A Blog by Erica Violet Lee
Content Warning: attempted sexual assault; Indigenous Feminist anger that cuts like the lead riff in “The Trooper” My optimism wears moccasins and is loud. My optimism sometimes wears moccasins and is always loud. As a Nehiyaw girl growing up in a small prairie city in Canada, I got into punk, hard rock, and metal music… Continue reading My Optimism Wears Moccasins and is Loud: On Paris, Heavy Metal, and Chasing Freedom
Shame is the reaction requested when they look you in the mouth and say, “lost her language”, but I know language well enough to pinpoint each time it's lost instead of stole,
and that my shame alone cannot build homes or sustain bodies.
What truths would be written if academics weren't afraid of losing their jobs? What truths would be written if you followed through, in practice, the type of sovereignty and decolonization you theorize in journals? All the times I've heard some version of "I'm concerned about your academic career if you talk about this publicly": that's not concern for… Continue reading I’m concerned for your academic career if you talk about this publicly
Today is April 2nd, 2015 and across these lands, gatherings will be held for Cindy Gladue. Cindy Gladue was an Indigenous woman, mother, and sex worker. The man charged in her murder was recently acquitted after a dehumanizing trial involving the showcasing of Gladue’s intimate wounds as evidence. Just today, it was announced that the… Continue reading For Cindy, For Ourselves: Healing in the context of colonial gender violence
Change(d) the Name (Originally published in RezX Magazine, May 2014 in a condensed form. Online now, print copies available soon!) It has been a month since Saskatoon Public Schools voted to change the name and logo of my high school’s sports team, the Bedford Road Redmen. It has been nearly two decades since the last… Continue reading Change(d) The Name: Challenging “Savage” Stereotypes and Native Sports Mascots
"When Canadian society says we’re sick that’s like a psychopathic killer complaining to someone he’s tried to strangle repeatedly that she should do something about the marks on her neck and see a psychiatrist about her recurrent nightmares and low self-esteem.” - Richard Bull Last term, I confided in a professor that I was struggling with… Continue reading Good Philosophers Don’t Have Anxiety Attacks: on mental health, race, and belonging in the classroom
