Social and Cultural Studies

A qaggiq, or large communal iglu, is a place of community renewal and celebration.

In many Inuit communities late winter and early spring gatherings, with all the markers of Qaggiq, have persisted through modernization. The Qaggiq process has always been used to share news and knowledge, and to enjoy feasts and friendly skill-building competitions. They are also forums for community justice and healing work. Qaggiq is at the centre of renewal, as it begins when people have survived another winter.

In The Qaggiq Model, Janet Tamalik McGrath considers how the structure and symbolism of the Qaggiq can be used to understand Inuit-centred methodologies toward enhanced wellbeing in Inuit communities.

Drawing on interviews with the late philosopher and Inuit elder Mariano Aupilarjuk, along with her own life—long experiences, McGrath bridges Inuktut and Western academic ways of knowing. She addresses the question of how Inuktut knowledge renewal can be supported on its own terms. It is through an understanding of Inuktut knowledge renewal, McGrath argues, that the impacts of colonialism and capitalism can be more effectively critiqued in Inuit Nunangat.

The Qaggiq Model offers new ways of seeing how Inuit-centred spaces can be created and supported toward communal well-being. This wide-ranging work will be of interest to scholars of epistemology, Indigenous studies, and Canadian studies, as well as all readers with an interest in Inuit worldviews.

Additional Information
410 pages | 6.00" x 9.00" | English with Inuktitut Transcripts

Indigenous naturopathic doctor Nicole Redvers pairs evidence-based research with traditional healing modalities, addressing modern health problems and medical processes

Modern medical science has finally caught up to what traditional healing systems have known for centuries. Many traditional healing techniques and medicines are often assumed to be archaic, outdated, or unscientific compared to modern Western medicine. Nicole Redvers, a naturopathic physician and member of the Deninu K'ue First Nation, analyzes modern Western medical practices using evidence-informed Indigenous healing practices and traditions from around the world--from sweat lodges and fermented foods to Ayurvedic doshas and meditation. Organized around various sciences, such as physics, genetics, and microbiology, the book explains the connection between traditional medicine and current research around epigenetics and quantum physics, for example, and includes over 600 citations. Redvers, who has traveled and worked with Indigenous groups around the world, shares the knowledge and teachings of health and wellness that have been passed down through the generations, tying this knowledge with current scientific advances. Knowing that the science backs up the traditional practice allows us to have earlier and more specific interventions that integrate age-old techniques with the advances in modern medicine and technology.

Reviews
"Redvers illuminates the common ground that underlies both traditional and conventional healing practices. Each chapter identifies and analyzes the different cultural assumptions that can keep healing practices separate from one another, while the depth of the author’s knowledge allows us to see the ways in which these different practices can be rooted in the wisdom of the body. A call for the holistic healing that integrates multiple traditions for healing of mind, body, emotion, and spirit.”—Robin Wall Kimmerer, PhD, author of Braiding Sweetgrass

“Drawing on her own unique upbringing and total lived experience—melding wisdom received from her Dene elders of Northern Canada and lessons learned from witnessing illness, poverty, despair, and environmental degradation in various parts of the world—Redvers provides unique insight that only a First Nations person and practicing integrative medicine doctor can bring. The Science of the Sacred is a compass pointing toward a much-needed rebellion in healing. The revolution of the self begins!”—Alan C. Logan, co-author of Your Brain on Nature

“Nicole Redvers neatly ties together her cultural Dene roots and stories from other Indigenous cultures in an evidence-informed manner to look at medicine, the health of our planet, and the health of humans as individuals and societies. She poses questions and solutions that deserve exploration and will keep you thinking long after finishing this, her first work.”—Paul Saunders, PhD, ND

“This is a powerful and courageous book of personal and planetary healing. It points directly to the core of all of our problems, where also lie the path to our solutions. Drawing on modern science and the ancient wisdom of the First Nations Elders it makes a resounding call for change, carefully balancing the well-reasoned practicalities with the inspiration and passion needed to achieve these. In a cataclysmic era for human and planetary health a seismic shift is needed—that we may rediscover our purpose, our roots and our sense of self, from which all else flows. Dr. Redvers takes us boldly to that frontier, and shows us where we might cross the threshold to a new era of health.” —Susan Prescott, MD, PhD, president of inVIVO Planetary Health, paediatrician and immunologist, University of Western Australia

