Canadian Indigenous Literature and Art

Winner of the 2021 Society of Professors of Education Outstanding Book AwardCanadian Indigenous Literature and Art sheds light on Indigenous justice perspectives in Indigenous literature and art. Decolonizing education, culture, and society is the revolutionary pulse of this book aimed at educational reform and comprehensive change. Select works of published literature and exhibited art are interpreted in the critical discourse presented. Indigeneity as a lens is used to deconstruct education, accountability, and policy in Canada and globally. A new hypothesis is advanced about colonization and Indigenous voicelessness, helplessness, and genocidal victimhood as unchanging conditions of humanity. Activist pushback is demonstrated in the rise of Indigenous sources originating in global Canada. While colonization dehumanizes Canadian Indigenous peoples, a global movement has erupted, changing pockets of curriculum, teaching, and research. Through agency and solidarity in public life and, gradually, education, Indigenous justice is a mounting paradigmatic force. Indigenous voices speak about colonialism as a crisis of humanity that provokes truth-telling and protest. Glimpses of Indigenous futurity offer new possibilities for decolonizing our globally connected lives. Actionable steps include educating for a just world and integrating Indigenous justice in other advocacy theories.“Compelling, interesting, important, and original. I was impressed with Carol Mullen’s knowledge as well as how she wove together this knowledge with both the literature and personal experience throughout this beautifully and soulfully written text. I appreciate how she illuminated spaces and people whose work is often relegated to dark corners.” – Pamela J. Konkol, Professor of Foundations, Social Policy, and Research at Concordia University Chicago See inside the book.