What is it about?
The article examines INM as the most significant Indigenous social movement of the 21st century in North America and the US in particular. Comparing it to other Indigenous social movements of this and the last century, it locates the movement in the context of growing global awareness and activism for Indigenous sovereignty and self-determination, especially relative to Indigenous peoples role in the United Nations under the UN Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
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Why is it important?
Indigenous social movements have always been in danger of being misunderstood by the masses due to inaccurate media messaging which downplays or misconstrues Indigenous demands for self-determination. Seeing the movement in terms of geopolitics, this article distinguishes INM from other Indigenous social movements by it's ability to invoke UNDRIP for its support of Indigenous self-determination.
Perspectives
The article proceeds from a fourth world theoretical perspective which emphasizes the nationhood and international character of Indigenous peoples. This framework is under-utilized in Indigenous studies. It provides a language to talk about Indigenous peoples as geopolitical actors, discursively lifting them out of the homogenizing forces of domestic law in settler states and adding another dimension to international relations discourse. The biggest challenge for Indigenous peoples is being accorded an equal seat at the table in the international arena. Because it sees human political organization in far more expansive terms, FWT allows us to denaturalize and decenter the "postcolonial" state as the primary political actor.
Dina Gilio-Whitaker
Center for World Indigenous Studies
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Idle No More and Fourth World Social Movements in the New Millennium, South Atlantic Quarterly, October 2015, Duke University Press,
DOI: 10.1215/00382876-3157391.
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