Indigenous Peoples Rise Up: The Global Ascendency of Social Media Activism

Indigenous Peoples Rise Up: The Global Ascendency of Social Media Activism illustrates the impact of social media in expanding the nature of Indigenous communities and social movements. Social media has bridged distance, time, and nation states to mobilize Indigenous peoples to build coalitions across the globe and to stand in solidarity with one another. These movements have succeeded and gained momentum and traction precisely because of the strategic use of social media. Social media—Twitter and Facebook in particular—has also served as a platform for fostering health, well-being, and resilience, recognizing Indigenous strength and talent, and sustaining and transforming cultural practices when great distances divide members of the same community.
 
Including a range of international indigenous voices from the US, Canada, Australia, Aotearoa (New Zealand) and Africa, the book takes an interdisciplinary approach, bridging Indigenous studies, media studies, and social justice studies. Including examples like Idle No More in Canada, Australian Recognise!, and social media campaigns to maintain Maori language, Indigenous Peoples Rise Up serves as one of the first studies of Indigenous social media use and activism. 
 

BRONWYN CARLSON is a professor and head of Indigenous Studies at Macquarie University in Australia. She is widely published on the topic of Indigenous cultural, social and political engagements on social media. She established the international research network, The Forum for Indigenous Research Excellence (FIRE) and is the founding and managing editor of the Journal of Global Indigeneity.

JEFF BERGLUND is a professor of English at Northern Arizona University, Flagstaff. His books include Cannibal Fictions, Sherman Alexie: a Collection of Critical Essays; Indigenous Pop: Native American Music from Jazz to Hip Hop (co-editor); and The Diné Reader: An Anthology of Navajo Literature. He is the North American convener of FIRE.