
Rez Rules
My Indictment of Canada's and America's Systemic Racism Against Indigenous Peoples
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
$0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Buy for $22.46
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
-
Narrated by:
-
Chief Clarence Louie
About this listen
A common-sense blueprint for what the future of First Nations should look like as told through the fascinating life and legacy of a remarkable leader.
In 1984, at the age of 24, Clarence Louie was elected Chief of the Osoyoos Indian Band in the Okanagan Valley. Nineteen elections later, Chief Louie has led his community for nearly four decades. The story of how the Osoyoos Indian Band - “The Miracle in the Desert” - transformed from a Rez that once struggled with poverty into an economically independent people is well-known. Guided by his years growing up on the Rez, Chief Louie believes that economic and business independence are key to self-sufficiency, reconciliation, and justice for First Nations people.
In Rez Rules, Chief Louie writes about his youth in Osoyoos, from early mornings working in the vineyards to playing and coaching sports and attending a largely White school in Oliver, BC. He remembers enrolling in the “Native American Studies” program at the Saskatchewan Indian Federated College in 1979 and falling in love with First Nations history. Learning about the historic significance of treaties was life-changing. He recalls his first involvement in activism: participating in a treaty bundle run across the country before embarking on a path of leadership. He and his band have worked hard to achieve economic growth and record levels of employment. Inspired by his ancestors’ working culture, and by the young people on the reserve, Chief Louie continues to work for First Nations’ self-sufficiency and independence.
Direct and passionate, Chief Louie brings together wide-ranging subjects: life on the Rez, including Rez language and humor; per capita payments; the role of elected chiefs; the devastating impact of residential schools; the need to look to culture and ceremony for governance and guidance; the use of Indigenous names and logos by professional sports teams; his love for motorcycle honor rides; and what makes a good leader. He takes aim at systemic racism and examines the relationship between First Nations and colonial Canada and the United States, and sounds a call to action for First Nations to “Indian Up!” and “never forget our past”. Offering leadership lessons on and off the Rez, this memoir describes the fascinating life and legacy of a remarkable leader and provides a common-sense blueprint for the future of First Nations communities. In it, Chief Louie writes, “Damn, I’m lucky to be an Indian!”
©2021 Chief Clarence Louie (P)2021 McClelland & StewartListeners also enjoyed...
-
The Bear Is My Father
- Indigenous Wisdom of a Muscogee Creek Caretaker of Sacred Ways
- By: Bear Heart, Reginah WaterSpirit
- Narrated by: Darrell Dennis, Marie Hoffman
- Length: 4 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Bear Heart was a Muscogee Creek Native American Church Road Man with a talent for seeing people as individuals. The Bear Is My Father: Indigenous Wisdom of a Muscogee Creek Caretaker of Sacred Ways contains the final words Bear Heart wrote before his “going on” as well as contributions from friends and family whose lives were forever changed by Bear Heart’s presence and work. In this new book, Bear Heart uses stories of his youth and traditional medicine practices to convey lessons and knowledge about living in harmony and with respect for all.
-
-
Trail magic
- By Mtn Apache on 01-26-23
By: Bear Heart, and others
-
Why Indigenous Literatures Matter
- By: Daniel Heath Justice
- Narrated by: Daniel Heath Justice
- Length: 9 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Part survey of the field of Indigenous literary studies, part cultural history and part literary polemic, Why Indigenous Literatures Matter asserts the vital significance of literary expression to the political, creative and intellectual efforts of Indigenous peoples today. Selected as an Equity, Justice and Inclusion Community Read by the Association of University Presses.
-
Black Elk Speaks
- Being the Life Story of a Holy Man of the Oglala Sioux, The Premier Edition
- By: John G. Neihardt
- Narrated by: Robin Neihardt
- Length: 6 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Widely hailed as a spiritual classic, this inspirational and unfailingly powerful story reveals the life and visions of the Lakota healer Nicholas Black Elk (1863–1950) and the tragic history of his Sioux people during the epic closing decades of the Old West. In 1930, the aging Black Elk met a kindred spirit, the famed poet, writer, and critic John G. Neihardt (1881–1973) on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota.
-
-
Tale of tears
- By William Sanders on 01-25-15
By: John G. Neihardt
-
Black Elk
- The Life of an American Visionary
- By: Joe Jackson
- Narrated by: Traber Burns
- Length: 22 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Born in an era of rising violence, Black Elk killed his first man at Little Big Horn, witnessed the death of his second cousin Crazy Horse, and traveled to Europe with Buffalo Bill's Wild West show. Upon his return, he was swept up in the traditionalist Ghost Dance movement and shaken by the massacre at Wounded Knee. But Black Elk was not a warrior, and instead chose the path of a healer and holy man, motivated by a powerful prophetic vision that haunted and inspired him.
