Fight or Submit: Standing Tall in Two Worlds

by Ronald M. Derrickson, Kaipo Schwab (Narrator)

In the opening to his memoir, Grand Chief Ron Derrickson says his "story is not a litany of complaints but a list of battles" that he has fought. And he promises he will not be overly pious in his telling of them. "As a businessman," he writes, "I like to give the straight goods."

In 'FIGHT OR SUBMIT', Derrickson delivers on his promise and it turns out he has a hell of a story to tell. Born and raised in a tarpaper shack, he went on to become one of the most successful Indigenous businessmen in Canada. As a political leader, he served as Chief of the Westbank First Nation for a dozen years and was made a Grand Chief by the Union of BC Indian Chiefs.

Along the way, he has been the target of a full Royal Commission and an assassination attempt by a hitman hired by local whites. As Chief, he increased his community's revenues by 3500% and led his people into a war in the forest over logging rights. In 2015, he became an award-winning author when Unsettling Canada: A National Wake-up Call, a book he co-authored with Arthur Manuel, won the Canadian History Association Literary Award. His second book co-authored with Manuel, Reconciliation Manifesto, won the BC Book Prize for nonfiction.




RUNNING TIME => 9hrs. and 22mins.

©2020 Ronald M. Derrickson (P)2020 Tantor

Genres: Nonfiction, Politics, Memoir

Audible Audio

First published October 27, 2020

Reviews

[Erin || erins_library · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fight or Submit is the memoir of Grand Chief Ronald Derrickson of the Westbank First Nation. It’s an amazing story full of his accomplishments as a businessman, a leader/advocate for his people, and those who fought against him (including as assassination attempt). Derrickson writes in a very straightforward way, laying out all the facts and figures and everything he’s accomplished. It’s not a memoir I would commend for it’s flowery, poetic language. However, I think it’s a perfect reflection of who he seems to be as an Indigenous man with decades experience as a businessman and one who essentially goes to battle with the Canadian government many times over. And I’m glad to have read his story. It had me thinking about all the ways our peoples are fighting for land and treaty rights across North America right now. It’s an inspiring story, and great motivation to never give up the fight. Colonization is designed to beat us down and make us feel small, but this memoir felt like a call to recognize our value to our communities, the land, and what we are capable of.

[Ben · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very strong Indigenous book.

Encouraging and inspiring book.

Great political read too.

Highly recommended for all to read.

4.5/5

[Phillip · Rating 4 out of 5]

*For full disclosure, the publisher sent me a free digital copy of this book to review*

Grand Chief Ronald Derrickson is really pretty amazing. He is an international business person, a leader at the local and national level for not only his own Westbank First Nations Band but for Indigenous Canadians in general, a political powerhouse, a fighter for justice and civil rights, and a smart, insightful writer. Fight of Submit is his memoir, recounting a life shaped by settler Canadian racism and the continual quest of the colonial government to disenfranchise and limit the rights of Indigenous people at ever turn. Derrickson began in poverty, both for his own family and for his Band, but through his hard work, horse sense (literally, as one of his first profitable enterprises was ranching cattle and then horses), dedication to getting every penny out of a deal, and especially his commitment to better his people's lives, he became a living legend in both Indigenous circles and the business community.

Derrickson's memoirs recount his own business ventures, his service as Band chief, and his activism always in the context of systemic racism and Canada's ongoing attempts to dis-empower Indigenous people. In the early chapters, Derrickson recounts the history of his Okanagan nation and how white settlers gradually made incursions into their land, first as friendly traders, then later as violent exploiters cheating and stealing Indigenous land with the help of government agencies that continually sided with whites against Natives, even when the law officially upheld Indigenous rights to the land. Within his own career, most of Derrickson's struggles have been against these continuing structures of racism. One of the early challenges came from a group of white trailer park owners who leased Reserve land, and were continually opposed to paying Derrickson and the Westbank Band (of which Derrickson was chief at the time) fair values for the land. This conflict became so heated that at one point they even hired a hitman to murder Derrickson, and while the hitman injured Derrickson severely (I believe it was 285 stitches), Derrickson managed to fend him off and send him packing with a bullet in the shoulder. Following the failed assassination attempt, the trailer park owners worked with local politicians resentful of Westbank's financial success under Derricksom--who increased the Band's revenues by something like 3,500% during the mid-70s to 80s--to try and manufacture scandals to bring Derrickson down, but because all of his and the Band's business dealings were above board, the smear campaign failed and Derrickson eventually won defamation lawsuits against many of those involved.

