Blair Stonechild
Blair Stonechild is a member of the Muscowpetung First Nation in Saskatchewan. He obtained his B.A. from McGill, and M.A. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Regina, and in 1976 was the first academic hired by the Saskatchewan Indian Federated College (SIFC). Blair is currently Professor of Indigenous Studies and has served as Dean of Academics and Executive Director of Development for the First Nations University of Canada (formerly Saskatchewan Indian Federated College). He co-authored with Dr. Bill Waiser, Loyal Till Death: Indians and the North-West Rebellion, which won the Saskatchewan Book Award and was a finalist for the Governor General’s Literary Award in 1997. Dr. Stonechild’s book on First Nations post-secondary policy, The New Buffalo: Aboriginal Post-secondary Policy in Canada (2006), was a finalist for the Saskatchewan Book Award. Blair was a Trustee of the Canadian Museum of Civilization from 1990 to 1998. He has done extensive consulting on Aboriginal education. Blair is married to Sylvia and is father to Michael, Rachel, and Gabrielle.
Books (4)
Synopsis:
Rediscovering, valuing, and embracing Indigenous spirituality and wisdom is critical for humanity to survive in the future.
Civilization is a western, Eurocentric construct borne from a distrust of nature, a desire to endlessly exploit it and profit from it. Despite being a relatively recent development, civilization’s inherent logic has resulted in over-population, inequality, poverty, misery, war, and climate change and now threatens humanity’s very survival. How can humanity expect to survive if it continues to look for solutions from the very structures and ideologies that have brought it to the brink of extinction?
In this final book of his trilogy, Dr. Blair Stonechild deftly illustrates how Indigenous spirituality, wisdom, and land-based knowledge is critical to human survival in the face of environmental destruction and human-induced climate change. Reinterpreting world history from an Indigenous perspective, Stonechild’s solution to this unfolding catastrophe is “ecolization,” a state in which humans recognize they are not the central purpose of creation and a way of existing harmoniously with the natural and spiritual worlds.
Beautifully written, urgent, and critical, Challenge to Civilization reminds us that it is not Earth that is in danger of extinction, but ourselves, and Indigenous spiritual wisdom can be the guiding light through what will otherwise be humanity’s final, ever-darkening days.
Additional Information
184 pages | 6.00" x 9.00" | Paperback
Synopsis:
As a follow-up to his award-winning The Knowledge Seeker: Embracing Indigenous Spirituality, Blair Stonechild continues his exploration of the Indigenous spiritual teachings passed down to him by Elders, and then moves his study further afield. He identifies the rise of what he terms a dominant wetigo worldview, marked by an all-consuming and destructive appetite that is antithetical to the relational philosophy of Indigenous thinking whereby all things are interrelated and in need of care and respect.
Based on Stonechild’s work with Indigenous peoples around the world, from Inuit communities in northern Canada, to the Mapuche in Chile, the Dalits in India and the Uighurs in the Xinjiang Autonomous Region of China, The Loss of Indigenous Eden and the Fall of Spirituality brings together and highlights the fundamental commonalities that connect all Indigenous nations, while calling for global recognition and respect of their rights and spirituality.
Reviews
“One of the best articulations in print of some introductory teachings of a contemporary Elder.” —Mark Rumi, professor of Religion and Culture, University of Winnipeg
“It is thought-provoking, philosophical, informative, and celebrates the resilience and strength of Indigenous spirituality and our relationships to the sacred.” —Kathleen E. Absolon-King, author of Kaandossiwin
Additional Information
288 pages | 6.00" x 9.00"
Synopsis:
This startling retelling of the North-West Rebellion explodes the myth of a grand Indian-Métis alliance and delves into the reasons why Indians have been branded as traitors and rebels in both the public imagination and official records.
After the rebellion, twenty-eight reserves were officially identified as disloyal, and more than fifty Indians - including Poundmaker and Big Bear - were convicted of rebellion-related crimes. The most damning event was the mass execution of eight Indian warriors at Fort Battleford in November 1885.
But Indian elders have long told stories about how First Nations remained faithful to their treaty promises during the conflict. Having their own peaceful strategies for dealing with an insensitive federal government, they were not interested in Riel's activities, and any Indian involvement was isolated, sporadic, and minimal. But Ottawa deliberately portrayed the Indians as outlaws to justify increasingly restrictive and repressive measures, an injustice that has left a lasting legacy with First Nations people.
Loyal Till Death is the first comprehensive look at the Indian version of the North-West Rebellion. It brings to life many personalities - particularly those of the Indian leaders, whose voices have seldom been heard in conventional histories of the Canadian West. Combining oral history and exhaustive research, and illustrated with more than one hundred archival photographs, the book sheds new light on a greatly misunderstood aspect of our past.
Additional Information
224 pages | 6.00" x 9.00"
Synopsis:
The Knowledge Seeker tells the story of the developing Indigenous-run education movement and calls forth the urgent need to teach about Indigenous spirituality.
Educator Information
Table of Contents
Foreword
Acknowledgments
Introduction
CHAPTER 1: Wanting to Know
CHAPTER 2: Controlling Our Education
CHAPTER 3: The Great Principle
CHAPTER 4: The Great Law
CHAPTER 5: Once Powerful Healing
CHAPTER 6: Re-evaluating the Past
CHAPTER 7: Contemporary Crisis
CHAPTER 8: Modern Study of Spirit
CHAPTER 9: Restoring Balance
EPILOGUE: "Creator Does Not Lose His Children"
Notes
Glossary
Bibliography
Index
Additional Information
224 pages | 6.00" x 9.00"
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