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Incorporating the critical perspectives, emphasis on diversity, and pointed suggestions for change that made the previous editions into bestsellers, Ben Carniol pulls together today’s most pertinent research, critical analysis, and practice examples and presents them in this accessible and useful sixth edition of Case Critical.

In the context of the current economic and political climate, this new edition discusses First Nations issues, the increasing corporatization of service, and the explicit link between social work practice and social movements. Carniol questions illegitimate privilege created by colonialism, racism, patriarchal capitalism, heterosexism, ableism and ageism; posing many key questions. Such as, why, as social work education develops progressive approaches, are so many social services deteriorating? How can social workers become allies with diverse groups of people? And, why do progressives persist in their work?

Carniol, a long-time social work educator and social justice activist, offers his own analysis of social work in Canada today in this provocative and ultimately hopeful sixth edition.

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200 pages | 6.00" x 9.00"

This beautiful, 93 page Grassroots Anthology Volume I, is now available in a revised, paperback-sized version.

With this anthology we hope to inspire young people to develop and pursue their own creative aspirations so they may also share their stories.

Strong, sassy women and hard-luck, hard-headed men, all searching for the middle ground between Native American tradition and the modern world, perform an elaborate dance of approach and avoidance in this magical, rollicking tale by award-winning author Thomas King. Alberta, Eli, Lionel and others are coming to the Blackfoot reservation for the Sun Dance. There they will encounter four Indian elders and their companion, the trickster Coyote—and nothing in the small town of Blossom will be the same again...

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480 pages

On a winter’s day in 1889, Tsimshian Chief Arthur Wellington Clah went to Hannah and Richard Maynard’s photography studio in Victoria “to give myself likeness.” In Images from the Likeness House, Dan Savard explores the relationship between First Peoples in British Columbia, Alaska and Washington and the photographers who made images of them from the late 1850s to the 1920s. He gives examples of the great technological advancements that took place, from wet-glass-plate to nitrate-film negatives, showing the images in their original state, not cropped, corrected or retouched.

This is not only an important book about photography, but also a visual statement about perception (and misperception), cultural change and survival. Images from the Likeness House will appeal to ethnographers, photographers, art lovers and anyone interested in the history of BC, Alaska and Washington.

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224 pages | 9.30" x 10.30"

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

Indigenous Screen Cultures in Canada explores key questions surrounding the power and suppression of indigenous narrative and representation in contemporary indigenous media. Focusing primarily on the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network, the authors also examine indigenous language broadcasting in radio, television, and film; Aboriginal journalism practices; audience creation within and beyond indigenous communities; the roles of program scheduling and content acquisition policies in the decolonization process; the roles of digital video technologies and co-production agreements in indigenous film making; and the emergence of Aboriginal cyber-communities.

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200 pages | 6.00" x 9.00"

A gorgeous retrospective on the transformation of Inuit art in the 20th century, mirroring the vast and poignant cultural changes in the North.

In response to a rapidly changing Arctic environment, Inuit have had to cope with the transition from a traditional lifestyle to the disturbing realities of globalization and climate change. Inuit art in the latter half of the 20th century reflects the reciprocal stimulus of contact with Euro-Canadians and embodies the evolution of a modern Inuit aesthetic that springs from an ancient cultural context, creating an exciting new hybridized art form. Inuit Modern: Art from the Samuel and Esther Sarick Collection situates modern Inuit art within a larger framework that reinterprets the Canadian Arctic.

Essays by leading Canadian scholars in the field including Ingo Hessel, Robert McGhee, Christine Laloude, Heather Igloliorte, Dorothy Eber and Bernadette Driscoll Engelstad examine the social, political and cultural transformation through the dynamic lens of colonial influence and agency. Inuit Modern also features interviews with David Ruben Piqtoukun and Zacharias Kunuk.

Reviews
"The work of Inuit artists has continually evolved in response to the industrialized, bureaucratic culture encroaching from the south. Inuit Modern, an opulent new coffee-table book, displays the astonishing results. The 175 pieces beautifully reproduced here span the last century." — Georgia Straight

"This book is full of treasures from one of the world's most comprehensive collections of Inuit art. With more than 175 works by Inuit artists, the reader is taken on a journey of the Inuit aesthetic as it evolves from its from traditional roots to a more contemporary and globalized art form." — Globe & Mail Top 100 for 2010

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256 pages | 10.00" x 11.10"

This startling retelling of the North-West Rebellion explodes the myth of a grand Indian-Métis alliance and delves into the reasons why Indians have been branded as traitors and rebels in both the public imagination and official records.

