Treaties

An Indigenous Origin – The Maskoki Cheraw Connection unveils a deeply researched and long-overlooked history of the Lumbee Tribe’s ancestral connection to the Cheraw people. Drawing on fourteen years of meticulous research, LK Oxendine uncovers historical records, maps, treaties, and cultural narratives that restore a suppressed identity erased by centuries of denial, displacement, and political marginalization.

From the ancient Maskoki territories to the arrival of Spanish, French, and British forces, this compelling account traces the Lumbee Cheraw’s journey through survival, cultural preservation, and the ongoing struggle for recognition. Oxendine’s work honors the voices of ancestors, the strength of matrilineal societies, and the unbreakable ties between people and land.

Part memoir, part ethnographic history, this book invites readers to witness the truth long hidden in archives and oral traditions, truth that affirms an honorable Indigenous heritage and demands acknowledgment in the twenty-first century.

If you are drawn to Indigenous history, identity reclamation, and the untold stories of the American Southeast, An Indigenous Origin – The Maskoki Cheraw Connection is an essential read.

Additional Information
416 pages | 6.00" x 9.00" | Paperback 

In British Columbia, land acknowledgements often refer to “unceded territory.” Yet many people remain uncertain about the history behind these words or their implications for the future of the province.

Unceded reveals the BC government’s history of injustice toward First Nations, providing the context for understanding the province’s current reconciliation efforts, including modern treaty negotiations. Treaty commissioner George M. Abbott combines archival research with a former cabinet minister’s insider perspective on government to chronicle over 150 years of BC-Indigenous relations. Abbott’s account details how early government officials refused to negotiate treaties and instead coerced First Nations onto small and scattered reserves while granting settlers access to vast tracts of land. Despite sustained Indigenous resistance, the situation only worsened as non-Indigenous demands for land and natural resources increased in the decades that followed.

It was only after several Supreme Court decisions affirmed Indigenous land rights that BC sat down at the negotiating table. More recently, the province has taken notable steps toward reconciliation, concluding modern treaties and passing legislation that acknowledges Indigenous rights. As Abbott shows, overcoming the legacy of colonialism is no small task, but achieving justice is worth the effort it takes.

This book is for readers of BC history, those who follow provincial politics, or anyone invested in the future of British Columbia. It is essential reading for elected officials and policy makers and will also appeal to scholars and students of Canadian history, political science, and Indigenous-settler relations.

Reviews
"Unceded is an excellent account of the relationship between First Nation groups and the government of British Columbia. It is well-researched and enriched by interesting insights from George Abbott’s own involvement in more recent developments as a member of the provincial cabinet."— Jim Reynolds, author of Canada and Colonialism and former general counsel to the Musqueam First Nation

"I wish to thank George Abbott for his book about our colonial past. It is only with a better understanding of our history that we can have a better chance of creating a brighter future for First Nations in British Columbia."— From the foreword by the Honourable Steven Point, Grand Chief of the Stó:lō and BC’s first Indigenous Lieutenant-Governor

Additional Information
280 pages | 6.00" x 9.00" | Paperback 

Internationally renowned as an expert in Aboriginal law and an advocate for Indigenous rights, Bruce McIvor delivers concise, essential information for Canadians committed to truth and reconciliation.

A shortage of trustworthy information continues to frustrate Canadians with best intentions to fulfill Canada’s commitment to reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples. To meet this demand, lawyer and historian Bruce McIvor provides concise, plain answers to 100 essential questions being asked by Canadians across the country.

During his nearly three decades advocating for Indigenous rights and teaching Aboriginal law, McIvor has recorded the fundamental questions that Canadians from all corners of society have asked to advance reconciliation: Why do Indigenous people have special rights? What is the Doctrine of Discovery? Who are the Métis? Why was the Calder decision important? What is reconciliation? McIvor supplies the answers Canadians are looking for by scrapping the technical language that confuses the issues, and speaks directly to everyone looking for straight answers. Throughout, McIvor shares his perspective on why reconciliation as envisioned by the courts and Canadian governments frustrates Indigenous people and what needs to change to overcome the impasse. McIvor’s explanations of complex legal issues demonstrate a unique mix of a deep knowledge of the law, the ability to write clearly and concisely, practical experience from the frontlines of advocating for First Nations in courtrooms and at negotiation tables across the country, and a profound passion for justice rooted in his work and personal history.

To ensure the country’s reconciliation project progresses from rhetoric to reality, ordinary Canadians need straightforward answers to fundamental questions. McIvor provides the answers and context to support a thoughtful and respectful national conversation about reconciliation and the fulfillment of Canada’s commitment to a better future for Indigenous people.

Additional Information
208 pages | 5.50" x 8.50" | 25 colour and b&w photographs | Paperback

How people today create respectful relationships through peace and friendship.

Deyohahá:ge:, “two roads or paths” in Cayuga language, evokes the Covenant Chain-Two Row Wampum, known as the “grandfather of the treaties.” Famously, this Haudenosaunee wampum agreement showed how Indigenous people and newcomers could build peace and friendship by respecting each other’s cultures, beliefs, and laws as they shared the river of life.

Written by members of Six Nations and their neighbours, this book introduces readers not only to the 17th-century history of how the Dutch and British joined the wampum agreement, but also to how it might restore good relations today. Many Canadians and Americans have never heard of the Covenant Chain or Two Row Wampum, but 200 years of disregard have not obliterated the covenant. We all need to learn about this foundational wampum, because it is resurging in our communities, institutions, and courthouses—charting a way to a future.

The writers of Deyohahá:ge delve into the eco-philosophy, legal evolution, and ethical protocols of two-path peace-making. They tend the sacred, ethical space that many of us navigate between these paths. They show how people today create peace, friendship, and respect—literally—on the river of everyday life.

Reviews
"Deyohahá:ge: brilliantly reminds us of our obligations and responsibilities to one another, and the more-than-human world. It shows that pathways can only be forged by respecting the waters, earth, fires, and skies through which all creation travels.” - John Borrows, Loveland Chair in Indigenous Law, University of Toronto

Educator & Series Information
This book is part of the Indigenous Imaginings series.

Table of Contents
The Words That Come Before All Else
Acknowledgements
Introduction, Daniel Coleman, Ki’en Debicki, and Bonnie Freeman

Section One: Original Instructions
Gä•sweñta’ Reflections. Oren Lyons
Where the Roots Touch: tsi niyothahinen ne Tehontatenentshonteronhtáhkwa, Amber Meadow Adams
Wunnáumwash: Wampum Justice, Kelsey Leonard The Chain, Naturally Understood, Kayanesenh Paul Williams

Section Two: Learning from the River
Guswenta Space: An Invitation to Dialogue, David Newhouse
Navigating the Two Row in the Academy, Vanessa Watts
Two Rows of Reconciliation, Rick Hill
Below Decks in the Covenant: Blackness in the Two Row Tradition, Phanuel Antwi
Towards Peace: Living in the Three White Rows of the Two Row”, Sarah General

Section Three: Living on the River
The Pen Pal Project: Bridging the Divide with the Teachings of the Two Row Wampum Treaty,” Susie Miller and Scot Cooper
Deyohahage Gihe gowa’hneh: Living the Two Row Wampum, on the Grand River, Ellie Joseph and Jay Bailey
The Deep and Rippling Consciousness of Water: The Transition of Youth Experiences with the Two Row on the Grand River Paddle, Bonnie Freeman and Trish van Katwyk
Contributors
Endnotes
Bibliography
Glossary
Index

Additional Information
336 pages | 6.00" x 9.00" | Paperback 

Elders and leaders remind us that telling and amplifying histories is key for healing. Remembering Our Relations is an ambitious collaborative oral history project that shares the story of Wood Buffalo National Park and the Dënesųłıné peoples it displaced.

Wood Buffalo National Park is located in the heart of Dënesųłıné homelands, where Dené people have lived from time immemorial. Central to the creation, expansion, and management of this park, Canada’s largest at nearly 45, 000 square kilometers, was the eviction of Dënesųłıné people from their home, the forced separation of Dene families, and restriction of their Treaty rights.

Remembering Our Relations tells the history of Wood Buffalo National Park from a Dene perspective and within the context of Treaty 8. Oral history and testimony from Dene Elders, knowledge-holders, leaders, and community members place Dënesųłıné voices first. With supporting archival research, this book demonstrates how the founding, expansion, and management of Wood Buffalo National Park fits into a wider pattern of promises broken by settler colonial governments managing land use throughout the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.

By prioritizing Dënesųłıné histories Remembering Our Relations deliberately challenges how Dene experiences have been erased, and how this erasure has been used to justify violence against Dënesųłıné homelands and people. Amplifying the voices and lives of the past, present, and future, Remembering Our Relations is a crucial step in the journey for healing and justice Dënesųłıné peoples have been pursuing for over a century.

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352 pages | 6.00" x 9.00" | Paperback

A new tool for preserving Indigenous cultural heritages.

