Nishnaabeg Resurgence: Cognitive and Territorial Reoccupation in the Work of Leanne Betasamosake Simpson

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Refusal as a Starting Point: The Academy and Its Illusions

For Leanne Betasamosake Simpson, the Western university functions as a mechanism for legitimizing colonialism. She observes that academic institutions recognize only knowledge validated by their own criteria, relegating Indigenous intelligences to the status of objects of study rather than living systems. This dynamic maintains a power asymmetry in which Nishnaabeg ways of knowing are either folklorized or instrumentalized to serve projects that do not belong to them. The author emphasizes that efforts to “Indigenize the academy” are futile as long as it refuses to challenge its colonial foundations. Rather than begging for a place within a system that denies their legitimacy, Indigenous peoples must, in her view, turn away from this quest for recognition and refocus on their own modes of transmission.

This refusal is not mere opposition but a generative strategy. Simpson describes how certain initiatives, such as the Iroquois Nationals’ refusal to participate in a lacrosse tournament under conditions imposed by the United Kingdom, embody this logic. These acts do not merely contest colonialism—they assert concrete sovereignty by creating alternatives that emerge from Indigenous norms rather than imposed frameworks. For her, resurgence begins with this gesture of withdrawal, which allows spaces to be rebuilt where Nishnaabeg intelligences can flourish without being diluted or distorted.

English

As an instructor in many different Indigenous land-based programs, I often have the honor of witnessing our people link the circumstances of their lives—that is, how they experience the personal trauma of colonialism through the child welfare system, the state education system, gender violence, addictions, poverty, the prison system, or mental health issues—to the larger structures and process of settler colonialism.

English

As an educator in various land-based Indigenous programs, I often have the honor of witnessing our people connect the circumstances of their lives—how they experience the personal trauma of colonialism through the child welfare system, the state education system, gendered violence, addiction, poverty, the prison system, or mental health struggles—to the broader structures and processes of settler colonialism.

Land as Pedagogy: Relearning to Think from the Ground

For Simpson, the land is not merely a backdrop but the very foundation of Nishnaabeg thought. She describes a pedagogy in which territory teaches—where stories, practices, and relationships take root in a specific place. This approach stands in stark contrast to Western educational systems, which abstract knowledge from its context to render it “universal.” In the programs she leads, participants link their personal traumas—whether stemming from colonial child welfare systems, violence, or incarceration—to the broader dynamics of colonialism. When anchored in Nishnaabeg practices, these moments of awareness become sources of theory and action.

Resurgence, in her view, is not confined to reserves or rural areas. Cities, though often perceived as spaces disconnected from the land, are also sites of resistance and reinvention. Simpson insists that most Indigenous people move between these spaces, finding ways to maintain their connection to the land and their stories, even in urban or degraded environments. The key lies in shifting from a capitalist logic of consumption to one of cultural production, where each individual becomes an agent in the regeneration of Indigenous knowledge and practices.

Governance as Collective Practice: Beyond Recognition

Simpson rejects the idea that decolonization can be achieved through better integration of Indigenous peoples into colonial structures. For her, the “politics of recognition”—the demand for inclusion within existing institutions—only reinforces colonial power by legitimizing its frameworks. Instead, she proposes governance grounded in Nishnaabeg norms, where decisions emerge from relationships between people, the land, and past and future generations. This approach does not merely critique colonialism—it builds concrete alternatives, such as Mohawk passports or declarations of denied sovereignty.

In this perspective, resurgence is both a local and global movement. Local, because it is rooted in practices specific to each nation, like Nishnaabewin for the Nishnaabeg. Global, because it is part of a network of Indigenous struggles sharing common principles, such as prioritizing relationships over hierarchical structures. Simpson emphasizes that these practices do not aim to reform the colonial system but to render it obsolete by creating worlds where Indigenous norms become the reference.

Art as a Laboratory for Resurgence

Art occupies a central place in Simpson’s thought. She conceives it as a space where individual acts of resistance transform into collective movements. Indigenous artists, in her view, do not merely critique colonialism—they invent languages, narratives, and forms that embody alternatives. These creations are not mere “points of rupture” but constellations linking struggles, knowledge, and emotions in a practice of “affirmative refusal.” Art thus becomes a tool for cognitive reoccupation, where beauty and joy are political forces.

Simpson cites works that, like dissertations or performances, codify Indigenous intelligence into theory and process. These artistic practices rely on “grounded normativity”—values and ways of being that emerge from the land and relationships rather than colonial laws. For her, art is not an accessory to resurgence but its very heart, for it materializes worlds where colonialism no longer holds sway.

Educating for Freedom: Raising Generations of Land-Thinkers

In Simpson’s vision, education does not prepare children to succeed in a capitalist system but to become brilliant, loving, and interdependent citizens capable of living by Nishnaabeg values. She describes a system where children are encouraged to place joy at the center of their existence rather than conforming to external expectations. This approach aims to create societies where exploitation is unthinkable, for relationships are built on respect and reciprocity.

For Simpson, the survival of the Nishnaabeg in a capitalist world depends on raising generations capable of thinking and acting outside its logic. This requires creating educational spaces that reproduce Indigenous intelligences rather than adapting them to Western norms. Whether formal or informal, these spaces must be rooted in the land and centered on community needs. Their goal is not to produce graduates but elders-in-the-making—thinkers, healers, and historians who embody Nishnaabeg knowledge in their time.

Conclusion: Resurgence as a Present in the Making

Leanne Betasamosake Simpson proposes a decolonization that does not content itself with words but takes shape in daily practices. For her, resurgence is a movement of cognitive and territorial reoccupation, where every gesture—whether teaching, creating, or governing—contributes to bringing forth an Indigenous present. This present is not a nostalgia for the past but a constant reinvention, where ancestral knowledge engages with contemporary challenges.

Her work reminds us that decolonization is not a metaphor but a collective responsibility. It calls for rejecting colonial frameworks to rebuild worlds where Indigenous intelligences can finally breathe. In this vision, the land is not an object to possess but a partner with which to think, love, and struggle. And perhaps this is where the greatest strength of her thought lies: in the conviction that Indigenous freedom is not negotiated but lived, here and now.