This incident represents the amazing life Grand Chief Ron Derrickson has lived, contributing to his own Band and the wider Indigenous community, building businesses that make incredible profits, and most importantly perhaps, fighting for recognition of himself and his people's right to exist and to control their own lands and resources.
https://youtu.be/1kau4wQD2hE

[Miriam Kahn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kaipo Schwab becomes Grand Chief Ronald M. Derrickson, as he describes the life, accomplishments, and times of the leader of the Westbank First Nation and the Union of British Columbia Indian Chiefs.

Reading this, you'll learn about First Nations in Canada and gain an understanding of their history past and present. It's easy to apply these same lessons to First Nations in the United States.

Derrickson recounts a sobering history of how 'colonizers' interact with indigenous peoples.

Grand Chief Derrickson describes his life and accomplishments as private businessman and chief, as he increased his tribes’ wealth, position, and income over 3500% since the 1970s, through leasing and logging rights and through renegotiation of treaties with Canada, especially with British Columbia. He's a no-nonsense businessman, hard-nosed and determined to make certain his people get the best deals, especially when dealing with government officials.

Kaipo Schwab, Hawaiian / Chinese, is often cast in First Native roles and is a delight to listen to. For a description of the audio performance, see AudioFile Magazine http://www.audiofilemagazine.com

[Indigo bear · Rating 5 out of 5]

It took me a long time to start this book after I bought it. I was skeptical whether a capitalist man would be someone I’d actually want to learn about. But he’s like the Engels of Indigenous thought and action of Canada, and he made major interventions into Canadian politics and thought. I was very impressed. Glad I did read this in the end. An insider’s perspective on how being an arch capitalist actually can be a source for good, which I did not expect. I could see the proverbial capitalist innovation that took some quite surprising turns and his integrity stood up under such intense scrutiny. Integrity eg there was a 10 million dollar inquiry on his activities set up by right wing settler and corrupt Indigenous enemies, and he came out unscathed, and sued everyone else and won. He supported Arthur Manuel to write the books Manuel wrote near the end of his life, as Derrickson was able to bankroll him out of being this major capitalist. Overall, helped me see how one can work within the system and get a great deal done.

[Lorena · Rating 4 out of 5]

It took me a long time to read this but that's because I struggle to read e-books and wasn't a reflection of the content.

This book was useful for understanding the intricacies of Indigenous business development, particularly in BC. Having read Unsettling Canada, this book definitely has a different feel - it's more personal and feels more centred in BC rather than Canada as a whole. BUT it still has a lot of lessons that can resonate anywhere. The last few chapters sum things up well and can really galvanize the reader. They leave things open - the state and Canadians are still actively causing harm to Indigenous people and this is not the end of the story.

Definitely gets me thinking, on a personal level, about how I can be active and more concrete in giving land back and not just exist as a passionate bystander.

[Peter B · Rating 3 out of 5]

In Fight or Submit, Derrickson provides a well-reasoned picture of the often understood dilemma of Canada’s indigenous people. He shows how the settler culture has been responsible for demeaning and diminishing what was, and for preventing what could be.
Unfortunately, toward the end of the book he presents the incident of his daughter pushing her seat back on an airplane and being removed as a result, as being another example of racism. From my perspective it was simply thoughtless behavior on her part and made me question how much of the book was from a similar self-centered perspective.
However, the reader does not have to buy into the message to recognize a clear and well-presented argument and this book does that.

[Alistair · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting read. Lot of dirt thrown by a very savy politician and business man. Mostly on the federal, provincial and tribal leadership. This is not a guy you'd want to pick a fight with. He has a history of winning by escallating. Not much respect for "progress" to date, including the current federal lip service. I wonder who fills shoes like these now?

There was a bit of repetition and some poor editting in the second half of the book. First half was very well written. A lot of promoting his daughter in the latter half. Ah well.