Intangible cultural heritage (ICH) refers to community-based practices, knowledges, and customs that are inherited and passed down through generations. While ICH has always existed, a legal framework for its protection only emerged in 2003 with the UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of Intangible Cultural Heritage. In Stored in the Bones, Agnieszka Pawłowska-Mainville details her work with Anishinaabeg and Inninuwag harvesters, showcasing their cultural heritage and providing a new discourse for the promotion and transmission of Indigenous knowledge.

The book focuses on lived experiences of the akiwenziyag and kitayatisuk, “men of the land” in Anishinaabemowin/Ojibwe and Inninumowin/Cree, respectively. These men shared their dibaajimowinan and achimowinak (life stories)—from putting down tobacco to tending traplines—with Pawłowska-Mainville during her fifteen years of research in Manitoba and northwestern Ontario. By performing their living heritage, the akiwenziyag and kitayatisuk are, in the words of Richard Morrison, doing what they need to do to “energize and strengthen their bones as they walk this Earth." Illustrating the importance of ICH recognition, Pawłowska- Mainville also explores her experiences with the Manitoba Clean Environment Commission regarding the impacts of hydro development and the Pimachiowin Aki UNESCO World Heritage Site nomination.

Stored in the Bones enriches discussions of treaty rights, land claims, and environmental and cultural policy. Presenting practical ways to safeguard ICH and an international framework meant to advance community interests in dealings with provincial or federal governments, the study offers a pathway for Indigenous peoples to document knowledge that is “stored in the bones.”

Reviews
“Pawłowska-Mainville’s study is a robust contribution to understanding sovereignty as a vital well-spring for action today. More importantly, this text properly contextualizes that sovereignty outside of colonial legal framings, and carefully establishes it within the continuous practice of ‘peoplehood’." — Wendy Russell

“This book contributes to ongoing discussions of Indigenous-settler relations in Canada around reconciliation, UNDRIP, and TRC. The environmental assessment context is intriguing and executed productively.” — Thomas (Tad) McIlwraith

Additional Information
320 pages | 6.00" x 9.00" | index, bibliography | Paperback

For six weeks in 2012–13, Attawapiskat chief Theresa Spence undertook a high-profile ceremonial fast to advocate for improved Canadian-Indigenous relations. Life against States of Emergency responds to the central question she asked the Canadian public to consider: What does it mean to be in a treaty relationship today? This incisive research weaves together community-engaged research, Attawapiskat lived experiences, discourse analysis, ecofeminist and Indigenous studies scholarship, art, activism, and storytelling to advance a transformative, future-oriented approach to treaty relations. By centring community voices, Life against States of Emergency seeks to cultivate democratic dialogue about environmental justice.

Reviews
"Wiebe’s book is rich, thoughtful, and wise. It centres Indigenous realities and theories, allowing readers to understand how the past informs the present, why representation matters, and how to move collectively toward an environmentally just future."— Jocelyn Thorpe, director of the Centre for Creative Writing and Oral Culture at the University of Manitoba

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312 pages | 6.00" x 9.00" | 19 b&w photos, 1 map | Paperback

Canada is a country founded on relationships and agreements between Indigenous people and newcomers. Although recent court cases have strengthened Aboriginal rights, the cooperative spirit of the treaties is being lost as Canadians engage in endless arguments about First Nations “issues.” Greg Poelzer and Ken Coates breathe new life into these debates by looking at approaches that have failed and succeeded in the past and offering all Canadians – from policy makers to concerned citizens – realistic steps forward. The road ahead is clear: if all Canadians take up their responsibilities as treaty peoples, Canada will become a leader among treaty nations.

Reviews
What is clear from this survey is that no consensus exists around how to improve Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal relations. This sketch by Poelzer and Coates does, however, do more than provide the reader with a useful review of proposals aimed at solving the “Indian problem” in Canada; it allows the authors to situate their own approach within a very complex debate characterised by a diversity of opinions (both within the Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal intellectual communities). From Treaty Peoples to Treaty Nation’s originality flows from its focus on the practical elements of these problems. By contrast, most other scholars’ approaches are philosophical, idealistic, and theoretical … With the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada’s release of its Final Report earlier this year, Poelzer and Coates’ work could not be timelier. — Darius Bossé, Saskatchewan Law Review, January 2016

"The greatest value of this volume [is that] it seeks to force productive debate, not fruitless fingerpointing and rancor. Whether or not it succeeds in doing so for Canada remains to be seen. Whether the United States, including the many indigenous peoples in the Great Plains, takes notice and begins more meaningful discussions of Americans as “Treaty Peoples” and a “Treaty Nation” likewise remains unclear. As a region with strong indigenous history and presence, these are debates worth having — on both sides of the border." — Brenden W. Rensink, Charles Redd Center for Western Studies Brigham Young University, Great Plains Research, October 2016

"The book provides an excellent summary of the work of various Canadian Indigenous political scholars such as Kiera Ladner, Bonita Beaty, Dan Russell, John Borrows and Glenn Coulthard. The treaty theme runs throughout the book, with historical and contemporary examples. This allows the reader to understand the past but also facilitates awareness of the modern-day treaty process that is underway in some parts of Canada.— Cora Voyageur, professor of sociology at the University of Calgary, and member of the Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation, Alberta Views, Vol. 19 No. 10, December 2016

Additional Information
366 pages | 6.00" x 9.00"

One of Canada's longest unresolved issues is the historical and present-day failure of the country's governments to recognize treaties made between Aboriginal peoples and the Crown. Compact, Contract, Covenant is renowned historian of Native-newcomer relations J.R. Miller's exploration and explanation of more than four centuries of treaty-making. The first historical account of treaty-making in Canada, Miller untangles the complicated threads of treaties, pacts, and arrangements with the Hudson's Bay Company and the Crown, as well as modern treaties to provide a remarkably clear and comprehensive overview of this little-understood and vitally important relationship.

Covering everything from pre-contact Aboriginal treaties to contemporary agreements in Nunavut and recent treaties negotiated under the British Columbia Treaty Process, Miller emphasizes both Native and non-Native motivations in negotiating, the impact of treaties on the peoples involved, and the lessons that are relevant to Native-newcomer relations today. Accessible and informative, Compact, Contract, Covenant is a much-needed history of the evolution of treaty-making and will be required reading for decades to come.

Additional Information
448 pages | 5.80" x 9.00"

A manifesto for the future of Indigenous Education in Canada

In Reclaiming Anishinaabe Law Leo Baskatawang traces the history of the neglected treaty relationship between the Crown and the Anishinaabe Nation in Treaty #3, and the Canadian government’s egregious failings to administer effective education policy for Indigenous youth—failures epitomized by, but not limited to, the horrors of the residential school system.

Rooted in the belief that Indigenous education should be governed and administered by Indigenous peoples, Baskatawang envisions a hopeful future for Indigenous nations where their traditional laws are formally recognized and affirmed by the governments of Canada. Baskatawang thereby details the efforts being made in Treaty #3 territory to revitalize and codify the Anishinaabe education law, kinamaadiwin inaakonigewin. Kinamaadiwin inaakonigewin considers education wholistically, such that it describes ways of knowing, being, doing, relating, and connecting to the land that are grounded in tradition, while also positioning its learners for success in life, both on and off the reserve.

As the backbone of an Indigenous-led education system, kinamaadiwin inaakonigewin enacts Anishinaabe self-determination, and has the potential to bring about cultural resurgence, language revitalization, and a new era of Crown-Indigenous relations in Canada. Reclaiming Anishinaabe Law challenges policy makers to push beyond apologies and performative politics, and to engage in meaningful reconciliation practices by recognizing and affirming the laws that the Anishinaabeg have always used to govern themselves.

Reviews
"Leo Baskatawang offers a passionate call for Indigenous self-determination and a reclamation of Anishinaabe education law and practice in raising up the next generation. This book can be used to envision a future that uses Indigenous treaties to drive systemic change in education."— Brittany Luby

Additional Information
240 pages | 6.00" x 9.00" | b&w illustrations, maps, index, bibliography | Paperback | 

Most Canadians know only a tiny part of the Ipperwash story – the 1995 police shooting of Dudley George. In Our Long Struggle for Home, George’s sister, cousins, and others from the Stoney Point Reserve tell of broken promises and thwarted hopes in the decades-long battle to reclaim their ancestral homeland, Aazhoodena, both before and after the police action culminating in George’s death.

Offering insights into Nishnaabeg lifeways and historical treaties, this compelling account conveys how government decisions have affected lives, livelihoods, and identity. We hear of the devastation wrought by forcible eviction when the government re-purposed Nishnaabeg ancestral territory as an army training camp in 1942, promising to return it after the war. By May 1993, the elders had waited long enough. They entered the still-functioning training camp, under cover of a picnic outing, and constituted themselves as the interim government of the reclaimed Stoney Point Reserve. The next two years brought cultural and social revival, though it was ultimately quashed as an illegal occupation.

Our Long Struggle for Home also shows what can be accomplished through perseverance and undiminished belief in a better future. This is a necessary lesson on colonialism, the power of resistance, persistence, and the possibilities inherent in recognizing treaty rights.

This is an important read for anyone who seeks a better understanding of the continuing influence of Canada’s colonial history and the injustices that Indigenous people have faced, and is a story that will inspire the Indigenous youth of today. It belongs in schools, public libraries, and reserves.

