Sustaining Solidarity : Indigenous-Settler Alliances for the Long Haul

A practical examination of how settlers can support Indigenous-led movements and goals

Sustaining Solidarity: Indigenous-Settler Alliances for the Long Haul tells the stories of well-known but under-documented alliances, from the deeply personal perspectives of those living and leading them. Case studies of three different but interconnected Indigenous-settler alliances show solidarity in action: The “Right to Belong,” explores the decades-long work by Indigenous women leaders and organizations to challenge sex-based discrimination enforced through the Indian Act; Freedom Road, examines Shoal Lake 40 First Nation’s campaign to end a long-standing boil water advisory and state-imposed geographic isolation; and KAIROS Canada, tracks decades of Indigenous solidarity efforts by inter-church coalitions. The authors offer a comparative analysis of these cases, identifying the nuances of how these alliances were able to work over decades.

Foregrounding the voices, experiences, and analyses of Indigenous and settler partners, Sustaining Solidarity traces how supportive relationships develop over time in response to changing social and political conditions, expanding knowledges and capacities, and ongoing demands for decolonization. These stories highlight the connective tissue—the sinews—of long-term Indigenous-settler alliances that form, stretch, tear, and rebuild through journeys of working together.