Additional Information
296 pages | 6.04" x 8.98"

Confronting the truths of Canada’s Indian Residential School system has been likened to waking a sleeping giant. In this book, David B. MacDonald uses genocide as an analytical tool to better understand Canada’s past and present relationships between settlers and Indigenous peoples. Starting with a discussion of how genocide is defined in domestic and international law, the book applies the concept to the forced transfer of Indigenous children to residential schools and the "Sixties Scoop," in which Indigenous children were taken from their communities and placed in foster homes or adopted.

Based on archival research and extensive interviews with residential school survivors, officials at the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, and others, The Sleeping Giant Awakens offers a unique and timely perspective on the prospects for conciliation after genocide, exploring how moving forward together is difficult in a context where many settlers know little of the residential schools and the ongoing legacies of colonization, and need to have a better conception of Indigenous rights. It offers a detailed analysis of how the TRC approached genocide in its deliberations and in the Final Report.

Crucially, MacDonald engages critics who argue that the term genocide impedes understanding of the IRS system and imperils prospects for conciliation. By contrast, this book sees genocide recognition as an important basis for meaningful discussions of how to engage Indigenous-settler relations in respectful and proactive ways.

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224 pages | 6.00" x 9.00"

Nenaboozhoo left us many gifts.

Nenaboozhoo, the creator spirit-being of Ojibway legend, gave the people many gifts. This collection of oral stories presents legends of Nenaboozhoo along with other creation stories that tell of the adventures of numerous beloved animal spirits. The Trail of Nenaboozhoo is a book of art and storytelling that preserve the legends of the Anishinaabe people. Each story is accompanied by strikingly beautiful illustrations by revered Indigenous artists Isaac Murdoch and Christi Belcourt.

Educator & Series Information
From the Forward, by Isaac Murdoch:
"Everything we have can be accredited to the gifts from the spirit world. As we are now in abrupt climate change we can see the world-wide ecological collapse happening before our very eyes. How important was the birch bark canoe? The wigwam? How important were those gifts that were given to us? I think they were very important. They were more than important; they were sacred.

And so its with great hopes and encouragement that I offer these stories as a map to understand how to go back to the old ways. The old people always said we are going to go back to the old ways and I truly believe the time is now. We mustn’t wait.

Nenaboozhoo is a spirit that was brought to the earth who is highly respected to this day by my people. They say when he was in spirit form he went through four levels of power. Through each power he went through he went back to the centre saying he didn’t want to leave. But the Great Mystery told him, “'keep going, keep going, you’re needed somewhere.'

And he made his way through those four powers and ended up on earth. His life here on earth was magical. All the rivers, all of the mountains all of the beautiful colours that we see, were created with Nenaboozhoo and his magical trail on earth. They say one day ten men will go fasting and call Nenaboozhoo back and the world will be new again.

Nothing can stop the power that is here."

This book is part of the Ojibwe History Series.

Recommended in the Canadian Indigenous Books for Schools 2020/2021 resource list for grades 7 to 12 for English Language Arts and Science.

Most stories appear in English and with an Anishinaabemowin translation, but some stories are in English only.

Additional Information
55 pages | 9.00" x 9.00" | 20 illustrations

David Neel was an infant when his father, a Kwakwa̱ka̱’wakw artist, died, triggering a series of events that would separate him from his homeland and its rich cultural traditions for twenty-five years. When he saw a Potlatch mask carved by his great-great-grandfather in a museum in Fort Worth, Texas, the encounter caused the aspiring photographer to wonder if he could return to follow in his father’s footsteps.

