Related Guides
Xwi7xwa Library Guide
Introduction
Zines are independent publications not mediated by mainstream publishers and are a form of counter-cultural production. The medium is also a hands-on method of creating and circulating materials that challenge dominant ideas around gender, racism, and sexuality. Zines are also known as fanzines, underground press, little magazines, small press & alternative publications. Formats include, but are not limited to: Art Zines, DIY Zines, Fanzines, Literary Zines, Personal Zines (also called Perzines), & Political Zines.
Why are Zines Important?
- They provide unique primary source material on contemporary histories and are often utilized as a medium for marginalized voices.
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They provide a cultural snapshot and provide local and historical value to the community.
Featured Zines
- Colonization and Decolonization: A Manual for Indigenous Liberation in the 21st Century
By Zig Zag (Gord Hill). "Provides an accessible and approachable introduction to colonialism, providing both historical background and an exploration of the ways in which colonialism continues to function in the present." (2006). - Defend the Territory: Tactics and Techniques for Countering Police Assaults on Indigenous Communities
By Zig Zag (Gord Hill). Reviews tactics and techniques used in countering police assaults on crowds and communities. (2014). - Everyone Calls Themselves An Ally, Until It’s Time To Do Some Real Ally Shit
By Xhopakelxhit from Ancestral Pride. Contains an informative set of guidelines and suggestions for creating a culture of resistance, anti-racism, and anti-colonialism. (2014). - Indigi-zine
Tumblr account. Links to multiple issues. - margins
"Anti-racist, anti-colonialist, Indigenous, queer, feminist Vancouver-based print and electronic zine produced by and for Indigenous women, women of colour and queer and/or trans women." Contains art, poetry, and stories. (2012). - Knowing the Land is Resistance (KLR)
By KLR, a collective that seeks to ally with the land and push back against the capitalist and colonial systems that profit from its destruction. Links to multiple issues.
Indigenous Zine Creators
Zig Zag is a pseudonym for Gord Hill (Kwakwaka’wakw), known for authoring the 500 Years of Resistance Comic Book. Under the name Zig Zag, he writes and publishes zines through Warrior Publications, based in Coast Salish territory. Comics from Gord Hill are also published regularly in Broken Pencil Magazine.
Se'mana Thompson (Akimel Otham/Hopi/Diné) is the co-creator of Decolonizing P@renting, a zine by & for queer parents of color; Black Indigenous Boy, a children's mental health zine; and the series Queer Indigenous Girl.
Distros with Indigenous Content
Distros (zine distribution centers) where you can find zines with Indigenous content:
Featured Resources
Notes from Underground by
Slug & Lettuce, Pathetic Life, I Hate Brenda, Dishwasher, Punk and Destroy, Sweet Jesus, Scrambled Eggs, Maximunrocknroll—these are among the thousands of publications which circulate in a subterranean world rarely illuminated by the searchlights of mainstream media commentary. In this multifarious underground, Pynchonesque misfits rant and rave, fans eulogize, hobbyists obsess. Together they form a low-tech publishing network of extraordinary richness and variety. Welcome to the realm of zines. In this, the first comprehensive study of zine publishing, Stephen Duncombe describes their origins in early-twentieth-century science fiction cults, their more proximate roots in 60s counter-culture and their rapid proliferation in the wake of punk rock. While Notes from Underground pays full due to the political importance of zines as a vital web of popular culture, it also notes the shortcomings of their utopian and escapist outlook in achieving fundamental social change. Duncombe's book raises the larger questionof whether it is possible to rebel culturally within a consumer society that eats up cultural rebellion. Packed with extracts and illustrations from a wide array of publications, past and present, Notes from Underground is the first book to explore the full range of zine culture and provides a definitive portrait of the contemporary underground in all its splendor and misery.
Call Number: PN4878.3 .D86 1997ISBN: 1859841589Publication Date: 1997
Zines in Third Space by
Develops third-space theory by engaging with zines produced by feminists and queers of color.
Call Number: PN4878.3 .L47 2012ISBN: 9781438443713Publication Date: 2012
- POC Zine ProjectTumblr page for POC (People of Colour) Zine Project.
- Self-to-community collaborations: Women of color interconnecting through zines [thesis]By Daisy Salinas (2014).
- Canzine: Festival of Zines and Underground Culture (Broken Pencil)Occurs annually in Vancouver, Toronto, Calgary, and Winnipeg.
- Broken PencilMagazine of zine culture and the independent arts.