based epistemologies of Indigenous peoples themselves, as well as through representations of indigeneity within geography focused on common areas of critique from within the discipline in recent years. Efforts to strengthen the presence of Indigenous peoples and worldviews within academic geographic inquiry have included the formalization of Indigenous specialty groups, Indigenous-focused methodologies, and publications. Future directions of indigeneity within the discipline will occur in relation to broad global movements of Indigenous resurgence
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Broadly taking up themes of violence and colonialism, this paper was first presented as a roundtable at the Decolonizing Cascadias?: 2013 Critical Geographies Mini Conference at the University of British Columbia. Framed as a roundtable... more
Broadly taking up themes of violence and colonialism, this paper was first presented as a roundtable at the Decolonizing Cascadias?: 2013 Critical Geographies Mini Conference at the University of British Columbia. Framed as a roundtable conversation among the three authors, the paper critically examines the material and ideological relations through which certain types of violence are made invisible in the context of ongoing colonialism in white settler society. In dialogue across their various academic, activist and personal experiences, the authors argue for a critical decolonizing geography of violence that examines how spaces and subjects are constructed relationally through social, material and legal processes of racial violence and its gendered and sexualized politics. How do certain forms of violence come to be naturalized within civilizing and modernizing discourse, such that the violence of development or colonialism come to be erased? How do some lives become constructed as inherently violent in order to deny the violence against them? Disrupting and examining the settler colonial thinking and practices that persist within diverse social movements and academic disciplines, including geography, the dialogue explores who has the authority to name what forms of violence are seen as legitimate. As activist-scholars engaged in knowledge production and legitimization, the authors are interested in envisioning new possibilities for how they understand violence and resistance, particularly by centering Indigenous ontologies and by naming lived realities which are not accounted for in dominant discourses of violence and colonialism.
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Research Interests:
Written for the Department of Justice Canada, the purpose of this report is to critically engage with diverse approaches to access to justice for Indigenous adult survivors of sexual assault in the context of ongoing colonization and... more
Written for the Department of Justice Canada, the purpose of this report is to critically engage with diverse approaches to access to justice for Indigenous adult survivors of sexual assault in the context of ongoing colonization and Indigenous-led efforts to end violence. The report seeks to bring grassroots community voices, and others outside the formal justice system, into conversation with existing literature on Indigenous peoples’ experiences of sexual assault to foster connections and inform future directions. Additionally, the report seeks to provide a framework of analysis for understanding access to justice for Indigenous adult survivors of sexual assault using a de-colonial trauma-informed framework, in order to redefine ‘justice’ and ‘sexual assault’ to reflect the diverse realities of all Indigenous people, including those who are marginalized or absent in the formal literature (ie. Two- Spirit1 people). The objective of this report is to create a foundation for the development of approaches to improving access to justice with the ultimate aim of reducing the harms experienced by Indigenous people and communities. In addition to an introduction, the report contains 7 main sections which are discussed briefly in this executive summary: 1) historic and social context of colonization and its relationship to access to justice and sexual violence; 2) case law review and analysis; 3) barriers to justice; 4) an intersectional analysis of the needs of survivors; 5) defining access to justice within and beyond the justice system; 6) promising practices and innovative models, and; 7) gaps and areas for future research.
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Research Interests:
In April 2012, the Institute for intersectionality research and policy hosted a diverse group of Indigenous people on Coast Salish territories for an all day dialogue on themes of intersectionality and indigeneity. This document provides... more
In April 2012, the Institute for intersectionality research and policy hosted a diverse group of Indigenous people on Coast Salish territories for an all day dialogue on themes of intersectionality and indigeneity. This document provides a summary of the discussions and themes from the dialogue.
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In this chapter, I examine the erasure of trans and two-spirit people as an ongoing form of colonial violence which is being perpetuated through current conceptualizations of gender as a social determinant of health for Indigenous... more
In this chapter, I examine the erasure of trans and two-spirit people as an ongoing form of colonial violence which is being perpetuated through current conceptualizations of gender as a social determinant of health for Indigenous communities. Given the lack of statistics on health outcomes for trans and two-spirit people, I focus less on statistical pictures of health for Indigenous women, men and two-spirit people and instead attempt to account for the lived realities of trans and two-spirit people, girls, women, boys and men in diversely situated Indigenous communities. Through the development of an Indigenous gender-based analysis, I hope to demonstrate how gender intersects with other health determinants such as geography, age, and education for all our relations, not only women and men, and to advocate for the use of such an analysis at local, national and international scales where social inequities among Indigenous communities are being addressed.