Drawing on memory, legend, and his own art and photographs, Neel tells the story of his struggle to reconnect with his culture after decades of separation and a childhood marred by trauma and abuse. David returned to the Pacific Coast, where he apprenticed with master carvers from his father’s village on Vancouver Island, and his career as an author and artist took him to the United States and to Mexico, to Europe and back again to British Columbia. Along the way, he met and photographed some of the most talented artists and Indigenous people of his generation. His travels helped him grow as a man and become an accomplished and prolific artist, but they also reconfirmed the healing power of returning home.

The Way Home is a testament to the strength of the human spirit to overcome great obstacles and to the power and endurance of Indigenous culture and art.

Educator Information
This memoir is a must-read for anyone interested in Canadian art and artists, particularly Indigenous art, as well as those learning about or active in cultural revitalization in Indigenous communities.

Subjects / Themes: Indigenous Art, Canadian Art, Memoir.

This resource is recommended in the Canadian Indigenous Books for Schools 2020/2021 list for grades 9 to 12 for Art Education, English Language Arts, and Social Studies.

Caution: includes memories of domestic violence.

Additional Information
192 pages | 8.00" x 10.00"

In They Write Their Dreams on the Rock Forever, ‘Nlaka’pamux elder Annie York explains the red-ochre inscriptions written on the rocks and cliffs of the lower Stein Valley in British Columbia. This is perhaps the first time that a Native elder has presented a detailed and comprehensive explanation of rock-art images from her people’s culture. As Annie York’s narratives unfold, we are taken back to the fresh wonder of childhood, as well as to a time in human society when people and animals lived together in one psychic dimension.

This book describes, among many other things, the solitary spiritual meditations of young people in the mountains, once considered essential education. Astrological predictions, herbal medicine, winter spirit dancing, hunting, shamanism, respect for nature, midwifery, birth and death, are some of the topics that emerge from Annie’s reading of the trail signs and other cultural symbols painted on the rocks. She firmly believed that this knowledge should be published so that the general public could understand why, as she put it, “The Old People reverenced those sacred places like that Stein.”

They Write Their Dreams on the Rock Forever opens a discussion of some of the issues in rock-art research that relate to “notating” and “writing” on the landscape, around the world and through the millennia. This landmark publication presents a well-reasoned hypothesis to explain the evolution of symbolic or iconic writing from sign language, trail signs and from the geometric and iconic imagery of the dreams and visions of shamans and neophyte hunters. This book suggests that the resultant images, written or painted on stone, constitute a Protoliteracy which has assisted both the conceptualization and communication of hunting peoples’ histories, philosophies, morals and ways life, and prepared the human mind for the economic, sociological and intellectual developments, including alphabetic written language.

Additional Information
320 pages | 6.75" x 9.75" | 2nd Edition

As beautiful as it is useful, Understanding Northwest Coast Indigenous Jewelry is an invaluable tool for anyone interested in learning about or deepening their understanding of a fascinating craft.

Indigenous hand-engraved jewelry from the Pacific Northwest Coast is among the most distinctive, innovative, and highly sought-after art being produced in North America today. But these artworks are more than just stunning—every bracelet, ring, and pendant is also the product of a fascinating backstory, a specialized set of techniques, and a talented artist.

With a clearly written text, a foreword by award-winning First Nations artist Corrine Hunt, and more than one hundred striking color photographs and sidebars, Understanding Northwest Coast Indigenous Jewelry offers an illuminating look at an exquisite craft and the context in which it is practiced.

Providing a step-by-step overview of various techniques, the book also introduces the specifics of formline design, highlights the traits of the most common animal symbols used, offers tips for identification, and features biographies and works from over fifty of the Coast’s best-known jewelers. Finally, it delves into the history of the art form, from the earliest horn and copper cuff bracelets to cutting-edge contemporary works and everything in between.

Educator Information
Recommended in the Canadian Indigenous Books for Schools 2019-2020 resource list for grades 9 to 12 for Arts Education, English Language Arts, and Social Studies.

