Why Indigenous literatures matter / Daniel Heath Justice.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Justice, Daniel Heath, author.

Series:

Indigenous studies series.

Indigenous Studies Series

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

American literature--Indian authors--History and criticism.

American literature.

Indians in literature.

Physical Description:

1 online resource

Edition:

1st ed.

Place of Publication:

Waterloo, Ontario, Canada : Wilfrid Laurier University Press, 2018.

Summary:

Part survey of the field of Indigenous literary studies, part cultural history, and part literary polemic, Why Indigenous Literatures Matter asserts the vital significance of literary expression to the political, creative, and intellectual efforts of Indigenous peoples today. In considering the connections between literature and lived experience, this book contemplates four key questions at the heart of Indigenous kinship traditions: How do we learn to be human? How do we become good relatives? How do we become good ancestors? How do we learn to live together? Blending personal narrative and broader historical and cultural analysis with close readings of key creative and critical texts, Justice argues that Indigenous writers engage with these questions in part to challenge settler-colonial policies and practices that have targeted Indigenous connections to land, history, family, and self. More importantly, Indigenous writers imaginatively engage the many ways that communities and individuals have sought to nurture these relationships and project them into the future. This provocative volume challenges readers to critically consider and rethink their assumptions about Indigenous literature, history, and politics while never forgetting the emotional connections of our shared humanity and the power of story to effect personal and social change. Written with a generalist reader firmly in mind, but addressing issues of interest to specialists in the field, this book welcomes new audiences to Indigenous literary studies while offering more seasoned readers a renewed appreciation for these transformative literary traditions.

Contents:

Front Matter

Contents

Acknowledgements

Notes for the Long Rebellion

Stories That Wound, Stories That Heal

How Do We Learn to Be Human?

How Do We Behave as Good Relatives?

How Do We Become Good Ancestors?

How Do We Learn to Live Together?

Reading the Ruptures

Keeping a Fire

A Year of #HonouringIndigenousWriters @justicedanielh

Citational Relations

Copyright Acknowledgements

Index

Books in the Indigenous Studies Series

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (EBC, viewed March 27, 2018).

ISBN:

9781771121781

1771121785

9781771121774

1771121777

OCLC:

1028612577