Honouring Indigenous Women (Vol. 1&2)

Honouring Indigenous Women: Hearts of Nations (Volume 1) is a booklet published by us, the Indigenous Peoples Solidarity Movement Ottawa. It is part of our ongoing efforts to support Indigenous women on Turtle Island (aka North America) and their struggle for liberation.

We, the Indigenous Peoples Solidarity Movement Ottawa, acknowledge our shared history of colonization with all Indigenous peoples and the various forms of violence against them, particularly against Indigenous women. We further acknowledge the tremendous strength of Indigenous women in reclaiming their distinct roles and responsibilities in our societies, and the crucial roles they play in the survival and evolution of our species.

This publication consists of five sections: Struggle, Resistance, Power, Liberation, and Be Solidarity. In each section, we strive to use different forms of creative expressions, mostly from Indigenous women, to draw attention to their lived realities. We acknowledge the diversity of Indigenous cultures and the multitude of gifted Indigenous women who have publicly expressed their experiences through various art forms. The work included here is a mere glimpse and cannot fully represent the voices of all Indigenous women.

Through this publication, we aim to augment the voices of Indigenous women in one of many efforts to break the silence surrounding the systemic violence perpetuated by colonialism. It is an act of solidarity, meant to encourage other acts of solidarity while building bridges between diverse communities and providing education to the dominant culture and recent newcomers about the genocide of Indigenous nations.

Please feel free to click the links below (all the files are in PDF format) to download the entire booklet or select highlights. Distribute far and wide!

• Honouring Indigenous Women: Hearts of Nations Vol. 1 (fold in half)
• Oppression Tree (insert in the Struggle section; see sources here)
• Liberation Tree (insert in the Liberation section)
• Deer Clan (insert in the Power section)

If you wish to receive hard copies of this pamphlet, please e-mail us at indigsol[at]riseup.net.

In Nov. 2012, we also launched the second volume of Honouring Indigenous Women: Hearts of Nations with contributions from sixty-two women and men from various nations. In this volume, Indigenous women shared their lived experiences with regards to their relationships with the land, their birth mothers, families, communities, and themselves, and their allies shared their thoughts on responsibilities to (re)build relationships with Indigenous women.

We are very grateful for the authors and artists who courageously shared their stories with us, and are honoured to publish their work.

We also would like to express our gratitude to Under One Roof Properties who generously donated us the layout by Nancy Reid from NR Grafix.

Download the book here or click on the image on the left: Honouring Indigenous Women: Hearts of Nations Vol.2 (117-page PDF format, free of charge – right-click and ‘save as…’ to download)