Refusal, Resurgence, Renewal: Indigenous Independence in the 21st Century

In settler colonial states, such as Australia, Canada and the United States, Indigenous peoples continue to suffer the effects of dispossession and a lack of self-determination. Yet within these colonised spaces, Indigenous peoples also find and create spaces of independence in which they exercise sovereignty through a range of political practices. This panel will explore the rich political dynamics of Indigenous ‘refusal’, ‘resurgence’ and ‘renewal’, moving debate away from the deficit discourse that frames contemporary debate towards a focus on Indigenous defiance, resilience, and independence.