Additional Information
192 pages | 6.00" x 9.00"

The Skeena, second longest river in the province, remains an icon of British Columbia’s northwest. Called Xsien (“water of the clouds”) by the Tsimshian and Gitksan, it has always played a vital role in the lives of Indigenous people of the region. Since the 1800s, it has also become home to gold seekers, traders, salmon fishers and other settlers who were drawn by the area’s beauty and abundant natural resources.

Voices from the Skeena takes readers on a journey inspired directly by the people who lived there. Combining forty illustrations with text selected from the pioneer interviews CBC radio producer Imbert Orchard recorded in the 1960s, the book follows the arrival of the Europeans and the introduction of the fur trade to the Omineca gold rush and the building of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railroad.

Open the pages to meet Robert Cunningham, an Anglican missionary who would later become the founder of the thriving Port Essington. Here too is a man called Cataline, a packer for whom no settlement was too remote to reach, and the indominable Sarah Glassey, the first woman to pre-empt land in British Columbia. At the heart of these stories is the river, weaving together a narrative of a people and their culture. Pairing the stories with Roy Henry Vicker’s vibrant art creates a unique and captivating portrait of British Columbia that will appeal to art lovers and history readers alike.

Additional Information
112 pages | 11.00" x 8.00" | 40 colour illustrations

This work has received the Authentic Indigenous Text label because of the interviews/contributions with Indigenous people like Vicky Sims and Chief Jeffrey H. Johnson. It is up to readers to determine if this work is authentic for their purposes.

The desire to erase the religions of Indigenous Peoples is an ideological fixture of the colonial project that marked the first century of Canada’s nationhood. While the ban on certain Indigenous religious practices was lifted after the Second World War, it was not until 1982 that Canada recognized Aboriginal rights, constitutionally protecting the diverse cultures of Indigenous Peoples. As former prime minister Stephen Harper stated in Canada’s apology for Indian residential schools, the desire to destroy Indigenous cultures, including religions, has no place in Canada today. And yet Indigenous religions continue to remain under threat.

Framed through a postcolonial lens, What Has No Place, Remains analyses state actions, responses, and decisions on matters of Indigenous religious freedom. The book is particularly concerned with legal cases, such as Ktunaxa Nation v. British Columbia (2017), but also draws on political negotiations, such as those at Voisey’s Bay, and standoffs, such as the one at Gustafsen Lake, to generate a more comprehensive picture of the challenges for Indigenous religious freedom beyond Canada’s courts. With particular attention to cosmologically significant space, this book provides the first comprehensive assessment of the conceptual, cultural, political, social, and legal reasons why religious freedom for Indigenous Peoples is currently an impossibility in Canada.

Reviews
"There is no book that takes on the ambitious task that What Has No Place, Remains does, especially in the context of Canada and the Indigenous practices and beliefs linking Indigenous People to the land." - Michael McNally, Department of Religion, Carleton College

"Working at the intersection of religious, political, legal, and Indigenous studies, this book’s multi-disciplinary framework yields numerous insights, both analytically and prescriptively." - Greg Johnson, Department of Religious Studies, University of Colorado Boulder

Educator Information
Table of Contents
Abbreviations
Preface
A Comment on Terminology

Introduction: Colonialism and the Challenges for Religious Freedom

1. The Depth of Religious Freedom
2. Secularization, Dispossession and Forced Deprivatization
3. Religions Plus? Competing Frameworks of Indigenous Religious Freedom
4. Dealing with Diversity Poorly and the Gustafsen Lake Standoff
5. The Duty to Consult and Accommodate
6. The Potential and Limits of International Mechanisms of Redress

Conclusion: Challenges for Reconciliation

Notes
Bibliography

Additional Information
280 pages | 5.90" x 9.00"

Wisdom Engaged demonstrates how traditional knowledge, Indigenous approaches to healing, and the insights of Western bio-medicine can complement each other when all voices are heard in a collaborative effort to address changes to Indigenous communities’ well-being. In this collection, voices of Elders, healers, physicians, and scholars are gathered in an attempt to find viable ways to move forward while facing new challenges. Bringing these varied voices together provides a critical conversation about the nature of medicine; a demonstration of ethical commitment; and an example of successful community relationship building. 

