Dr. Jaskiran Dhillon

Jaskiran Dhillon (The New School)

Title: Reflections on Prairie Rising:  Indigenous Youth, Decolonization, and the Politics of Intervention

Abstract: Jaskiran Dhillon’s new book Prairie Rising: Indigenous Youth, Decolonization, and the Politics of Intervention (University of Toronto Press, 2017) offers an ethnographic investigation of Indigenous-state relations, with a focus on the lives of Indigenous youth, in the city of Saskatoon, Canada. Prairie Rising sheds light on the changing forms of settler governance and the interlocking systems of education, child welfare, and criminal justice that sustain it;  exposes how inclusionary governance reinstates colonial settler authority; and raises questions about the federal government’s commitment to justice and political empowerment for Indigenous Nations, particularly for Indigenous youth. This talk offers a space to raise questions about the production and circulation of knowledge with respect to Indigenous youth, and provides insights on the implications of this work for youth studies, Indigenous studies, anthropology, and social work, as well as implications for direct action and political organizing.