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This is a talk I presented at a UBC conference aimed at changing the conversation about sexual assault on university campuses. I aim to take up ways that Indigenous approaches to consent, self-determination and healing from... more
This is a talk I presented at a UBC conference aimed at changing the conversation about sexual assault on university campuses. I aim to take up ways that Indigenous approaches to consent, self-determination and healing from intergenerational trauma and ongoing colonial violence can be integrated into anti-violence work on campus. The talk will be also soon be released as an EMMA Talks podcast.
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My comments on Glen Coulthard' s Red Skin, White Masks, presented at NAISA 2015.
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A panel discussion of Glen Coulthard's book "Red Skin, White Masks: Rejecting the Colonial Politics of Recognition", held at SFU Woodwards on October 22, 2014. Featuring Glen Coulthard, Rita Dahmoon, Matt Hearn, Jarrett Martineau and... more
A panel discussion of Glen Coulthard's book "Red Skin, White Masks: Rejecting the Colonial Politics of Recognition", held at SFU Woodwards on October 22, 2014. Featuring Glen Coulthard, Rita Dahmoon, Matt Hearn, Jarrett Martineau and Sarah Hunt, as well as moderator Daniel Heath Justice.
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CBC Opinion piece on a recent report about the death of a 19 year old Indigenous young woman, Paige, which found that professional indifference characterized her treatment within the provincial child welfare system.
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Reflections on the emergence of a discourse of violence against Indigenous women and girls over the past 20 years, and the need to move beyond legal solutions to create real change in the quality of our relationships.
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Op Ed in the Globe and Mail about the response to the murder of 15-year old Tina Fontaine, and the calls for a national inquiry in to missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls.
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Vol 14, No 2 (2015): Themed Sections: (1) Civic Geographies (2) Migration and Activism | Various Articles Table of Contents Themed Section - Civic Geographies Civic Geographies: Pictures and Other Things at an Exhibition PDF Chris... more
Vol 14, No 2 (2015): Themed Sections: (1) Civic Geographies (2) Migration and Activism | Various Articles
Table of Contents
Themed Section - Civic Geographies
Civic Geographies: Pictures and Other Things at an Exhibition PDF
Chris Philo, Kye Askins, Ian Cook 355-366
Civic Geographies of Architectural Enthusiasm PDF
Ruth Craggs, Hilary Geoghegan, Hannah Neate 367-376
“I can do things here that I can’t do in my own life”: The Making of a Civic Archive at the Salford Lads Club PDF
Luke Dickens, Richard L. MacDonald 377-389
Waterwise: Extending Civic Engagements for Co-creating more Sustainable Washing Futures PDF
Anna R. Davies, Ruth Doyle 390-400
Civic MacBough Goes To Town PDF
Issie MacPhail 401-412
Occupy RGS(IBG) 2012 PDF
Carlus Hudson, Ian Cook 413-421
Us and Us: Agonism, Non-Violence and the Relational Spaces of Civic Activism PDF
Kye Askins, Kelvin Mason 422-430
Radical Civic Transitions: Networking and Building Civic Solutions PDF
Larch Maxey, Tom Henfrey, Shaun Chamberline, Chris Bird, Jesus Gonsalez 431-441
Themed Section - Migration and Activism
Guest Editorial: Interventions in Migration and Activism PDF
Deirdre Conlon, Nick Gill 442-451
An ‘Invented People’: Palestinian Refugee Women and Meanings of Home PDF
Maria Holt 452-460
Stories Told By, For, and About Women Refugees: Engendering Resistance PDF
Kate Smith 461-469
