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Winnipeg Art Gallery, 300 Memorial Blvd, Winnipeg, MB R3C 1V1
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Presented in partnership with The Walrus, eighty minutes of lively, thought-provoking ideas about the issues and opportunities that make the North truly unique. More info >
Featuring:
• Erin Freeland Ballantyne, Dechinta Centre for Research and Learning
• Ruben Komangapik, artist and sculptor
• P. Whitney Lackenbauer, historian, author, Fulbright Scholar, co-editor of Blockades or Breakthroughs?
• Michael Maltzan, architect of the WAG’s new Inuit Art Centre
• James Raffan, author, explorer, geographer
• Lola Sheppard, Arctic Adaptations project lead
• Tanya Tagaq, performer and Polaris Prize winner
• Sheila Watt-Cloutier, environmental and human rights advocate
GENERAL ADMISSION: $20
WAG MEMBERS & STUDENTS: $15
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P. Whitney Lackenbauer and Yale D. Belanger are the editors of Blockades or Breakthroughs?: Aboriginal Peoples Confront the Canadian State:
Blockades have become a common response to Canada's failure to address and resolve the legitimate claims of First Nations. Blockades or Breakthroughs? debates the importance and effectiveness of blockades and occupations as political and diplomatic tools for Aboriginal people.
The adoption of direct action tactics like blockades and occupations is predicated on the idea that something drastic is needed for Aboriginal groups to break an unfavourable status quo, overcome structural barriers, and achieve their goals. But are blockades actually "breakthroughs"? What are the objectives of Aboriginal people and communities who adopt this approach? How can the success of these methods be measured? This collection offers an in-depth survey of occupations, blockades, and their legacies, from 1968 to the present. Individual case studies situate specific blockades and conflicts in historical context, examine each group’s reasons for occupation, and analyze the media labels and frames applied to both Aboriginal and state responses.
Direct action tactics remain a powerful political tool for First Nations in Canada. The authors of Blockades or Breakthroughs? Argue that blockades and occupations are instrumental, symbolic, and complex events that demand equally multifaceted responses.