Contributors: Alestine Andre, Janelle Marie Baker, Robert Beaulieu, Della Cheney, Mida Donnessey, Mabel English, Christopher Fletcher, Fort McKay Berry Group, Annie B. Gordon, Celina Harpe, Leslie Main Johnson, Thea Luig, Art Mathews, Linda G. McDonald, Ruby E. Morgan, Keiichi Omura, Evelyn Storr (Inuvialuit Regional Corporation), Mary Teya, Nancy J. Turner, Walter Vanast, Darlene Vegh

Educator Information
Keywords: Traditional Knowledge, Well-Being, Health

Subjects and Course Areas: Social Science, History, Indigenous Studies, Anthropology, Health and Medicine

Additional Information

Authenticity Note: This book has received the Authentic Indigenous Text label because of its contributions from Indigenous peoples.  Non-Indigenous contributors are also included.

For nearly 100 years, Indian boarding schools in Canada and the US produced newspapers read by white settlers, government officials, and Indigenous parents. These newspapers were used as a settler colonial tool, yet within these tightly controlled narratives there also existed sites of resistance. This book traces colonial narratives of language, time, and place from the nineteenth-century to the present day, post-Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

Educator Information
1. Bury the Lede: Introduction
2. Printer’s Devil: The Trade of Newspapers
3. Indigenous Languages Did Not Disappear: English Language Instruction
4. "Getting Indian Words": Representations of Indigenous Languages
5. Ahead by a Century: Time on Paper
6. Anachronism: Reading the Nineteenth Century Today
7. Layout: Space, Place, and Land
8. Concluding Thoughts

Additional Information
256 pages | 6.00" x 9.00"

Zaagi'idiwin: Silent, Unquestionable Act of Love, creates an intersection where viewers meet to understand and explore the essence of relationships, the meaning of connection/disconnection, and the pain of loss. Through the making and documentation of jingle dresses, Marshall explores the deeply personal stories that have shaped her perception of the complexities of her family history in the context of Canadian history. The social inequities, resistance, and sorrow communicated in this body of work serve as a springboard to examine the act of compassion and forgiveness, which ultimately helps to move forward to a new and more affirmative place of being.

Additional Information
28 pages | 5.25" x 10.50"

Based on a viral article, 21 Things You May Not Know About the Indian Act is the essential guide to understanding the legal document and its repercussion on generations of Indigenous Peoples, written by a leading cultural sensitivity trainer.

Since its creation in 1876, the Indian Act has shaped, controlled, and constrained the lives and opportunities of Indigenous Peoples, and is at the root of many enduring stereotypes. Bob Joseph’s book comes at a key time in the reconciliation process, when awareness from both Indigenous and non-Indigenous communities is at a crescendo. Joseph explains how Indigenous Peoples can step out from under the Indian Act and return to self-government, self-determination, and self-reliance—and why doing so would result in a better country for every Canadian. He dissects the complex issues around truth and reconciliation, and clearly demonstrates why learning about the Indian Act’s cruel, enduring legacy is essential for the country to move toward true reconciliation.

Reviews
"Increasing Canadians' knowledge about the terrible foundation this country has been built on is a critical part of reconciliation. Bob Joseph has highlighted some of the unbelievable provisions of the Indian Act and how they have impacted First Nations in Canada and gives a brief overview of what we may replace it with going forward. His book provides helpful context to the dialogue that needs to take place in Canada." — Kim Baird, O.C., O. B. C.; Owner, Kim Baird Strategic Consulting; Member of the Tsawwassen First Nation; Negotiator of the Tsawwassen First Nation Treaty

"From declaring cultural ceremonies illegal, to prohibiting pool hall owners from granting Indigenous people entrance, from forbidding the speaking of Indigenous languages, to the devastating policy that created residential schools, Bob Joseph reveals the hold this paternalistic act, with its roots in the 1800s, still has on the lives of Indigenous people in Canada in the 21st century. This straightforward book is an invaluable resource. There is much for non-Indigenous people to learn and to do. But equally important, there is much to unlearn and to undo. The time is right for this book. Thank you, Bob Joseph. Gilakasla." — Shelagh Rogers, O.C.; Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada Honourary Witness

