Peace Power Righteousness

Peace Power Righteousness, an indigeonous manifesto, is the work of Taiaiake Alfred, who is the Director of the Indigenous Governance Program at the University of Victoria, and the author of three books: Peace Power Righteousness (1999), Heeding the Voices of Our Ancestors (1995), and Wasase (2005).

Peace Power Righteousness uses the ritual of condolence as its structure. Alfred writes, in his "First Words" that he chose

condolence as the metaphorical framework for my own thoughts on the state of Native America and the crucial role of indigenous traditions in alleviating the grief and discontent that permeate our existence (xi)

The work incorporates now only Alfred's own thoughts, but also the thoughts and words of others: elders, academics, women, using question and answer formats in some places, as well as incorporating Native stories and songs. His work explores each of the three keywords of the title in depth, addressing not only past grievances, but also present and future approaches necessary to bring Peace Power and Righteousness to First Nations people.

This text was required reading for my MA in English Publics Text course. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it, and actually read it more than once: I had read it as part of my advance reading, and then again when it came up in the course syllabus.

One of the most important things that struck me about this book is that Alfred doesn't buy - and doesn't write - the native as victim motif. He suggests throughout the book that there have been - and continue to be - problems on both sides of the interactions between First Nations people and government. His focus is not on railing against all of the wrongs done to indigenous people but on what has to happen in order to improve those interactions going forward.

Peace Power Righteousness is a very powerful text that I am sure I will use again as I go forward into my PhD in Canadian Studies.