Life against States of Emergency: Revitalizing Treaty Relations from Attawapiskat

By Sarah Marie Wiebe

Responding to the activism of former Attawapiskat chief Theresa Spence, this book explores what it means to be in a treaty relationship today.

For six weeks in 2012 and 2013, Attawapiskat chief Theresa Spence undertook a high-profile ceremonial fast to advocate for improved Canadian-Indigenous relations. Framed by the media as a hunger strike, her fast was both a call to action and a gesture of corporeal sovereignty.

Life against States of Emergency responds to the central question she asked the Canadian public to consider: What does it mean to be in a treaty relationship today? Arguing that treaties are critical and vital matters of environmental justice, Sarah Marie Wiebe offers a nuanced discussion of the political environment that caused treaty relations in Attawapiskat to break down amid a history of repeated state-of-emergency declarations.

This incisive work draws on community-engaged research, lived experiences, critical discourse analysis, ecofeminist and Indigenous studies scholarship, art, activism, and storytelling to advance a transformative, future-oriented approach to treaty relationships. By centering community voices, Life against States of Emergency cultivates a more deliberative, democratic dialogue.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0774867884
• ISBN13: 9780774867887
• Release Date: October 2023
• Publisher: University of British Columbia Press
• Length: 312 Pages
• Weight: 0.92 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 6.0" x 9.0"