Indigenous thought and agency have long been excluded from the discipline of International Relations (IR). Even with the turn toward “decolonization” few IR scholars are engaging with Indigenous or settler colonial frameworks. It is very likely that the discipline is irredeemable. Amid this realization Indigenous thinkers are re-articulating alternatives to IR theory’s orthodox and critical impoverishment. Building on this movement, this presentation offers counter-conceptualizations of the state, sovereignty and anarchy in pursuit of new/old visions of Indigenous futurity.
About the speaker
Hayden King is Anishinaabe from Beausoleil First Nation on Gchi’mnissing, in Huronia Ontario. Hayden has been teaching Indigenous politics and policy since 2007 with academic positions at McMaster, Carleton and Ryerson Universities. His research and commentary on Indigenous nationhood and colonialism in Canada is published widely. Hayden has also served as the Senior Policy Advisor to the Ontario Ministry of Aboriginal Affairs, Director of Research at the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business, and Scholar-in-Residence at the Conference Board of Canada. He is a Senior Fellow at Massey College, adjunct professor at Carleton, and the co-founder of the language-arts collective, the Ogimaa Mikana Project.