Indigenous in the City

This book explores the complexity of urban Indigeneity in Canada and internationally and positions urban areas as places of Indigenous resilience and cultural innovation.

Research on Indigenous issues rarely focuses on life in major metropolitan centres. Instead, there is a tendency to frame rural and remote locations as emblematic of authentic or “real” Indigeneity and as central to the survival of Indigenous cultures and societies. While such a perspective may support Indigenous struggles for territory and recognition as distinct peoples, it fails to account for large swaths of contemporary Indigenous realities, not the least of which is the increased presence of Indigenous people and communities in cities.

The chapters in this volume explore the implications of urbanization on the production of distinctive Indigenous identities in Canada, the United States, New Zealand, and Australia. Instead of viewing urban experiences in terms of assimilation and social and cultural disruption, this book demonstrates the resilience, creativity, and complexity of the urban Indigenous presence, both in Canada and internationally.