Book Review: The Red Deal: Indigenous Action to Save Our Earth by The Red Nation

Abstract

In the wake of a growing consensus about global warming and the imminent climate crisis, the “Green New Deal” (GND) is a catchphrase that has increasingly gained political traction in recent years. Defined broadly, GND proposals call for policies which address climate change while also targeting social and economic efforts like job creation, sustainable agriculture, and renewable energy. Some critics of GND proposals claim these efforts do not go far enough. The Red Nation – a coalition of Indigenous and non-Indigenous activists, students, academicians, and organizers – is one such group with an alternative and more radical vision for climate change and social justice. In their book The Red Deal, they set forth a liberatory political vision that calls for an end to capitalism, settler colonialism, and global imperialism. Across three major sections, the book argues for the abolition of these systems and the institutions which support them in favor of a vision of society that affirms common life – Indigenous and non-Indigenous alike – and revitalizes relationships with land and the environment.