Reviews
"Our Long Struggle for Home is a beautiful articulation of Nishnaabeg world building and the deep relationality that is our practice to make and remake home. The Azhoodenaang Enjibaajig have gifted us the stories of their struggle to live as Nishnaabeg in their homeland and teach us how to live together in a way that brings forth more life." — Leanne Betasamosake Simpson, author of Noopiming: The Cure for White Ladies

"This is an incredible story about resistance and truth. Our Long Struggle for Home is critically important to the discussion about healing and reconciliation because it brings some clarity to what is taking place in Canada. It is brilliant in its simplicity." — Jerry Fontaine, former chief of the Sagkeeng First Nation

"This excellent book captures the honesty, dignity, and resilience of the Nishinaabe people involved in reclaiming their homeland at Stoney Point. It’s the first time the Ipperwash story has been told from their perspective; it’s a substantial contribution." — Justice Sidney B. Linden, commissioner for the Ipperwash Inquiry

"Our Long Struggle for Home is an excellent book of public education. It illustrates the havoc wreaked on Indigenous communities and complex outcomes of systemic poverty, frustration, and injustice. Through beautiful, and at times devastating, stories, it also offers powerful examples of healing, nourishment, and restoration." — Nicole Latulippe, assistant professor, Geography and Environmental Studies, University of Toronto Scarborough

Educator Information
Table of Contents
Foreword / John Borrows

Maps

Genealogy

Introduction

1 No Word for Surrender

2 “The House Was Gone”

3 Disruption and Determination

4 Under Cover of Prayer Meetings

5 Burying the Hatchet under a Peace Tree

6 Peacekeepers and Nation Builders

7 Taking the Barracks

8 September 5–6, 1995, Project Maple

9 September 5–6, 1995, from Our Point of View

10 After the Shooting

Epilogue: Two Boats Travelling Side by Side

Afterword: Learning to Be Treaty Kin / Heather Menzies

Notes; Index

Additional Information
208 pages | 6.00" x 9.00" | 2 maps, 1 genealogy chart | Paperback 

We find our way forward by going back.

The invented history of the Western world is crumbling fast, Anishinaabe writer Patty Krawec says, but we can still honor the bonds between us. Settlers dominated and divided, but Indigenous peoples won't just send them all "home."

Weaving her own story with the story of her ancestors and with the broader themes of creation, replacement, and disappearance, Krawec helps readers see settler colonialism through the eyes of an Indigenous writer. Settler colonialism tried to force us into one particular way of living, but the old ways of kinship can help us imagine a different future. Krawec asks, What would it look like to remember that we are all related? How might we become better relatives to the land, to one another, and to Indigenous movements for solidarity? Braiding together historical, scientific, and cultural analysis, Indigenous ways of knowing, and the vivid threads of communal memory, Krawec crafts a stunning, forceful call to "unforget" our history.

This remarkable sojourn through Native and settler history, myth, identity, and spirituality helps us retrace our steps and pick up what was lost along the way: chances to honor rather than violate treaties, to see the land as a relative rather than a resource, and to unravel the history we have been taught.

Additional Information
224 pages | 5.81" x 8.53" | Hardcover

Too often, history and knowledge of Indigenous-settler conflict over land take the form of confidential reports prepared for court challenges. To Share, Not Surrender offers an entirely new approach, opening scholarship to the public and augmenting it with First Nations community expertise.

The collection appraises the historical and present-day relevance of treaty-making in the colonies of Vancouver Island and British Columbia. The authors take us back to when James Douglas and his family relocated to Fort Victoria on Vancouver Island in 1849, critically tracing the transition from treaty-making in the colony of Vancouver Island to reserve formation in the colony of British Columbia. Informed by cel’aṉ’en – “our culture, the way of our people” – this multivocal work explicitly addresses the tensions between academic research, Indigenous knowledge, and local experience. The collection includes essays, translations/interpretations of the treaties into the SENĆOŦEN and Lekwungen languages, and contributions by participants of the Songhees, Huu-ay-aht, and WSANEC peoples.

The chapters demonstrate that the continuing inability to arrive at equitable land-sharing arrangements stem from a fundamental absence of will with respect to accommodating First Nations world views. To Share, Not Surrender is an attempt to understand why, and thus to advance the urgent task of reconciliation in Canada.

The multiple perspectives presented in this important work will find equally diverse audiences: Canadian historians, scholars and students of Indigenous studies, ethno-historians, legal historians, lawyers practising in the areas of Aboriginal law, and researchers preparing historical reports on First Nation land claims.

Reviews
"The past is with us and history matters. Read To Share Not Surrender as a great example of how there can be different interpretations of the past." — Robin Fisher, The British Columbia Review

"After James Douglas negotiated treaties on Vancouver Island, he never made another in BC. Why not? Some of the foremost experts in the field work here to answer this question, analyzing Douglas’s policies and their lasting impact on BC First Nations’ continuing battle with rights and title." — Daniel Boxberger, professor emeritus, anthropology, Western Washington University

"The connection that To Share, Not Surrender makes between the events of the 1850s and 1860s and the modern-day treaty process in British Columbia is extremely valuable. It helps the reader develop a better understanding, not only of colonial history, but also of the relevance of Indigenous law to territorial claims today." — Kent McNeil, author of Flawed Precedent: The St. Catherine’s Case and Aboriginal Title

Educator Information
Contributors: Keith Thor Carlson, Robert Clifford, Emchayiik Robert Dennis Sr., STOLCEL John Elliott Sr., Elmer George, Stephen Hume, Maxine Hayman Matilpi, Kevin Neary, Adele Perry, Sarah Pike, Chief Ron Sam, and Laura Spitz

Additional Information
330 pages | 6.00" x 9.00" | Paperback

The Truth and Reconciliation Commission and Indigenous activism have made many non-Indigenous Canadians uncomfortably aware of how little they know about First Nations, Métis, and Inuit peoples. In Braided Learning, Susan Dion shares her approach to engaging with Indigenous histories and perspectives. Using the power of stories and artwork, Dion offers respectful ways to learn from and teach about challenging topics including settler-colonialism, treaties, the Indian Act, residential schools, and the Sixties Scoop. Informed by Indigenous pedagogy, Braided Learning draws on Indigenous knowledge to make sense of a difficult past, decode unjust conditions in the present, and work toward a more equitable future.

This book is a must-read for teachers and education students. It should also be read by students and practitioners in social work, child and youth counselling, policing, and nursing, or anyone seeking a foundational understanding of the histories of Indigenous peoples and of settler colonialism in Canada.

Reviews
“This book should be in every educator’s library. It serves as a model for educators to learn and teach about the history of Indigenous peoples and settler colonialism without fear or reservation. It is exactly what has been asked for over and over again.”— Tracey Laverty, First Nations, Inuit and Métis Education, Saskatoon Public Schools

"Braided Learning is a safe learning space for people at the start of their learning journey about Indigenous education and history. Each reader will take away the parts of the stories that are important to them, just like listeners do when we hear stories in the lodge from our elders. Nobody tells you what to do – you figure it out yourself with some subtle guidance." — Deb St. Amant, elder-in-residence, Faculty of Education, Queen’s University

"Understanding how educators can participate in reconciliation means understanding what stands in the way. Susan Dion understands both. Highly readable, engaging, and passionate, this book moves teachers from apprehension to action. Educators of all levels, read this book and take heed of Dion’s question: “So what are you going to do now?” — Amanda Gebhard, co-editor of White Benevolence: Racism and Colonial Violence in the Helping Professions

Educator Information
Table of Contents
Introduction: Indigenous Presence

1 Requisites for Reconciliation

2 Seeing Yourself in Relationship with Settler Colonialism

3 The Historical Timeline: Refusing Absence, Knowing Presence, and Being Indigenous

4 Learning from Contemporary Indigenous Artists

5 The Braiding Histories Stories / Co-written with Michael R. Dion

Conclusion: Wuleelham – Make Good Tracks

Glossary and Additional Resources: Making Connections, Extending Learning

Notes; Bibliography

Additional Information
288 pages | 6.00" x 9.00" | Paperback

Additional Information
202 pages | 6.00" x 9.00" | 5 black and white photos | Hardcover

Faced with a constant stream of news reports of standoffs and confrontations, Canada’s “reconciliation project” has obviously gone off the rails. In this series of concise and thoughtful essays, lawyer and historian Bruce McIvor explains why reconciliation with Indigenous peoples is failing and what needs to be done to fix it.

Widely known as a passionate advocate for Indigenous rights, McIvor reports from the front lines of legal and political disputes that have gripped the nation. From Wet’suwet’en opposition to a pipeline in northern British Columbia, to Mi’kmaw exercising their fishing rights in Nova Scotia, McIvor has been actively involved in advising First Nation clients, fielding industry and non-Indigenous opposition to true reconciliation, and explaining to government officials why their policies are failing.

McIvor’s essays are honest and heartfelt. In clear, plain language he explains the historical and social forces that underpin the development of Indigenous law, criticizes the current legal shortcomings and charts a practical, principled way forward.

