Rest as Resistance

As part of my ongoing research articulating a Metis-feminist theory of rest as resistance, this paper explores the practice of visiting with Land as an act of restful resistance. A theory of rest as resistance responds to the exhausting ways that the settler state attempts to devastate Indigenous communities. This response sees rest not as succumbing to these oppressive powers but as a method to actively resist them. In this paper, I argue that visiting with Land is a practice of rest as resistance as it first refuses colonial and capitalist standards and expectations of what it means to be “productive.” Second, it centres knowledge and relationships not valued by colonial capitalism. Finally, it engages in slow practices of well-being focused on relationality and reciprocity that offer space and freedom to understand ourselves and our communities. I will root my considerations of this resistance in a practice of autotheory that reflects on my own practice of visiting with Land, both in my Métis territories and as visitor in Syilx territory. Understanding this practice of visiting with the Land as restful resistance is essential as it centres and supports the concept that resting is part of the work when we are attempting to build and maintain sustainable communities and activism.