Inspiring interviews with leading writers and activists on the past, present, and future of Indigenous masculinity.

What does it mean to be an Indigenous man today? Between October 2010 and May 2013, Sam McKegney conducted interviews with leading Indigenous artists, critics, activists, and elders on the subject of Indigenous manhood. In offices, kitchens, and coffee shops, and once in a car driving down the 401, McKegney and his participants tackled crucial questions about masculine self-worth and how to foster balanced and empowered gender relations. Masculindians captures twenty of these conversations in a volume that is intensely personal, yet speaks across generations, geography, and gender boundaries. As varied as their speakers, the discussions range from culture, history, and world view to gender theory, artistic representations, and activist interventions. They speak of possibility and strength, of beauty and vulnerability. They speak of sensuality, eroticism, and warriorhood, and of the corrosive influence of shame, racism, and violence. Firmly grounding Indigenous continuance in sacred landscapes, interpersonal reciprocity, and relations with other-than-human kin, these conversations honour and embolden the generative potential of healthy Indigenous masculinities.

‘Into the full grace of the blood in men’—An Introduction by Sam McKegney
PART I: Wisdom
Where Are the Men?—Janice C. Hill Kanonhsyonni
Repairing the Circle—Tomson Highway
This is a Vision—Lee Maracle
Young Men of Good Will—Basil H. Johnston
A Calm Sensuality—Louise Bernice Halfe
Carrying the Burden of Peace—Daniel David Moses
A Man Beside My Father—Thomas Kimeksum Thrasher

PART II: Knowledge
Reimagining Warriorhood—Taiaiake Alfred
Remembering the Sacredness of Men—Kimberly Anderson
Embodied Masculinity and Sport—Brendan Hokowhitu
Talking Story, Remaking Community—Ty P. Kāwika Tengan
Changing the Script—Warren Cariou & Alison Calder
Fighting Shame through Love—Daniel Heath Justice

PART III: Imagination
Deeper than a Blood Tie—Adrian Stimson & Terrance Houle
Manhood through Vulnerability—Joseph Boyden
Reclaiming Protectorship—Kateri Akiwenzie-Damm
Into the Tribe of Man—Richard Van Camp
Intimate like Muscle and Bone—Joanne Arnott
Tending the Fire—Neal McLeod
A Liberation through Claiming—Gregory Scofield

‘After and Towards’—A Dialogue on the Future of Indigenous Masculinities
Studies with Niigaanwewidam Sinclair & Sam McKegney