By weaving in personal stories of growing up Métis on the fringes of the Peguis First Nation in Manitoba and representing First Nations in court and negotiations, McIvor brings to life the human side of the law and politics surrounding Indigenous peoples’ ongoing struggle for fairness and justice. His writing covers many of the most important issues that have become part of a national dialogue, including systemic racism, treaty rights, violence against Indigenous people, Métis identity, the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People (UNDRIP) and the duty to consult.

McIvor’s message is consistent and powerful: if Canadians are brave enough to confront the reality of the country’s colonialist past and present and insist that politicians replace empty promises with concrete, meaningful change, there is a realistic path forward based on respect, recognition and the implementation of Indigenous rights.

Additional Information
208 pages | 5.50" x 8.50" | Paperback

"I hear so much power in these pages. I also feel it." —Richard Van Camp

We Remember the Coming of the White Man chronicles the history of the Sahtú (Mountain Dene) and Gwinch’in People in the extraordinary time of the early 20th century. This 2021 Special Edition of the book recognizes the anniversary of the signing of Treaty 11, which is greatly controversial due to the emotional and economic fallout for the People.

The remastered film “We Remember,” is included with the book, on DVD and as digital Vimeo links. As well as poignant essays on Treaty 11, the book includes transcripts of oral histories by Elders. They talk about the early days of fur trading and guns; the flu pandemic; and dismay about the way oil and uranium discoveries and pipelines were handled on their land. A new section of stories is included as well — stories by Leanne Goose, Antoine Mountain, Raymond Yakeleya, and George Blondin.

Dene Elders in the book (now all deceased) are Joe Blondin, John Blondin, Elizabeth Yakeleya, Mary Wilson, Isadore Yukon, Peter Thompson, Jim Sittichinli, Sarah Simon, Johnny Kay, and Andrew Kunnizzi. Dene translation is by Bella Ross.

Reviews
"We Remember The Coming of the White Man should be crucial reading for anyone in Canada because it speaks to the resiliency of the Dene and Metis people of Denendeh. It's also a testament to the power of memory carried in the oral tradition. To think what our ancestors have seen in one lifetime: relations with the Hudon's Bay Company, TB, Influenza, Treaty signings, the first musket loader, Residential Schools, the first radio, the first TV, a man on the moon. It is staggering. I hear so much power in these pages. I also feel it. I am grateful to everyone involved in this project because it is a life's work honouring the witnessing of so much change in so little time. Mahsi cho, everyone. I am grateful. We will have and celebrate this book and the DVD that accompanies it forever."— Richard Van Camp, Author

"Our traditional knowledge is recorded in the stories of our ancestors since time immemorial. In this book, you will read our oral history and traditions that are our Dene parables, used to guide ourselves and our People.” — Norman Yakeleya, Dene National Chief

“All Canadians are enriched by the stories in this collection. By listening to these stories, we take a step together towards reconciliation. We are learning the truth and building an understanding. We are nurturing respect and reciprocity. We are honouring our relations in a good way.”—­Colette Poitras, Chair of the Canadian Federation of Library Associations Indigenous Matters Committee

Educator Information
Author royalties for this edition are being used to create a scholarship for an emerging Indigenous writer in conjunction with Northwords Writers Festival.

Keywords: Indigenous, Dene Nation, Elders, Treaty 11, Hudson Bay Company, Missionaries, Northwest Territories.

Contains DVD of film We Remember.

Editors: Sarah Stewart & Raymond Yakeleya
Foreword : Walter Blondin,
Elders: Elizabeth Yakeleya, Sarah Simon, Mary Wilson, Joe Blondin, John Blondin, Isadore Yukon, Johnny Kaye, Jim Edwards Sittichinli, Peter Thompson, Andrew Kunnizzi
Storytellers and Authors: Colette Poitras, Leanne Goose, George Blondin, Raymond Yakeleya, Antoine Mountain
Artists: Antoine Mountain, Ruth Schefter, Deborah Desmarais

This book is part of the Indigenous Spirit of Nature series.

Additional Information
272 pages | 6.00" x 9.00" | 100 b&w photographs, 10 b&w line drawings 

In a world that requires knowledge and wisdom to address developing crises around us, The Gatherings shows how Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples can come together to create meaningful and lasting relationships.

Thirty years ago, in Wabanaki territory – a region encompassing the state of Maine and the Canadian Maritimes – a group of Indigenous and non-Indigenous individuals came together to explore some of the most pressing questions at the heart of Truth and Healing efforts in the United States and Canada. Meeting over several years in long-weekend gatherings, in a Wabanaki-led traditional Council format, assumptions were challenged, perspectives upended, and stereotypes shattered. Alliances and friendships were formed that endure to this day.

The Gatherings tells the moving story of these meetings in the words of both Indigenous and non-Indigenous participants. Reuniting to reflect on how their lives were changed by their experiences and how they continue to be impacted by them, the participants share the valuable lessons they learned.

The many voices represented in The Gatherings offer insights and strategies that can inform change at the individual, group, and systems levels. These voices affirm that authentic relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples – with their attendant anxieties, guilt, anger, embarrassments, and, with time, even laughter and mutual affection – are key to our shared futures here in North America. Now, more than ever, it is critical that we come together to reimagine.

Reviews
“Very impressive. The contributions of these men and women are noteworthy and deserve to be read and available to all persons who are interested and want to learn from them.” — The Hon. Graydon Nicholas, Chancellor and Endowed Chair in Native Studies, St. Thomas University, and Former Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick

“Shirley N. Hager’s gentle and affirming spirit shines through as she introduces the reader to this unique, collective experience. I felt so much gratitude for each participant, opening themselves to let strangers in.” — Beth Clifford, Curriculum Coordinator, Maine Indian Education

“I had intended to only take a quick look at the book and come back to it later, but once I started reading I couldn’t stop. The Gatherings is a very well-constructed book of great importance both as a cultural document and as a tool for teaching and learning.”

Educator Information
Mawopiyane
Gwen Bear
The Reverend Shirley Bowen
Alma H. Brooks/Zapawey-kwey
gkisedtanamoogk
JoAnn Hughes
Debbie Leighton
Barb Martin
Miigam’agan
T. Dana Mitchell
Wayne A. Newell
Betty Peterson
Marilyn Keyes Roper
Wesley Rothermel

Afterword by Dr. Frances Hancock

To reflect the collaborative nature of this project, the word Mawopiyane is used to describe the full group of co-authors. Mawopiyane, in Passamaquoddy, literally means "let us sit together," but the deeper meaning is of a group coming together, as in the longhouse, to struggle with a sensitive or divisive issue – but one with a very desirable outcome. It is a healing word and one that is recognizable in all Wabanaki languages.

Table of Contents
Foreword
With Gratitude
Notes on Terminology
Introduction

Gathering

The Talking Circle

Miigam’agan
Wayne
Gwen
Dana
Alma
Barb
gkisedtanamoogk
Shirley H.
Debbie
Shirley B.
Wesley
Marilyn
Betty
JoAnn

The Last Gathering
The Decision
Hindsight
The Gatherings: May 1987 to May 1993
Creating This Book

The Giveaway Blanket

The Circle and Ceremony
The Circle and Decision Making
Ceremony: Protect or Share It?

Allies, Friends, Family
Beginnings
The Women Compare Notes
The Relationship Evolves
Mutuality

How We Got Here
The Doctrine of Discovery
But What about the Treaties?
The Personal Is Political
Economic Self-Determination
Beginning to Make Amends
Some Progress ... and a Long Way to Go

How It Could Be Different
Being Here Legitimately
Acknowledging First Peoples/Honoring the Treaties
An Indigenous Worldview
The Need for Gathering Spaces
Creating a Gathering Space
Working Together on a Cause
Humility versus “White Guilt”
Non-Natives Working with Our Own People
Entering the Longhouse

Being in the Relationship: An Afterword by Dr. Frances Hancock

Appendix: How This Book Came to Be
Notes
Suggested Resources
Contributors
Map: Location of the Gatherings
Reader’s Guide
Index

Additional Information
304 pages | 6.00" x 9.00" | 23 illustrations

Authenticity Note: This book's contributors are Indigenous and non-Indigenous. Readers must determine if this works as an authentic Indigenous work for their purposes.

The Whaling People live along the west coast of Vancouver Island and Cape Flattery in Washington. They comprise more than 20 First Nations, including the Nuu-chah-nulth (formerly called Nootka), Ditidaht, Pacheedaht and Makah. These socially related people enjoyed a highly organized, tradition-based culture for centuries before Europeans arrived. As whaling societies, they had a unique relationship with the sea.

In The Whaling People, Eugene Arima and Alan Hoover give an intimate account of the traditional ways in which these coastal people looked at and understood the world they lived in. They present the activities, technologies, and rituals that the Whaling People used to make a living in their complex coastal environments, and their beliefs about the natural and supernatural forces that affected their lives. The book features 12 narratives collected from First Nations elders, each illustrated with original drawings by the celebrated Hesquiaht artist Tim Paul.

