Books

Based on over two decades of extensive interviews, Mind’s Eye documents the stories told by eighteen Cree elders in Whapmagoostui. From testimonies about battles with the Inuit and early contact with Europeans, to simple descriptions of playing games and making caribou-skin coats, these stories record the history of the James Bay Cree.

An entirely new way of viewing Aboriginal cultural indentity on the northern plains.

The life story of Verna J. Kirkness, a Cree woman from Manitoba, whose simple quest to teach “in a Native way,” revolutionized Canadian education policy and practice.

This groundbreaking anthology features twenty-four contributors who utilize creative and critical approaches to propose that this people’s stories carry dynamic answers to questions posed within Anishinaabeg communities, nations, and the world at large.

Capturing the complexity and nuance of relations between French and Indians in the heart of North America from 1630 to 1815, this collection examines a number of thematic areas that provide a broader assessment of the historical bridge-building process.

A groundbreaking introduction to Inuit literary criticism.

In December 2002 members of the Grassy Narrows First Nation blocked a logging road to impede the movement of timber industry trucks and equipment within their traditional territory. The Grassy Narrows blockade went on to become the longest-standing protest of its type in Canadian history. The story of the blockade is a story of convergences.

Comprised of twelve essays, the book examines the way of life and cultural survival of Inuit from communities throughout northern and central Labrador, including: social economy of wildfood production, forced relocations and land claims, subsistence and settlement patterns, and issues around climate change, urban planning, and self-government.

Finding a Way to the Heart examines race, gender, identity, and colonization from the early nineteenth to the late twentieth century, and illustrates Sylvia Van Kirk’s extensive influence on a generation of feminist scholarship.

In his groundbreaking book, For King and Kanata, Timothy C. Winegard reveals how national and international forces directly influenced the more than 4,000 status Indians who voluntarily served in the Canadian Expeditionary Force between 1914 and 1919.

The first book to examine the role of Canada’s newspapers in perpetuating the myth of Native inferiority.

A rare and inspiring guide to the health and well-being of Indigenous women and their communities.

In this long-awaited book from one of the most recognized and respected scholars in Native Studies today, Emma LaRocque presents a powerful interdisciplinary study of the Native literary response to racist writing in the Canadian historical and literary record from 1850 to 1990.

First Nations Gaming in Canada examines the history of Aboriginal gaming and its role in indigenous political economy, the rise of large-scale casinos and cybergaming, the socio-ecological impact of problem gambling, and the challenges of labour unions and financial management.

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.

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.

Taking Back Our Spirits traces the link between Canadian public policies, the injuries they have inflicted on Indigenous people, and Indigenous literature’s ability to heal individuals and communities.

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.