The movie Avatar might empower indigenous people to rise up and defend the earth but it does nothing to empower people with dis/abilities to rise up and conquer the oppression they face through ableism. Regarding dis/ability, the message in Avatar is clear: redemption through the casting off of a defect or dis/ability. Salvation can be found by re-becoming able-bodied.

"In fact, the main character in the movie -- a crippled U.S. marine named Jake Sully --isn't really a warrior in either human or Na'vi culture until he gets the use of his legs back through a scientific miracle.

So, I have a confession to make: I've seen James Cameron's new film Avatar two times in three days: this is a rarity. I'm not a big movie-goer generally, and am even less excited by apolocalyptic sci-fi flicks that feature large, blue alien warriors.

After seeing the film Avatar, the recent release by James Cameron dealing with allegorical Indigenous Peoples on an alien planet that humans seek to colonize, displace and finally eliminate in order to access the rich resources in their territories, a few reflections emerge. The first is a more than passing resemblance to the actual reality of Indigenous Peoples in Canada and beyond, the bounty of whose land and resources have cost them great suffering at the hands of colonizers and would-be-saviours. The second interesting element is to reflect on the state of actual Indigenous-colonizer relations, and the state of Indigenous resistance to the colonizing project.