This informative and entertaining book celebrates the still-thriving cultures of the Whaling People, who survived the devastating effects of colonial power and influences. It includes a history of treaty-making in BC, leading up to the just-ratified Maa-nulth Treaty signed by five First Nations of the Whaling People.

Additional Information
272 pages | 6.00" x 9.00"

Authenticity Note: Because of the artwork and narratives contributed to this work from First Nations elders and Hesquiaht artist Tim Paul, it has received the Authentic Text and Artwork labels. It's up to readers to determine if this work qualifies as authentic for their purposes.

Indigenous Peoples in Canada are continuing to assert their right to self-determination in this era of reconciliation. While dozens of Indigenous communities have signed varying forms of self-government agreements with the federal government, Indigenous Nations still face many obstacles along the path to true self-determination.

As a former Chief of Siksika Nation in southern Alberta, Leroy Wolf Collar dealt with many of the same problems other Indigenous Nations face across the country. From serious housing shortages to the lack of opportunities for youth, Chief Wolf Collar experienced the challenges and frustrations that come from operating in a colonial system still constrained by the Indian Act.

How do Indigenous Peoples move on from this defective system? Chief Wolf Collar identifies 17 issues that currently hinder Indigenous Nations—including broken treaty promises, problems with common forms of band administration, and the intrusion of provincial governments—along with potential solutions to overcome them.

This guide is for current and aspiring Indigenous leaders who want to increase their understanding of good governance, management, and leadership, as well as those who want to explore issues around Indigenous self-determination in Canada.

Educator Information
Recommended in the Canadian Indigenous Books for Schools 2020/2021 resource list for grades 11 and 12 for use in these areas: Law, English Language Arts, and Social Studies.

Additional Information
128 pages | 6.00" x 9.00"

In 2015, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission released a report designed to facilitate reconciliation between the Canadian state and Indigenous Peoples. Its call to honour treaty relationships reminds us that we are all treaty people — including immigrants and refugees living in Canada. The contributors to this volume, many of whom are themselves immigrants and refugees, take up the challenge of imagining what it means for immigrants and refugees to live as treaty people. Through essays, personal reflections and poetry, the authors explore what reconciliation is and what it means to live in relationship with Indigenous Peoples.

Speaking from their personal experience — whether from the education and health care systems, through research and a community garden, or from experiences of discrimination and marginalization — contributors share their stories of what reconciliation means in practice. They write about building respectful relationships with Indigenous Peoples, respecting Indigenous Treaties, decolonizing our ways of knowing and acting, learning the role of colonized education processes, protecting our land and environment, creating food security and creating an intercultural space for social interactions.

Perhaps most importantly, Reconciliation in Practice reminds us that reconciliation is an ongoing process, not an event, and that decolonizing our relationships and building new ones based on understanding and respect is empowering for all of us — Indigenous, settler, immigrant and refugee alike.

Educator Information
Table of Contents
Preface
Contributors
Introduction
Reconciliation: Challenges and Possibilities (Ranjan Datta)
Sámi Reconciliation in Practice: A Long and Ongoing Process (Irja Seurujärvi-Kari and Pirjo Kristiina Virtanen)
Reconciliation Through Decolonization (Colleen J. Charles)
Reconciliation: A White Settler Learning from the Land (Janet McVittie)
Integrating Indigenous Knowledge in Practice and Research: A New Way Forward for the Immigrant Health Professionals (Farzana Ali)
Reconciliation Through Transnational Lenses: An Immigrant Woman’s Learning Journey (Jebunnessa Chapola)
Letter to John A. Macdonald (Chris Scribe)
Reconciliation as Ceremonial Responsibility: An Immigrant’s Story (Ranjan Datta)
Reconciliation via Building Respectful Relationships and Community Engagement in Indigenous Research (Valerie Onyinyechi Umaefulam)
Reconciliation and New Canadians (Ali Abukar)
Holes and Gray (Khodi Dill)
References
Index

Additional Information
168 pages | 6.00" x 9.00"

Surviving Canada: Indigenous Peoples Celebrate 150 Years of Betrayal is a collection of elegant, thoughtful, and powerful reflections about Indigenous Peoples' complicated, and often frustrating, relationship with Canada, and how--even 150 years after Confederation--the fight for recognition of their treaty and Aboriginal rights continues.

Through essays, art, and literature, Surviving Canada examines the struggle for Indigenous Peoples' to celebrate their cultures and exercise their right to control their own economic development, lands, water, and lives.

The Indian Act, Idle No More, and the legacy of residential schools are just a few of the topics covered by a wide range of elders, scholars, artists, and activists. Contributors include Mary Eberts, Buffy Sainte-Marie, and Leroy Little Bear.

Reviews
"Published to coincide with celebrations of the 150th anniversary of Canadian confederation, this insightful compendium of largely Indigenous voices challenges all Canadians to improve relations with and conditions for the continents First Nations Peoples. Poems, essays, interviews, song lyrics, and illustrations bring razor-sharp clarity to historic and contemporary issues, including the shameful history of residential schools, current reconciliation efforts, conflicts over resource development, and how best to confront legacies of racism and colonialism. The editors' aim to provide an accessible educational tool is well-served by coverage of diverse topics, including over-representation of Indigenous people in prison, land dispossession, and how social amnesia prevents progress. Equally impressive is the recovery of repressed histories, such as First Nation women's suffrage struggles, how the city of Winnipeg was built with stolen water, and the critical battle to preserve language rights. Contributors including the late actor Chief Dan George, singer-songwriter Buffy Saint-Marie, and a number of writers and activists, such as Erica Violet Lee and Helen Knott share feelings of anger and disappointment at past and ongoing injustices, as well as an incredible hope that insistent resilience that has marked Indigenous existence in Canada will help spark a new awakening for all Canadians." - Publishers Weekly

Additional Information
464 pages | 5.50" x 8.50"

The two major schools of thought in Indigenous-Settler relations on the ground, in the courts, in public policy, and in research are resurgence and reconciliation. Resurgence refers to practices of Indigenous self-determination and cultural renewal whereas reconciliation refers to practices of reconciliation between Indigenous and Settler nations, such as nation-with-nation treaty negotiations. Reconciliation also refers to the sustainable reconciliation of both Indigenous and Settler peoples with the living earth as the grounds for both resurgence and Indigenous-Settler reconciliation.

Critically and constructively analyzing these two schools from a wide variety of perspectives and lived experiences, this volume connects both discourses to the ecosystem dynamics that animate the living earth. Resurgence and Reconciliation is multi-disciplinary, blending law, political science, political economy, women's studies, ecology, history, anthropology, sustainability, and climate change. Its dialogic approach strives to put these fields in conversation and draw out the connections and tensions between them.

By using “earth-teachings” to inform social practices, the editors and contributors offer a rich, innovative, and holistic way forward in response to the world’s most profound natural and social challenges. This timely volume shows how the complexities and interconnections of resurgence and reconciliation and the living earth are often overlooked in contemporary discourse and debate.

Reviews
"Resurgence and Reconciliation provides a broader critical framework from which readers may begin to reset the charged political landscape of reconciliation. In the quickly expanding literature, law, and activism, some of the urgency of reconciliation has been unnecessarily lost. This book calls for quiet contemplation and a peaceful reframing of discussion and negotiations in what has become a noisy, busy field of Canada’s national reconciliation project." - Jeffery G. Hewitt, Faculty of Law, University of Windsor

"This collection represents a sustained and engaged dialogue between eminent and emerging scholars of Indigenous rights as they attempt to conceptualize, critique, collaborate, and document relationships of reconciliation and resurgence. The editors and contributors take on the complex debates, challenges, intersections, and fractions facing Canadians, both Indigenous and non-Indigenous, making this a profoundly important counter-colonial work." - Jane McMillan, Department of Anthropology, St Francis Xavier University

Additional Information
384 pages | 6.00" x 9.00"

Indigenous traditions can be uplifting, positive, and liberating forces when they are connected to living systems of thought and practice. Problems arise when they are treated as timeless models of unchanging truth that require unwavering deference and unquestioning obedience. Freedom and Indigenous Constitutionalism celebrates the emancipatory potential of Indigenous traditions, considers their value as the basis for good laws and good lives, and critiques the failure of Canadian constitutional traditions to recognize their significance.

Demonstrating how Canada’s constitutional structures marginalize Indigenous peoples’ ability to exercise power in the real world, John Borrows uses Ojibwe law, stories, and principles to suggest alternative ways in which Indigenous peoples can work to enhance freedom. Among the stimulating issues he approaches are the democratic potential of civil disobedience, the hazards of applying originalism rather than living tree jurisprudence in the interpretation of Aboriginal and treaty rights, American legislative actions that could also animate Indigenous self-determination in Canada, and the opportunity for Indigenous governmental action to address violence against women.

