Books

Once described as Louis Riel’s alter ego, Manitoba Premier John Norquay skirmished with John A. Macdonald and endured racist taunts while championing the interests of the Prairie West. This biography of an Indigenous political leader sheds welcome light on a neglected historical figure and a tumultuous time for Canada and Manitoba.

Throughout her remarkable career as a gallery director, curator, and author, Patricia Bovey has been a tireless champion for the work of Canadian artists. Western Voices in Canadian Art brings this lifelong passion to a crescendo, delivering the most ambitious survey of Western Canadian art to date.

Manitoba artist Don Proch is recognized as one of the most influential visual artists to come out of western Canada, and his work can be found in Canada’s major art galleries. Richly illustrated with more than 80 plates, this book discusses the themes and influences behind his work and their context within the history of Canadian art.

Mythologizing Norval Morrisseau examines the complex identities assigned to Anishinaabe artist Norval Morrisseau. Robertson looks at news stories, magazine articles, and film footage to examine the cultural assumptions that have framed Morrisseau.

Today a great number of Pauline Boutal’s works can be found in major private and corporate collections across Canada. For her contribution to the French culture and theatre in Canada, Boutal was awarded numerous prestigious prizes, including the Order of Canada.

Indigenous media challenges state power, erodes communication monopolies, and illuminates government threats to Indigenous cultural, social, economic, and political sovereignty. Its effectiveness in these areas, however, is hampered by government control of broadcast frequencies, licensing, and legal limitations over content and ownership.

Storied Landscapes is a beautifully written, sweeping examination of the evolving identity of major ethno-religious immigrant groups in the Canadian West including Ukrainians, Mennonites, Icelanders, Doukhobors, Germans, Poles, Romanians, Jews, Finns, Swedes, Norwegians, and Danes.

In a micro-analysis of 400 private letters, Families, Lovers, and their Letters examines the experiences of Italian migrants to Canada and their loved ones left behind in Italy following the Second World War, when the largest migration of Italians to Canada took place.

Drawing connections between immigrant groups in Buffalo, New York, and Kitchener, Ontario, Barbara Lorenzkowski examines the interactions of German-language education, choral groups, and music festivals and their roles in creating both an ethnic sense of self and opportunities for cultural exchanges at the local, ethnic, and transnational levels.

As a people who emerged, adapted, and survived in a climate of change, the western Ojibwa demonstrate both the effects of historic forces that acted upon Native peoples, and the spirit, determination, and adaptive strategies that the Native people have used to cope with those forces.

Written by fifteen Aboriginal scholars, activists, and community leaders, Restoring the Balance combines life histories and biographical accounts with historical and critical analyses grounded in traditional thought and approaches. It is a powerful and important book.

Skillfully combining vivid detail with the larger social context, For All We Have and Are provides a nuanced picture of how one Canadian community rebuilt both its realities and myths in response to the cataclysm of the “war to end all wars.”

At the turn of the nineteenth century, Saskatchewan was one of the fastest growing provinces in the country. It gave rise to socialist governments that continue to influence Canadian politics today. Perspectives of Saskatchewan presents an in-depth look at some of the major developments in the province’s history.

The product of three decades of research, this is the definitive biography of Lord Selkirk.

Mennonite Women in Canada traces the complex social history and multiple identities of Canadian Mennonite women over 200 years.

With a thoughtful introduction by Paul G. Socken, these lovely and intimate letters record the moving, affectionate friendship between two remarkable women.