Being Together: Everyday Geographies and the Quiet Politics of Belonging PDF
Kye Askins 470-478
Precarious Lives: Refugees and Asylum Seekers’ Resistance within Unfree Labouring PDF
Louise Waite, Hannah Lewis, Peter Dwyer, Stuart Hodkinson 479-491
Subverting neoliberal citizenship. Migrant struggles for the right to stay in contemporary Italy PDF
Federico Oliveri 492-503
Narratives of Resistance: Space, Place, and Identity in Latino Migrant Activism PDF
Mauro J. Caraccioli, Bryan Wright 504-511
Policing Immigrants as Politicizing Immigration: The Paradox of Border Enforcement PDF
Walter J Nicholls 512-521
Transit Migration in Mexico: Violence, Activism, and Structural Change PDF (ESPAÑOL)
Júlio da Silveira Moreira 522-538
Research
Violence, Colonialism and Space: Towards a Decolonizing Dialogue PDF
Cindy Holmes, Sarah Hunt, Amy Piedalue 539-570
Becoming Periphery - Israeli LGBT “Peripheralization” PDF
Gilly Hartal 571-597
Whose Commons are Mobilities Spaces? – The Case of Copenhagen’s Cyclists PDF
Malene Freudendal-Pedersen 598-621
Commentary
Geopolitics, Genocide and the Olympic Games: Sochi 2014 PDF
Andrew Foxall 622-630
Olympic Violence: Memory, Colonialism, and the Politics of Place PDF
Simon Springer 631-638
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
ISSN: 1492-9732
Table of Contents
Themed Section - Civic Geographies
Civic Geographies: Pictures and Other Things at an Exhibition PDF
Chris Philo, Kye Askins, Ian Cook 355-366
Civic Geographies of Architectural Enthusiasm PDF
Ruth Craggs, Hilary Geoghegan, Hannah Neate 367-376
“I can do things here that I can’t do in my own life”: The Making of a Civic Archive at the Salford Lads Club PDF
Luke Dickens, Richard L. MacDonald 377-389
Waterwise: Extending Civic Engagements for Co-creating more Sustainable Washing Futures PDF
Anna R. Davies, Ruth Doyle 390-400
Civic MacBough Goes To Town PDF
Issie MacPhail 401-412
Occupy RGS(IBG) 2012 PDF
Carlus Hudson, Ian Cook 413-421
Us and Us: Agonism, Non-Violence and the Relational Spaces of Civic Activism PDF
Kye Askins, Kelvin Mason 422-430
Radical Civic Transitions: Networking and Building Civic Solutions PDF
Larch Maxey, Tom Henfrey, Shaun Chamberline, Chris Bird, Jesus Gonsalez 431-441
Themed Section - Migration and Activism
Guest Editorial: Interventions in Migration and Activism PDF
Deirdre Conlon, Nick Gill 442-451
An ‘Invented People’: Palestinian Refugee Women and Meanings of Home PDF
Maria Holt 452-460
Stories Told By, For, and About Women Refugees: Engendering Resistance PDF
Kate Smith 461-469
Being Together: Everyday Geographies and the Quiet Politics of Belonging PDF
Kye Askins 470-478
Precarious Lives: Refugees and Asylum Seekers’ Resistance within Unfree Labouring PDF
Louise Waite, Hannah Lewis, Peter Dwyer, Stuart Hodkinson 479-491
Subverting neoliberal citizenship. Migrant struggles for the right to stay in contemporary Italy PDF
Federico Oliveri 492-503
Narratives of Resistance: Space, Place, and Identity in Latino Migrant Activism PDF
Mauro J. Caraccioli, Bryan Wright 504-511
Policing Immigrants as Politicizing Immigration: The Paradox of Border Enforcement PDF
Walter J Nicholls 512-521
Transit Migration in Mexico: Violence, Activism, and Structural Change PDF (ESPAÑOL)
Júlio da Silveira Moreira 522-538
Research
Violence, Colonialism and Space: Towards a Decolonizing Dialogue PDF
Cindy Holmes, Sarah Hunt, Amy Piedalue 539-570
Becoming Periphery - Israeli LGBT “Peripheralization” PDF
Gilly Hartal 571-597
Whose Commons are Mobilities Spaces? – The Case of Copenhagen’s Cyclists PDF
Malene Freudendal-Pedersen 598-621
Commentary
Geopolitics, Genocide and the Olympic Games: Sochi 2014 PDF
Andrew Foxall 622-630
Olympic Violence: Memory, Colonialism, and the Politics of Place PDF
Simon Springer 631-638
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
ISSN: 1492-9732