Awards

• 2017 Donald Smiley Prize awarded by the Canadian Political Science Association joint winner

Reviews
"This remarkable work is at once challenging and accessible, philosophical and practical, and wide-ranging while firmly rooted in Anishinaabe tradition. Borrows takes a realistic, creative, and intellectually rigorous approach to some of the most difficult and pressing issues in Indigenous law, constitutional law, and political philosophy, as well as all readers who wish to better understand the relationship between indigenous peoples and Canada."— Katherine Starks, Saskatchewan Law Review

Additional Information
384 pages | 5.98" x 8.99"

Indigenous Relations: Your Guide to Working Effectively with First Nations, Métis, and Inuit.

A timely sequel to the bestselling 21 Things You May Not Know About the Indian Act - and an invaluable guide for anyone seeking to work more effectively with Indigenous Peoples.

We are all treaty people. But what are the everyday impacts of treaties, and how can we effectively work toward reconciliation if we're worried our words and actions will unintentionally cause harm?

Hereditary chief and leading Indigenous relations trainer Bob Joseph is your guide to respecting cultural differences and improving your personal relationships and business interactions with Indigenous Peoples. Practical and inclusive, Indigenous Relations interprets the difference between hereditary and elected leadership, and why it matters; explains the intricacies of Aboriginal Rights and Title, and the treaty process; and demonstrates the lasting impact of the Indian Act, including the barriers that Indigenous communities face and the truth behind common myths and stereotypes perpetuated since Confederation.

Indigenous Relations equips you with the necessary knowledge to respectfully avoid missteps in your work and daily life, and offers an eight-part process to help business and government work more effectively with Indigenous Peoples - benefitting workplace culture as well as the bottom line. Indigenous Relations is an invaluable tool for anyone who wants to improve their cultural competency and undo the legacy of the Indian Act. 

Educator Information
Recommended in the Canadian Indigenous Books for Schools 2020/2021 resource list for grades 11 and 12 in these areas: Social Studies, Law, English Language Arts, and Social Justice.

Additional Information
200 pages | 8.00" x 5.00"

Regardless of Canada's governmental attitude of entitlement, First Nations, Métis and Inuit lands and resources are still tied to treaties and other documents. Their relevance seems forever in dispute, so it is important to know about them, to read them, to hear them and to comprehend their constitutional significance in contemporary life.

This book aims to reveal another side of the treaties and their histories, focusing on stories from contemporary perspectives, both Mi'kmaw and their non-Mi'kmaw allies, who have worked with, experienced and indeed lived with the treaties at various times over the last fifty years. These authors have had experiences contesting the Crown's version of the treaty story, or have been rebuilding the Mi'kmaq and their nation with the strength of their work from their understandings of Mi'kmaw history. They share how they came to know about treaties, about the key family members and events that shaped their thinking and their activism and life's work.

In Living Treaties, the authors offer the stories of those who have lived under the colonial regime of a not-so-ancient time. Herein are passionate activists and allies who uncover the treaties, and their contemporary meanings, to both Mi'kmaq and settler societies and who speak to their future with them. Here also are the voices of a new generation of indigenous lawyers and academics who have made their life choices with credentials solidly in hand in order to pursue social and cognitive justice for their families and their people. Their mission: to enliven the treaties out of the caverns of the public archives, to bring them back to life and to justice as part of the supreme law of Canada; and to use them to mobilize the Mi'kmaw restoration and renaissance that seeks to reaffirm, restore and rebuild Mi'kmaw identity, consciousness, knowledges and heritages, as well as our connections and rightful resources to our land and ecologies.

Additional Information
324 pages | 6.00" x 9.00"

In Solemn Words and Foundational Documents, Jean-Pierre Morin unpacks the complicated history of Indigenous treaties in Canada. By including the full text of eight significant treaties from across the country—each accompanied by a cast of characters, related sources, discussion questions, and an essay by the author—he teaches readers how to analyze and understand treaties as living documents. 

The book begins by examining treaties concluded during the height of colonial competition, when France and Britain each sought to solidify their alliances with Indigenous peoples. It then goes on to tell the stories of treaty negotiations from across the country: the miscommunication of ideas and words from Crown representatives to treaty text; the varying ranges of rights and promises; treaty negotiations for which we have a rich oral history but limited written records; multiple phases of post-Confederation treaty-making; and the unique case of competing treaties with radically different interpretations.

Educator Information

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Timeline
Introduction: Reading a Treaty and Overview of Treaties Addressed by Chapter
1. 1752 Peace and Friendship Treaty
2. 1760 Huron-British Treaty
3. 1805 Treaty 13 (Toronto Purchase)
4. 1850 Robinson-Huron Treaty
5. 1852 Saanich Treaty
6. 1871 Treaty 1
7. 1899 Treaty 8
8. 1923 Williams Treaty
Appendix 1: Cast of Characters
Appendix 2: Glossary of Terms

Reviews
"Solemn Words and Foundational Documents heeds the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s call for a better understanding of treaties in what is now Canada. Using a case-study approach, Morin provides students with important and accessible information about the treaties themselves, their continued significance, and the relationship between oral and written historical sources. Aimed at senior undergraduate students, the discussion questions, format, and perspectives included in the text make for a valuable pedagogical tool." - Lianne C. Leddy, Wilfrid Laurier University

"In order for reconciliation to occur, Canadians need to better understand how we came to live on Indigenous land, and Morin’s important new book helps to do just that. Historical documents related to treaty history are often scattered across archives and hard to access. This book brings together the treaties themselves, along with related documents and a sharp analysis. The result is a valuable book that will be read by students, scholars, and the general public who are increasingly coming to realize that still today, we are living in treaty relationships with First Nations." - Alison Norman, Trent University

Additional Information
280 pages | 6.00" x 9.00"

Nta’tugwaqanminen provides evidence that the Mi’gmaq of the Gespe’gewa’gi (Northern New Brunswick and the Gaspé Peninsula) have occupied their territory since time immemorial. They were the sole occupants of it prior to European settlement and occupied it on a continuous basis. This book was written through an alliance between the Mi’gmaq of Northern Gespe’gewa’gi (Gaspé Peninsula), their Elders and a group of eminent researchers in the field with the aim of reclaiming their history, both oral and written, in the context of what is known as knowledge re-appropriation. It also provides non-Aboriginal peoples with a view of how Mi’gmaq history looks when it is written from an Indigenous perspective. 

There are two voices in the book — that of the Mi’gmaq of the Gespe’gewa’gi, including the Elders, as they act as narrators of the collective history, and that of the researchers, who studied all possible aspects of this history, including advanced investigation on place names as indicators of migration patterns. 

Nta’tugwaqanminen speaks of the Gespe’gewa’gi Mi’gmaq vision, history, relation to the land, past and present occupation of the territory and their place names and what they reveal in terms of ancient territorial occupation. It speaks of the treaties they agreed to with the British Crown, the respect of these treaties on the part of the Mi’gmaq people and the disrespect of them from the various levels of governments. This book speaks about the dispossession the Mi’gmaq of Gespe’gewa’gi had to endure while the European settlers illegally occupied and developed the Gaspé Peninsula to their own advantage and the rights and titles the Mi’gmaq people still have on their lands.

Author Note: The Gespe’gewa’gi Mi’gmawei Mawiomi is the organization that represents the three communities of the northern part of Gespe’gewa’gi. Research associates Richard Jeannotte and Donald Jeannotte, both Gespe’gewa’gi Mi’gmaqs, and Danielle E. Cyr, senior scholar at York University, wrote the seven first chapters. Troy Jerome, current Mi’gmawei Mawiomi Secretariat Executive Director / Nutewistoq wrote Chapter 8.

Indigenous perspectives much older than the nation itself shared through maps, artwork, history and culture.

The Royal Canadian Geographical Society, in partnership with Canada's national Indigenous organizations, has created a groundbreaking four-volume atlas that shares the experiences, perspectives, and histories of First Nations, Inuit and Métis peoples. It's an ambitious and unprecedented project inspired by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's Calls to Action. Exploring themes of language, demographics, economy, environment and culture, with in-depth coverage of treaties and residential schools, these are stories of Canada's Indigenous Peoples, told in detailed maps and rich narratives.

This extraordinary project offers Canada a step on the path toward understanding.

The volumes contain more than 48 pages of reference maps, content from more than 50 Indigenous writers; hundreds of historical and contemporary photographs and a glossary of Indigenous terms, timelines, map of Indigenous languages, and frequently asked questions. All packaged together in a beautifully designed protective slipcase.

Educator Information
Recommended for ages 13+.

The Indigenous Peoples Atlas of Canada includes a four volume print atlas, an online atlas, an app, and more!

Additional Information
322 pages | 10.50" x 12.87"

Since the 1980s successive Canadian institutions, including the federal government and Christian churches, have attempted to grapple with the malignant legacy of residential schooling, including official apologies, the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples, the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement, and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). In Residential Schools and Reconciliation, award winning author J. R. Miller tackles and explains these institutional responses to Canada’s residential school legacy. Analysing archival material and interviews with former students, politicians, bureaucrats, church officials, and the Chief Commissioner of the TRC, Miller reveals a major obstacle to achieving reconciliation – the inability of Canadians at large to overcome their flawed, overly positive understanding of their country’s history. This unique, timely, and provocative work asks Canadians to accept that the root of the problem was Canadians like them in the past who acquiesced to aggressively assimilative policies.

