Description

Charged with fresh material and new perspectives, this updated edition of the groundbreaking biography Brotherhood to Nationhood brings George Manuel and his fighting tradition into the present. George Manuel (1920–1989) was the strategist and visionary behind the modern Indigenous movement in Canada. Co-authored by Peter McFarlane and award-winning filmmaker and teacher Doreen Manuel, Brotherhood to Nationhood follows him through decades of fierce and dedicated activism.

Awards

  • Winner, Independent Publisher Book Award Gold Medalist, Canada-West, Best Regional Non-fiction 2022

Reviews

“This second edition, with updated text co-written by Doreen Manuel, includes brand new insights, including the key role Indigenous women played in George Manuel’s story. Uplifting and inspirational, this book honours the legacy of a visionary political strategist, refreshing our collective memory on how to combine tact with toughness, organize effectively, build respectful relationships, live humbly, and to treat every step—either forward or backward—as a new learning experience in the larger struggle for Indigenous rights. ”

- Sheryl Lightfoot

“Peter McFarlane’s classic biography of George Manuel is an intimate and meticulously researched history of the leader and his life’s work, discussing the critically important subject of Indigenous land and liberation. An absolute must-read. ”

- Glen Coulthard

“A gripping account of the life of a brilliant Indigenous leader whose vision remains a powerful blueprint for Canada’s unfinished business of decolonization. Like few books I know, it vividly conveys the sacrifices, rewards, and hard strategic choices involved in organizing for political change. The next generation of activists should read it to learn just how much we are indebted to the Manuel family’s legacy.”

- Martin Lukacs

“We live in a time of colonial reconciliation amputated from truth, of extractive predation by the state and its citizenry, of denial and willful amnesia about Canada’s violent past and present. George Manuel’s decolonial vision speaks just as strongly today as during his lifetime, and it continues in the commitments of his family and his people. This new and expanded edition of Brotherhood to Nationhood reminds us of the transformative possibilities of a life’s work grounded in truth and a relentless commitment to decolonial justice. We need this book, more now than ever.”

- Daniel Justice

Brotherhood to Nationhood is more than just a biography of the life of George Manuel; it demonstrates the roots of an Indigenous internationalism and political theory that is grounded in the ethics, knowledge, and practices of the Secwepemc people.”

- Leanne Betasamosake Simpson

Brotherhood to Nationhood is a necessary and critical book to read for anyone, Indigenous and non-Indigenous, who is interested in the life of George Manuel, one of the greatest contemporary Indigenous leaders in Canada and internationally.”

- Russell Diabo

“As a chronicle of postwar Indigenous resistance—from the back-breaking work of organizing communities to the building of the Assembly of First Nations and the fight for Aboriginal rights—this book is unmatched in its detail. As a testament to the many Indigenous women, without whom none of this could have happened, whose hard labour in struggling to keep families alive empowered that generation of Indigenous men, this book is even more important. Finally, as an exploration of the vision and strategic brilliance of George Manuel, and the power of his leadership, Brotherhood to Nationhood is without parallel. To understand the strength and clarity of today’s Indigenous activists and theorists, we must begin with George Manuel.”

- Bonita Lawrence