With the advent of Aboriginal street gangs such as Indian Posse, Manitoba Warriors, and Native Syndicate, Winnipeg garnered a reputation as the “gang capital of Canada.” Yet beyond the stereotypes of outsiders, little is known about these street gangs and the factors and conditions that have produced them. “Indians Wear Red” locates Aboriginal street gangs in the context of the racialized poverty that has become entrenched in the colonized space of Winnipeg’s North End. Drawing upon extensive interviews with Aboriginal street gang members as well as with Aboriginal women and elders, the authors develop an understanding from “inside” the inner city and through the voices of Aboriginal people – especially street gang members themselves. While economic restructuring and neo-liberal state responses can account for the global proliferation of street gangs, the authors argue that colonialism is a crucial factor in the Canadian context, particularly in western Canadian urban centres. Young Aboriginal people have resisted their social and economic exclusion by acting collectively as “Indians.” But just as colonialism is destructive, so too are street gang activities, including the illegal trade in drugs. Solutions lie not in “quick fixes” or “getting tough on crime” but in decolonization: re-connecting Aboriginal people with their cultures and building communities in which they can safely live and work.

Discusses events that took place before and after Native American activism began. Includes a chronology from 1887 to 1988.

Classic Clifford reissued!Out of all the holidays, Emily Elizabeth and Clifford like Halloween the most. They play games, trick-or-treat in the neighborhood, and tell ghost stories. Best of all, they can wear costumes! Clown, witch, knight, or ghost--what will Clifford decide to dress up as this year?

"I remember the day I lost my spirit." So begins the story of Gertrude Simmons, also known as Zitkala-Ša, which means Red Bird. Born in 1876 on the Yankton Sioux reservation in South Dakota, Zitkala-Ša willingly left her home at age eight to go to a boarding school in Indiana. But she soon found herself caught between two worlds—white and Native American. At school she missed her mother and her traditional life, but Zitkala-Ša found joy in music classes. "My wounded spirit soared like a bird as I practiced the piano and violin," she wrote. Her talent grew, and when she graduated, she became a music teacher, composer, and performer. Zitkala-Ša found she could also "sing" to help her people by writing stories and giving speeches. As an adult, she worked as an activist for Native American rights, seeking to build a bridge between cultures. The coauthors tell Zitkala-Ša’s life by weaving together pieces from her own stories. The artist's acrylic illustrations and collages of photos and primary source documents round out the vivid portrait of Zitkala-Ša, a frightened child whose spirit "would rise again, stronger and wiser for the wounds it had suffered."

Vine Deloria, Jr., leading Native American scholar and author of the best-selling God is Red, addresses the conflict between mainstream scientific theory about our world and the ancestral worldview of Native Americans. Claiming that science has created a largely fictional scenario for American Indians in prehistoric North America, Deloria offers an alternative view of the continent's history as seen through the eyes and memories of Native Americans. Further, he warns future generations of scientists not to repeat the ethnocentric omissions and fallacies of the past by dismissing Native oral tradition as mere legends.

Realizing a good life is almost always defined in material terms, typified by individuals (usually men) who have considerable wealth. But classed, gendered and racialized social supports enable the “self-made man.” Instead, this book turns to Indigenous knowledge about realizing a good life to explore how marginalized men endeavour to overcome systemic inequalities in their efforts to achieve wholeness, balance, connection, harmony and healing. Twenty-three men, most of whom are Indigenous, share their stories of this journey. For most, the pathway started in challenging circumstances — intergenerational trauma, disrupted families and child welfare interventions, racism and bullying, and physical and sexual abuse. Most coped with the pain through drugging and drinking or joining a street gang, setting many on a trajectory to jail. Caught in the criminal justice net, realizing a good life was even more daunting as their identities and life chances became barriers. Some of the men, however, have made great strides to realize a good life. They tell us how they got out of “the problem,” with insights on how to maintain sobriety, navigate systemic barriers, and forge connections and circles of support. Ultimately, it comes down to social supports — and caring. As one man put it, change happened when he “had to care for somebody else” in a way he wanted to be cared for.