-
-
The Evil That Men Do
- By Bryan on 03-23-17
By: Joe Jackson
-
Braiding Sweetgrass
- Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants
- By: Robin Wall Kimmerer
- Narrated by: Robin Wall Kimmerer
- Length: 16 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As a botanist and professor of plant ecology, Robin Wall Kimmerer has spent a career learning how to ask questions of nature using the tools of science. As a Potawatomi woman, she learned from elders, family, and history that the Potawatomi, as well as a majority of other cultures indigenous to this land, consider plants and animals to be our oldest teachers.
-
-
Finally, Words
- By Donovan P Malley on 06-30-19
-
Bad Indians
- A Tribal Memoir
- By: Deborah A. Miranda
- Narrated by: Deborah Miranda
- Length: 8 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This beautiful and devastating book - part tribal history, part lyric and intimate memoir - should be required for anyone seeking to learn about California Indian history, past and present. Deborah A. Miranda tells stories of her Ohlone Costanoan Esselen family as well as the experience of California Indians as a whole through oral histories, newspaper clippings, anthropological recordings, personal reflections, and poems. The result is a work of literary art that is wise, angry, and playful all at once, a compilation that will break your heart and teach you to see the world anew.
-
-
Bad recording
- By Aspyn Maes on 09-18-21
-
The Bear Is My Father
- Indigenous Wisdom of a Muscogee Creek Caretaker of Sacred Ways
- By: Bear Heart, Reginah WaterSpirit
- Narrated by: Darrell Dennis, Marie Hoffman
- Length: 4 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Bear Heart was a Muscogee Creek Native American Church Road Man with a talent for seeing people as individuals. The Bear Is My Father: Indigenous Wisdom of a Muscogee Creek Caretaker of Sacred Ways contains the final words Bear Heart wrote before his “going on” as well as contributions from friends and family whose lives were forever changed by Bear Heart’s presence and work. In this new book, Bear Heart uses stories of his youth and traditional medicine practices to convey lessons and knowledge about living in harmony and with respect for all.
-
-
Trail magic
- By Mtn Apache on 01-26-23
By: Bear Heart, and others
-
Why Indigenous Literatures Matter
- By: Daniel Heath Justice
- Narrated by: Daniel Heath Justice
- Length: 9 hrs and 17 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Part survey of the field of Indigenous literary studies, part cultural history and part literary polemic, Why Indigenous Literatures Matter asserts the vital significance of literary expression to the political, creative and intellectual efforts of Indigenous peoples today. Selected as an Equity, Justice and Inclusion Community Read by the Association of University Presses.
-
Black Elk Speaks
- Being the Life Story of a Holy Man of the Oglala Sioux, The Premier Edition
- By: John G. Neihardt
- Narrated by: Robin Neihardt
- Length: 6 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Widely hailed as a spiritual classic, this inspirational and unfailingly powerful story reveals the life and visions of the Lakota healer Nicholas Black Elk (1863–1950) and the tragic history of his Sioux people during the epic closing decades of the Old West. In 1930, the aging Black Elk met a kindred spirit, the famed poet, writer, and critic John G. Neihardt (1881–1973) on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota.
-
-
Tale of tears
- By William Sanders on 01-25-15
By: John G. Neihardt
-
Black Elk
- The Life of an American Visionary
- By: Joe Jackson
- Narrated by: Traber Burns
- Length: 22 hrs and 29 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Born in an era of rising violence, Black Elk killed his first man at Little Big Horn, witnessed the death of his second cousin Crazy Horse, and traveled to Europe with Buffalo Bill's Wild West show. Upon his return, he was swept up in the traditionalist Ghost Dance movement and shaken by the massacre at Wounded Knee. But Black Elk was not a warrior, and instead chose the path of a healer and holy man, motivated by a powerful prophetic vision that haunted and inspired him.
-
-
The Evil That Men Do
- By Bryan on 03-23-17
By: Joe Jackson
-
Braiding Sweetgrass
- Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge and the Teachings of Plants
- By: Robin Wall Kimmerer
- Narrated by: Robin Wall Kimmerer
- Length: 16 hrs and 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As a botanist and professor of plant ecology, Robin Wall Kimmerer has spent a career learning how to ask questions of nature using the tools of science. As a Potawatomi woman, she learned from elders, family, and history that the Potawatomi, as well as a majority of other cultures indigenous to this land, consider plants and animals to be our oldest teachers.