"Bob’s ability to navigate the complex history of the Indian Act is a wonder to behold. He provides depth and knowledge for Indigenous and non-Indigenous scholars alike. Whether you are an Indigenous scholar or a neophyte, his articulate, insightful and comprehensive analysis on the history of the Indian Act provides a sound understanding on the present narrative of Indigenous peoples in Canada. By way of the Indian Act, this book provides an excellent analysis of the ongoing relationship and predicament between provincial and federal governments and Indigenous peoples in the 21st century." — JP Gladu, President and CEO of the Canadian Council for Aboriginal Business

Educator Information
Recommended in the Canadian Indigenous Books for Schools 2019-2020 resource list as being useful for grades 4-12 and as a teacher resource in these subject areas: English Language Arts and Social Studies.

Additional Information
160 pages | 5.22" x 8.05"

An essential contribution to Internet activism and a must read for Indigenous educators, A Digital Bundle frames digital technology as an important tool for self-determination and idea sharing, ultimately contributing to Indigenous resurgence and nation building.

By defining Indigenous Knowledge online in terms of “digital bundles,” Jennifer Wemigwans elevates both cultural protocol and cultural responsibilities, grounds online projects within Indigenous philosophical paradigms, and highlights new possibilities for both the Internet and Indigenous communities.

Reviews
"This must-read book based on extensive research, dialogue, and consultation with Indigenous Elders, leaders, artists, and academics helps to address the new risks, ethical questions, and challenges for how Indigenous Knowledge can be accessed, appropriately used, published, and transformed using multiple communication and digital forms. It offers the protocols, stories, advice, practices, and wisdom from Indigenous Knowledge holders to help address the challenges and questions about how Indigenous Knowledge can live now and in the future in its divergent forms with new forms of technology. " — Marie Battiste, author of Decolonizing Education and founder of the Aboriginal Education Research Centre, University of Saskatchewan

"An invaluable case-study in how to ethically write and conduct a research project in Indigenous studies. .. this book is a must-read for any researcher writing on Indigenous topics. " —Transmotion

"A necessary intervention into the conversations and classifications of the digital age happening all too often without Indigenous perspective or contribution. " —Journal of Native Studies

"[A] welcome intervention into discussions of the digital age, where the rich possibilities and ethical practices coming from Indigenous scholars and cultural activists such as Wemigwans are sorely needed. This important new book is a kind of guide for scholars, activists, media makers, and visionaries as to how we might collectively imagine Indigenous cultural futures with mindful use of digital technologies across the globe. " — Faye Ginsburg, director of the Center for Media, Culture and History, New York University

Additional Information
224 pages | 6.00" x 9.00"

Can Canada claim to be a just society for Indigenous peoples? To answer the question, and as part of the process of reconciliation, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission urged a better understanding of Aboriginal law for all Canadians.

Aboriginal Peoples and the Law responds to that call, introducing readers with or without a legal background to modern Aboriginal law and outlining significant cases and decisions in straightforward, non-technical language. Jim Reynolds provides the historical context needed to understand relations between Indigenous peoples and settlers and explains key topics such as sovereignty, fiduciary duties, the honour of the Crown, Aboriginal rights and title, treaties, the duty to consult, and Indigenous law. He also discusses key international developments such as the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. He concludes by considering major questions that need to be resolved, including balancing Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal rights and interests and the benefits and drawbacks of using either litigation or negotiation to resolve Indigenous issues.

This critical analysis of the current state of the law makes the case that rather than leaving the judiciary to sort out essentially political issues, Canadian politicians need to take responsibility for this crucial aspect of building a just society.

This book will find an audience among students taking both introductory and specialist courses in Aboriginal law, Indigenous studies, or the social sciences; lawyers with an interest in Aboriginal law; and journalists, government officials, business people, and other members of the public who want a better understanding of where the law stands today and where it should go in the future.

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