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Audra Simpson

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Audra Simpson is a Kahnawake Mohawk anthropologist and a leading scholar in Indigenous political anthropology. She is widely recognized for her 2014 book, "Mohawk Interruptus," which introduces the concept of "refusal" as a method for Indigenous nations to assert nested sovereignty and protect their political boundaries. Her work challenges traditional anthropological practices by prioritizing Indigenous political orders over state recognition. It serves as a vital resource for scholars and students in Indigenous studies and political theory.

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What is Audra Simpson's book Mohawk Interruptus about?

Mohawk Interruptus, published in 2014, examines the politics of sovereignty, recognition, and identity in the Kahnawà:ke Mohawk community in Canada. Simpson develops the concept of "refusal" as a political strategy, arguing that indigenous peoples can resist settler-state regimes of recognition by withholding information and participation.

What does Audra Simpson mean by "refusal" in her anthropology?

Simpson's concept of refusal describes the deliberate choice by indigenous peoples not to submit to the terms of recognition imposed by settler colonial states. Rather than seeking validation through state-sanctioned categories, refusal asserts that indigenous governance and knowledge systems operate on their own terms, independent of colonial approval.

Where does Audra Simpson teach?

Audra Simpson is a professor of anthropology at Columbia University in New York. She is a member of the Kahnawà:ke Mohawk Nation, and her scholarship is deeply informed by her own community's ongoing struggles over sovereignty and recognition.

What is "nested sovereignty" as developed by Audra Simpson?

Nested sovereignty refers to the way indigenous nations maintain their own political authority within, but not subordinate to, the settler states that surround them. Simpson argues that these sovereignties coexist and overlap, challenging the Westphalian assumption that state sovereignty must be absolute and exclusive.

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