-
-
Finally, Words
- By Donovan P Malley on 06-30-19
-
Bad Indians
- A Tribal Memoir
- By: Deborah A. Miranda
- Narrated by: Deborah Miranda
- Length: 8 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This beautiful and devastating book - part tribal history, part lyric and intimate memoir - should be required for anyone seeking to learn about California Indian history, past and present. Deborah A. Miranda tells stories of her Ohlone Costanoan Esselen family as well as the experience of California Indians as a whole through oral histories, newspaper clippings, anthropological recordings, personal reflections, and poems. The result is a work of literary art that is wise, angry, and playful all at once, a compilation that will break your heart and teach you to see the world anew.
-
-
Bad recording
- By Aspyn Maes on 09-18-21
-
If You Ask Me
- (And of Course You Won't)
- By: Betty White
- Narrated by: Betty White
- Length: 2 hrs and 16 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It-girl Betty White delivers a hilarious, slyly profound take on love, life, celebrity, and everything in between. Drawing from a lifetime of lessons learned, seven-time Emmy winner Betty White's wit and wisdom take center stage as she tackles topics like friendship, romantic love, aging, television, fans, love for animals, and the brave new world of celebrity. If You Ask Me mixes her thoughtful observations with humorous stories from a seven- decade career in Hollywood. Longtime fans and new fans alike will relish Betty's candid take on everything....
-
-
I'd ask Betty!
- By Lizz on 11-30-11
By: Betty White
-
Call Me Indian
- From the Trauma of Residential School to Becoming the NHL's First Treaty Indigenous Player
- By: Fred Sasakamoose, Bryan Trottier - foreword
- Narrated by: Wilton Littlechild
- Length: 10 hrs and 9 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Fred Sasakamoose, torn from his home at the age of seven, endured the horrors of residential school for a decade before becoming one of 120 players in the most elite hockey league in the world. He has been heralded as the first Indigenous player with Treaty status in the NHL. After twelve games, he returned home. When people tell Sasakamoose's story, this is usually where they end it. Sasakamoose's groundbreaking memoir sheds piercing light on Canadian history and Indigenous politics, and follows this man's journey to reclaim pride in a heritage that had been used against him.
-
-
Reviewing “Call Me Indian” as an Indian
- By Amazon Customer on 05-27-21
By: Fred Sasakamoose, and others
-
True Reconciliation
- How to Be a Force for Change
- By: Jody Wilson-Raybould
- Narrated by: Jody Wilson-Raybould
- Length: 9 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
There is one question Canadians have asked Jody Wilson-Raybould more than any other: What can I do to help advance reconciliation? This has been true from her time as a leader of British Columbia’s First Nations, as a Member of Parliament, as Minister of Justice and Attorney General, within business communities, and when having conversations with people. Whether speaking as individuals, communities, organizations, or governments, people want to take concrete and tangible action that will make real change. They just need to know how to get started, or to take the next step.
-
-
Excellent book
- By Anonymous User on 07-01-23
-
Decolonizing Wealth (Second Edition)
- Indigenous Wisdom to Heal Divides and Restore Balance
- By: Edgar Villanueva
- Narrated by: Edgar Villanueva
- Length: 6 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The world is out of balance. With increasing frequency, we are presented with the inescapable truth that systemic racism and colonial structures are foundational principles to our economies. The $1 trillion philanthropic industry is one example of a system that mirrors oppressive colonial behavior. It’s an industry whose name means “the love for humankind”, yet it does more harm than good.
-
-
The most important book for white people to read
- By Leandro Lopes on 05-06-24
By: Edgar Villanueva
-
The Inconvenient Indian
- A Curious Account of Native People in North America
- By: Thomas King
- Narrated by: Lorne Cardinal
- Length: 9 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Inconvenient Indian is at once a “history” and the complete subversion of a history - in short, a critical and personal meditation that the remarkable Thomas King has conducted over the past 50 years about what it means to be “Indian” in North America. Rich with dark and light, pain and magic, this book distills the insights gleaned from that meditation, weaving the curiously circular tale of the relationship between non-Natives and Natives in the centuries since the two first encountered each other.
-
-
I Thought I'd Enjoy This More
- By Kristy Grainger on 08-11-18
By: Thomas King
-
The North-West Is Our Mother
- The Story of Louis Riel's People, the Metis Nation
- By: Jean Teillet
- Narrated by: Jean Teillet
- Length: 14 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
There is a missing chapter in the narrative of Canada’s Indigenous peoples - the story of the Métis Nation, a new Indigenous people descended from both First Nations and Europeans. Their story begins in the last decade of the 18th century in the Canadian North-West. Within 20 years the Métis proclaimed themselves a nation and won their first battle. Within 40 years they were famous throughout North America for their military skills, their nomadic life and their buffalo hunts.
-
-
Métis history primer
- By Aedificator on 10-28-21
By: Jean Teillet
-
Unreconciled
- Family, Truth, and Indigenous Resistance
- By: Jesse Wente
- Narrated by: Jesse Wente
- Length: 6 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Part memoir and part manifesto, Unreconciled is a stirring call to arms to put truth over the flawed concept of reconciliation, and to build a new, respectful relationship between the nation of Canada and Indigenous peoples.
