Struggle for the Land: Indigenous Resistance to Genocide, Ecocide, and Expropriation in Contemporary North America

By Ward Churchill

Book Overview

From the Sonora to the Arctic, North America's indigenous peoples have been dispossessed of nearly all their original territory, with the residue held undera a colonial "trust" authority by the U.S. and Canada. Ironically, the presumably useless fragments of geography set aside to keep Native Americans out of sight and mind have turned out to be some of the most resource-rich on the planet. Native Americans should thus be among the most affluent sectors of the population, but instead, they are the absolute poorest. The reason for this paradox is clear: the riches of North America's indigenous nations continue to be channeled into the settler's economy.By focusing upon certain modes of resource exploitation, Churchill demonstrates clearly that the effects of state/corporate business in the native-populated hinterlands of the continent are as ecocidal as they are genocidal. The ecological havoc being wreaked cannot be contained within reservation areas, and therefore poses a threat to all North Americans, presenting a common ground upon which Indians and non-Indians alike can and must struggle to repeal the status quo.This seminal book established Churchill as an intellectual force to be reckoned with in indigenous land rights debates. Required reading for anyone interested in Native North America and ecological justice. Revised and expanded edition. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1567510000
• ISBN13: 9781567510003
• Release Date: January 1993
• Publisher: Common Courage Pr
• Length: 472 Pages
• Weight: 1.00 lbs.
• Dimensions: 7.5" x 0.8" x 5.0"

Customer Reviews

A very good, rather convincing book

I found this book to be very well put together and supported with mountains of evidence. Recently Mr Churhcill has come under fire from the right for some remarks he has made in the classroom. This does not surprise me since this book is a rather damning indictment of past american treatment of native americans. I was interested in this book for it's environmental implications since that is my field. Regardless, I found...

A highly recommended collection of fiery essays

Long out of print, this new edition of Ward Churchill's Struggle For The Land: Native North American Resistance To Genocide, Ecocide And Colonization is an impressive and very highly recommended collection of fiery essays that will give the contemporary reader pause concerning the American government's systematic exploitation of the land and elimination of the Native American peoples who have inhabited it, and the bittersweet...

Compels rethinking the whole of US history [4 1/2 stars]

Too bad that the bottom-line economics of publishing have let this searing account of Indigenous struggles over land and ecology go out of print. Because of its concentration on environmental and land-use issues, this is one of the author's most focused works, though they are all worthwhile. The documentation is thorough; the presentation is relentlessly didactic but always readable. No country that treats its indigenous...