Excerpt
From the Conclusion:
"Canadians cannot approach reconciliation thinking that fine words and amicable gestures are enough. First Nations want their claims settled and many are interested in concluding treaties. Until Canada moves effectively to meet their desires, the country lacks the measures of social justice for Native peoples that are precondition for progress towards reconciliation...The cause of reconciliation is not hopeless; there are encouraging signs of individual and local initiatives designed to bring about reconciliation on a small scale...If enough of these small actions develop and spread, they could create the popular support for large-scale state measures that will redress the hard, material wrongs that stand in the way of reconciliation. Should that blissful day ever come, Canada will be able to advance meaningfully towards the goal of reconciliation."

Reviews
Professor Jim Miller of the University of Saskatchewan pulls back the curtain on the historical blame game. Residential Schools and Reconciliation documents Ottawa’s handling of Aboriginal issues. This is not ancient history. It just happened."
— Holly Doan, Blacklock’s Reporter. Saturday, November 18, 2017

As colonial nations around the world seek pathways to post-conflict reconciliation, J.R. Miller’s timely work is an important reminder of both the potential obstacles and the healing possibilities of such initiatives.
— Leigh Anne Williams, Publishers Weekly, February 12, 2018

Additional Information
368 pages | 6.00" x 9.00"

The relationship between Canada’s Indigenous peoples and the Canadian government is one that has increasingly come to the fore. Numerous tragic incidents and a legacy of historical negligence combined with more vehement calls for action is forcing a reconsideration of the relationship between the federal government and Indigenous nations.

In The Right Relationship, John Borrows and Michael Coyle bring together a group of renowned scholars, both indigenous and non-indigenous, to cast light on the magnitude of the challenges Canadians face in seeking a consensus on the nature of treaty partnership in the twenty-first century. The diverse perspectives offered in this volume examine how Indigenous people’s own legal and policy frameworks can be used to develop healthier attitudes between First Peoples and settler governments in Canada. While considering the existing law of Aboriginal and treaty rights, the contributors imagine what these relationships might look like if those involved pursued our highest aspirations as Canadians and Indigenous peoples. This timely and authoritative volume provides answers that will help pave the way toward good governance for all.

Additional Information
440 pages | 6.00" x 9.00"

Delgamuukw. Sixties Scoop. Bill C-31. Blood quantum. Appropriation. Two-Spirit. Tsilhqot’in. Status. TRC. RCAP. FNPOA. Pass and permit. Numbered Treaties. Terra nullius. The Great Peace…

Are you familiar with the terms listed above? In Indigenous Writes, Chelsea Vowel, legal scholar, teacher, and intellectual, opens an important dialogue about these (and more) concepts and the wider social beliefs associated with the relationship between Indigenous peoples and Canada. In 31 essays, Chelsea explores the Indigenous experience from the time of contact to the present, through five categories – Terminology of Relationships; Culture and Identity; Myth-Busting; State Violence; and Land, Learning, Law, and Treaties. She answers the questions that many people have on these topics to spark further conversations at home, in the classroom, and in the larger community.

Reviews
"Chelsea attacks issues head on, with humour and wit, sarcasm and cynicism and clear, concise and well-organized information. She makes further research easy, as every chapter includes copious endnotes with links to her curated resources. She explains the terminology of identity — status, non-status, registered, membership, Métis, Inuit, cultural appropriation and two-spiritedness." —Nancy Adams-Kramp

"While subtitled A Guide to First Nations, Métis and Inuit Issues in Canada, it would be a mistake to see Indigenous Writes as a book primarily about Indigenous people. Instead, it is much more about all of us — our relationship as non-Indigenous and Indigenous Canadians, and how it has been shaped (and misshaped) by the historic and contemporary governance of these issues.

For any Canadian who wishes to have an informed opinion about the country that we share — or, more to the point, publicly share that opinion — Indigenous Writes is essential reading."—Michael Dudley

Educator & Series Information
This book is part of the Debwe Series.

For all teachers.

Approved for Manitoba classrooms.  

ERAC approved.

Additional Information
291 pages | 7.00" x 9.00"

In 2015-2016, Peace Pipe Dreams was the award recipient for First Nation Communities Read.

Darrell Dennis is a stereotype-busting, politically incorrect Native American/Aboriginal/Shuswap (Only he's allowed to call himself an "Indian." Maybe. Under some circumstances). With a large dose of humour and irreverence, he untangles some of the truths and myths about First Nations: Why do people think Natives get free trucks, and why didn't he ever get one? Why does the length of your hair determine whether you’re good or bad? By what ratio does the amount of rain in a year depend on the amount of cactus liquor you consume?

In addition to answering these burning questions, Dennis tackles some tougher subjects. He looks at European-Native interactions in North America from the moment of first contact, discussing the fur trade, treaty-signing and the implementation of residential schools. Addressing misconceptions still widely believed today, Dennis explains why Native people aren't genetically any more predisposed to become alcoholics than Caucasians; that Native religion doesn't consist of worshipping rocks, disappearing into thin air, or conversing with animals; and that tax exemptions are so limited and confusing that many people don't even bother.

Employing pop culture examples, personal anecdote and a cutting wit, Darrell Dennis deftly weaves history with current events to entertain, inform and provide a convincing, readable overview of First Nations issues and why they matter today.

Additional Information
224 pages | 5.65" x 8.52"

Kiciwamanawak, my cousin: that is what my Elders said to call you. You have a treaty right to occupy and use this territory. You received that right when my family adopted yours.

So begins Harold Johnson's narrative on the relationship between First Nations, governments, and society in general. Writing in response to a student asking him what the treaties mean, Johnson presents a different view of the treaty relationship. Treaties were the instruments that gave Europeans the right to settle here, share resources, and build a relationship of equality with those who were here before. Johnson's ancestors did not intend the treaties to allow the subjugation and impoverishment of First Nations, or give settler governments the right to legislate every aspect of First Nations activities.

In an easy to read style, the author presents his eloquent view, on behalf of a people, on what treaties between First Nations and governments represent. Topics discussed include the justice system, reconciliation of laws, political divisions, resources, taxation, assimilation, leadership, sovereignty, the Constitution, youth, and relations between next generations. Two Families is a passionate plea for the restoration of harmony and equality between First Nations and the rest of Canadian society. It is a must read for everyone seeking to understand an Aboriginal perspective on treaties.

Harold Johnson practices law in La Ronge, northern Saskatchewan, and balances this with operating his family's traditional trap line using a dog team. He has served in the Canadian Navy, and worked in mining and logging before returning to school. He holds a law degree from the University of Saskatchewan and a master's degree in law from Harvard. He is also the author of two novels, Billy Tinker and Backtrack, both set in northern Saskatchewan against a background of traditional Cree mythology.

Neal McLeod examines the history of the nêhiyawak (Cree People) of western Canada from the massive upheavals of the 1870s and the reserve period to the vibrant cultural and political rebirth of contemporary times. Central to the text are the narratives of McLeod's family, which give first hand examples of the tenacity and resiliency of the human spirit while providing a rubric for reinterpreting the history of Indigenous people, drawing on Cree worldviews and Cree narrative structures.

In a readable style augmented with extensive use of the Cree language throughout, McLeod draws heavily on original research, the methodology of which could serve as a template for those doing similar work. While the book is based on the Cree experience of the Canadian prairies, its message and methodology are applicable to all Indigenous societies.

Neal McLeod holds a doctorate in Interdisciplinary Studies, and currently teaches Indigenous Studies at Trent University in Peterborough, Ontario. In addition to being a visual artist and entertainer, he has published a book of poetry, Songs to Kill a Wihtikow, and has another forthcoming entitled Gabriel's Beach. He is Cree and Swedish, and was born and raised in Saskatchewan.

Building on the success of the first two editions, this volume briefly recaps the historical development and public acceptance of the concept of Aboriginal self-government, then proceeds to examine its theoretical underpinnings, the state of Aboriginal self-government in Canada today, and the many practical issues surrounding implementation. Topics addressed include: justice innovations, initiatives in health and education to grant greater Aboriginal control, financing and intergovernmental relations, Aboriginal-municipal government relations, developing effective Aboriginal leadership, Métis self government aspirations, the intersection of women’s rights and self-government, and international perspectives. Various self-government arrangements already in existence are examined including the establishment of Nunavut, the James Bay Agreement, Treaty Land Entitlement settlements, the Alberta Métis settlements, and many other land claims settlements that have granted Aboriginal communities greater control over their affairs.

This book is an interdisciplinary guide for practitioners, policy makers, and students interested in learning about government policy and the aspirations of Canada’s Aboriginal peoples. With the exception of three updated chapters, all of the material by the 31 contributors in this volume is new and original. Brief biographies of the contributors can be found on our web site.

Contributors Include: 

Yale Belanger is an assistant professor of Native American Studies at the University of Lethbridge where he divides his time as the department’s history and politics specialist while also teaching in the First Nations Governance Program in the Management Department. He is the author of Gambling with the Future: The Evolution of Aboriginal Gaming in Canada (Purich Publishing, 2006). 