-
-
Jesse Wente wrote a great story
- By R Phillips on 11-03-24
By: Jesse Wente
-
Robert F. Kennedy: Ripples of Hope
- By: Kerry Kennedy
- Narrated by: Kerry Kennedy, Rory Kennedy, Peter Gallagher, and others
- Length: 9 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Ripples of Hope captures the legacy of former Senator and US Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy through commentary from his daughter, as well as interviews with dozens of prominent national and international figures who have been inspired by him. They include Barack Obama, John Lewis, Marian Wright Edelman, Alfre Woodard, Harry Belafonte Jr., Bono, George Clooney, Gloria Steinem, and more. They share personal accounts and stories of how Kennedy's words, life, and values have influenced their lives, choices, and actions.
-
-
From a daily drip of despair to remember ‘Ripples of Hope’
- By Sean O'Shea on 06-10-18
By: Kerry Kennedy
-
Liberal Privilege
- Joe Biden and the Democrats' Defense of the Indefensible
- By: Donald J. Trump
- Narrated by: Kimberly Guilfoyle
- Length: 8 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
While everyday Americans strive to make an honest living by working hard, liberals within the swamp have perfected a way of barely working while elevating themselves above all of us. Liberal Privilege will take you behind the scenes of the swamp, just as the nation gears up for the next presidential election. In his second book, number one New York Times best-selling author Donald Trump, Jr., reveals the truth the media has long refused to cover. Hear about the countless liberal scandals, years of entrenched racism in the democrat party, and decades of failed polices.
-
-
Excellent book. AAA+
- By Danny Giraldo on 09-07-20
By: Donald J. Trump
-
Make Change
- How to Fight Injustice, Dismantle Systemic Oppression, and Own Our Future
- By: Shaun King
- Narrated by: Shaun King, Bernie Sanders
- Length: 8 hrs and 27 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As a leader of the Black Lives Matter movement, Shaun King has become one of the most recognizable and powerful voices on the front lines of civil rights in our time. In Make Change, King offers an inspiring look at the moments that have shaped his life and considers the ways social movements can grow and evolve in this hyper-connected era. He shares stories from his efforts leading the Raise the Age campaign and his work fighting police brutality, while providing a road map for how to stay sane, safe, and motivated even in the worst of political climates.
-
-
Injustice is whatever you feel it should be
- By Nathan on 08-05-20
By: Shaun King
-
Dear America
- Live Like It's 9/12
- By: Graham Allen
- Narrated by: John Pruden
- Length: 8 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On the day after the World Trade Center was attacked, Americans came together regardless of race, religion, or sexual orientation. We were united. On that day, nearly every store in the country sold out of American flags. After the events of the last 18 months, from the COVID-19 pandemic to the constant attempts to divide us by race, Graham Allen believes that we should all look back on the events of 9/12 and remember what unites us. He believes that we do not all have to be the same, that it's okay not to agree on everything, but that we share a common history and a set of values.
-
-
Amazing!!!!!
- By Ryan Bowman on 08-11-21
By: Graham Allen
-
My American Life
- By: Congresswoman Lauren Boebert
- Narrated by: Congresswoman Lauren Boebert
- Length: 5 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Lauren Boebert is the gun-toting Republican Congresswoman from Rifle, Colorado, who overcame difficult life circumstances to be a leading voice for personal freedom and our 2nd Amendment rights. Raised on welfare in a Democrat household, young Lauren learned from her first job at McDonald’s that she could provide for herself better than the government ever could. My American Life describes in vivid detail why Lauren dropped out of high school, the success of Shooters Grill, and how she came to be a United States Congresswoman.
-
-
GREAT PATRIOT
- By terry butler on 07-20-22
Critic reviews
“Some people have said … there is no systemic racism in Canada. To those people I say, clearly you have not read the Indian Act. Chief Louie has spent a lifetime trying to rid Canada of such racism.” —The Rt. Hon. Brian Mulroney
“A testament to the type of no-nonsense leadership we all long to see more of nowadays.” —Chris Chelios, NHL Hall of Fame defenseman and former Chicago Blackhawks captain
“We all want to see reconciliation. Chief Louie wants it too; here’s his plan.” —Peter Mansbridge, former chief correspondent, CBC News
What listeners say about Rez Rules
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Paydro
- 03-16-24
Stay true to your roots
Every chapter is a step into the thoughts of First Nations perspective. So much knowledge in these chapters. The truth is always good enough.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- me
- 03-22-22
loved it!
loved... loved... loved it!! oh how i can relate...thankful for this book. stories were easily relatable.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!