Grassy Narrows blockade: Indigenous-settler collaboration

This article examines grassroots relationship-building between the Grassy Narrows First Nation and non-Indigenous activists in the first years of the Grassy Narrows blockade (2002-4). In doing so, it aims to provide insight into collaborative efforts between Indigenous peoples and non-Indigenous activists for land defence and climate justice.

The article is split into two main sections. The first section introduces the Grassy Narrows First Nation and their struggles against colonialism and capitalist resource extraction. The second section focuses on the blockade of Highway 671, the longest Indigenous blockade in Canadian history.

The insights on the Indigenous-settler collaboration at the Grassy Narrows blockade are primarily taken from the scholarly article “Grassy Narrows Blockade: Reworking Relationships between Anishnabe and Non-Indigenous Activists at the Grassroots,” written by Rick Wallace and published in the International Journal of Canadian Studies in 2010.