Frances Abele teaches in the School of Public Policy and Administration at Carleton University. She publishes in the areas of northern and Indigenous affairs, and has worked with Indigenous governments and organizations for the last three decades. 

Yvon Allard is an independent Aboriginal health consultant in Ottawa. As a member of the Manitoba Métis community, he has served as an advisor on health issues to regional and national Métis organizations. 

Colette Arcand is a fourth-year student majoring in Native Studies with a minor in Economics. Colette is a member of the Alexander First Nation in Alberta and a volunteer board member of the Friends of the Kipohtakaw Historical Foundation. 

Catherine Bell is a professor of law at the University of Alberta specializing in Aboriginal legal issues, property law, community based legal research, and dispute resolution. She has published extensively on Métis and First Nation legal issues including two books on the Métis settlements: Alberta’s Métis Settlement Legislation: An Overview of Ownership and Management of Settlement Lands and Contemporary Métis Justice: The Settlement Way. 

Brian Calliou is the program director for The Banff Centre’s Aboriginal Leadership and Management. Brian is a member of the Sucker Creek First Nation in north central Alberta and holds memberships with the Canadian Bar Association, the Indigenous Bar Association, and the Legal Archives Society of Alberta. 

Angela Cameron is a Ph.D. candidate at the Faculty of Law, University of Victoria. Her areas of research and writing include: restorative justice, criminal law, intimate violence, reproductive technologies, property law, and feminist legal theory. 

Larry Chartrand is an Associate Professor of Law at the University of Ottawa. His area of scholarship is in the field of Aboriginal rights and in particular, Métis rights. He obtained his B.Ed. from the University of Alberta in 1986, his LL.B from York University in 1989, and his LL.M. from Queen’s University in 2001. He was Director of the Aboriginal Governance Program and Professor of Politics at the University of Winnipeg from 2004 - 2007. 

Ken Coates is Professor of History and Dean, Faculty of Arts, University of Waterloo. He specializes in the history of the Canadian North, Indigenous-newcomers relations and contemporary Aboriginal political issues. His most recent work is A Global History of Indigenous Peoples: Struggle and Survival. 

Jo-Anne Fiske is Dean of Graduate Studies and professor of Women’s Studies at the University of Lethbridge. She has worked with Aboriginal and First Nations communities on social policy, health policy, human rights, and homelessness. 

Augie Fleras is associate professor of sociology at the University of Waterloo. He is the author of numerous books, including Social Problems in Canada (Third Edition) and Unequal Relations (Third Edition; with Jean Elliott) and Recalling Aotearoa(with Paul Spoonley). 

Jim Frideres is currently a professor of Sociology and the Director of the International Indigenous Studies program at the University of Calgary. He also holds the Chair of Ethnic Studies. He is the author of numerous articles and co-author with Rene Gadacz of Aboriginal Peoples in Canada, now in its 8th edition. 

Joe Garcea is a professor in the Department of Political Studies at the University of Saskatchewan, where he teaches local government, public administration, and public policy analysis. His areas of expertise include municipal and intergovernmental relations. He co-authored with F. Laurie Barron Urban Indian Reserves: Forging New Relationships in Saskatchewan (Purich Publishing, 1999). 

Ailsa Henderson is assistant professor in the Political Science at the University of Toronto. The author of Nunavut: Rethinking Political Culture (UBC Press, 2007), she has published two books and more than twenty-five journal articles or book chapters on sub-state political culture in federal and multi-national states, and is the principal investigator of the Nunavut Social Attitudes Survey. 

James (Sa'ke'j) Youngblood Henderson is the research director of the Native Law Centre of Canada and teaches Aboriginal law at the College of Law, University of Saskatchewan. He was awarded the Indigenous Peoples’ Counsel (2005) and the National Aboriginal Achievement Award for Law and Justice (2006). 

John Hylton has served as a chief executive, university educator, senior public servant, and consultant. He has served many commissions and inquiries in all parts of Canada, including the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples and the Ipperwash Inquiry. He is currently active working with organizations to improve strategy, leadership, governance and performance. John was the editor of the first two editions of Aboriginal Self-Government in Canada (Purich Publishing, 1994, 1999). 

Robert Alexander Innes is a Member of Cowessess First Nation and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Native Studies at the University of Saskatchewan. 

Josee Lavoie is an assistant professor in the Health Sciences Program at the University of Northern British Columbia who previously spent 10 years working for Indigenous controlled primary health care services in Nunavut and northern Saskatchewan. 

Roger Maaka, Ngati Kahungunu, is head of the Department of Native Studies at the University of Saskatchewan. He sits on the Waitangi Tribunal enquiry into the Indigenous Flora and Fauna and Intellectual Property claim. His research interests include urbanization and Indigenous peoples, Native Studies as an academic discipline, post-treaty settlement development, the construction of contemporary indigenous identities, and indigeneity as a global social movement. 

W.R. Morrison is Professor of History, University of Northern British Columbia. He works on aspects of northern Canada history and is currently working with Ken Coates on a survey history of major Canadian court cases. 

Bradford W. Morse is Professor of Law, University of Ottawa. He was Research Director to the Aboriginal Justice Inquiry of Manitoba 1988-91; Chief of Staff to Minister of INAC 1993-96; legal advisor, consultant, and negotiator for many First Nations, national and regional Indigenous organizations, royal commissions, and governments in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand over the past 30 years. 

Val Napoleon is a member of the Saulteau First Nation in northeastern British Columbia and is of Cree and Dunnezah heritage. She worked as a community activist and consultant in northwestern B.C. for over twenty-five years. Since 2005, Val has been an assistant professor with the University of Alberta teaching in the Faculties of Law and Native Studies. 

David Newhouse is Onondaga from the Six Nations of the Grand River community near Brantford, Ontario. He is the first Principal of the Peter Gzowski College at Trent University and former Chair of the Department of Native Studies. He is an Associate Professor in the Department of Native Studies and the Business Administration Program. 

John O’Neil is Dean of Health Sciences at Simon Fraser University. He has published more than 120 papers and reports on a variety of Aboriginal health issues, including self-government and health system development, cultural understandings of environmental health risks, and social determinants of health disparities. 

Terrence Ross Pelletier is former Chief of Cowessess First Nation and served as the Treaty Land Entitlement Coordinator for Cowessess during the band’s TLE process. He is currently pursuing a Masters in Educational Administration at the University of Saskatchewan. 

Michael Prince is Lansdowne Professor of Social Policy at the University of Victoria. Among his areas of research, he has collaborated with Frances Abele on numerous publications dealing with Aboriginal [Indigenous] government and Canadian federalism. 

Jeff Reading is a professor in the Faculty of Human and Social Development and a faculty associate with the Indigenous Governance Program at the University of Victoria. He is Fellow of the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences and his research has brought attention to issues such as disease prevention, tobacco use and misuse, and diabetes among Aboriginal people in Canada. 

Jean-Paul Restoule is assistant professor of Aboriginal Education in the Department of Adult Education and Counselling Psychology at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education of the University of Toronto. He is a member of the Dokis First Nation. 

Harold Robinson is a member of the Métis Settlements General Council located in Edmonton, Alberta. 

Dahti Scott is currently studying at the University of Alberta where she is completing an undergraduate double major in Environmental Conservation Sciences and Native Studies. Dahti is a Tlicho Dene who grew up in the Northwest Territories. 

Gabrielle Slowey is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Political Science at York University (Toronto) where she teaches courses in Aboriginal Politics. Her research focuses on issues of self-government, land claims, and non-renewable resource development. Field sites include northern Alberta, Yukon, NWT, James Bay and New Zealand.

Authenticity Note: Because of the contributions from Indigenous peoples to this work, it has been labelled as containing Authentic Indigenous Text.

The 1999 Nisga'a agreement covering part of NW British Columbia was truly the first postcolonial land claims settlement in Canada, the author argues. The book analyzes the impact the agreement has on federal/provincial/First Nations relations and in a concise manner examines the major terms of the agreement. She notes that the agreement marks a major departure from previous agreements with First Nations and outlines the opposition, including two court challenges, mounted against the agreement.

In order to interpret and implement a treaty between the Crown and Canada’s First Nations, we must look to its spirit and intent, and consider what was contemplated by the parties at the time the treaty was negotiated, argues author Aimée Craft. Using a detailed analysis of Treaty One – covering what is today southern Manitoba – she illustrates how Anishinabe laws (inaakonigewin) defined Treaty One negotiations and opened the door to a “gathering of spirit.” Those laws included the obligations and responsibilities that derive from the relationship to the land, the need to wait for all participants before negotiations began in order to respect their jurisdiction and decision making authority, and the rooting of the treaty relationship in kinship, including references to the Queen as a mother. These legal concepts and many more are examined in this book with the author illustrating how the terms of Treaty One were defined by such principles. Anishinabe laws (inaakonigewin) defined the settler-Anishinabe relationship well before the Treaty One negotiations in 1871 – for example the Selkirk Treaty of 1817 which in part laid the groundwork for Treaty One. While the focus of this book is on Treaty One, the principles of interpretation apply equally to all treaties with First Nations.