After the rebellion, twenty-eight reserves were officially identified as disloyal, and more than fifty Indians - including Poundmaker and Big Bear - were convicted of rebellion-related crimes. The most damning event was the mass execution of eight Indian warriors at Fort Battleford in November 1885.

But Indian elders have long told stories about how First Nations remained faithful to their treaty promises during the conflict. Having their own peaceful strategies for dealing with an insensitive federal government, they were not interested in Riel's activities, and any Indian involvement was isolated, sporadic, and minimal. But Ottawa deliberately portrayed the Indians as outlaws to justify increasingly restrictive and repressive measures, an injustice that has left a lasting legacy with First Nations people.

Loyal Till Death is the first comprehensive look at the Indian version of the North-West Rebellion. It brings to life many personalities - particularly those of the Indian leaders, whose voices have seldom been heard in conventional histories of the Canadian West. Combining oral history and exhaustive research, and illustrated with more than one hundred archival photographs, the book sheds new light on a greatly misunderstood aspect of our past.

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224 pages | 6.00" x 9.00"

A story of magic, family, a mysterious stranger . . . and a band of marauding raccoons.

Otter Lake is a sleepy Anishnawbe community where little happens. Until the day a handsome stranger pulls up astride a 1953 Indian Chief motorcycle – and turns Otter Lake completely upside down. Maggie, the Reserve’s chief, is swept off her feet, but Virgil, her teenage son, is less than enchanted. Suspicious of the stranger’s intentions, he teams up with his uncle Wayne – a master of aboriginal martial arts – to drive the stranger from the Reserve. And it turns out that the raccoons are willing to lend a hand.

Reviews
“A near-perfect debut, a masterful mythic-comedy balancing contemporary issues and realities with magic and history. . . . Motorcycles & Sweetgrass is a trickster story, but it’s also a fundamentally human account of individuals and of a people struggling to find a place for themselves in the world. . . . A broad, bawdy, raucous, deeply felt and utterly involving narrative, a genuine pleasure to read. . . . Motorcycles & Sweetgrass positively crackles with life, love and magic. What more can you ask of a book?”  — Robert J. Wiersema, Edmonton Journal

“Drew Hayden Taylor’s got no qualms about poking fun at his Native roots, and that’s what makes Motorcycles & Sweetgrass such a pleasure. It’s playful yet soulful, with a narrative that keeps those pages turning. . . . A fun, rollicking book, and Taylor’s voice is fresh and unique.” — NOW (Toronto)

“Taylor brings a modern twist to ancient native folklore. Motorcycles & Sweetgrass is a charming story about the importance of balance and belief—and a little bit of magic—in everyone’s life.”— Quill & Quire

“If the great Ojibway trickster Nanabush wrote fiction, I imagine he’d write just like Drew Hayden Taylor. You will find much sadness just below the laughs, and sly humour masked by sorrow. A wisdom exists in these pages that only comes from someone who writes from his heart.” — Joseph Boyden

“Fast-paced, uproariously funny and genuinely thrilling. Drew Hayden Taylor is one of Canada’s finest and funniest writers.”— Ian Ferguson, author of Village of the Small Houses

“Funny, heartfelt, hopeful and illuminating. Motorcycles & Sweetgrass made me laugh and made me think, sometimes in the same sentence. Drew Hayden Taylor is a master storyteller.”— Terry Fallis, author of The Best Laid Plans

“Drew Hayden Taylor has woven an epic tale of magic, mystery and charm for the world to discover in Motorcycles & Sweetgrass. This is a novel to savor. A complete delight!” — Richard Van Camp, author of The Moon of Letting Go and The Lesser Blessed

Educator Information
Grades 11-12 BC English First Peoples resource for the unit What Creates Family?

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360 pages | 5.19" x 7.99"

Diane “Honey” Jacobson’s latest book is an important comment about First Nations efforts to save the salmon and her personal youthful journey to find meaning and a sense of place in life. Like the style in her first book My Life in a Kwagu’l Big House, Diane’s style in My Life with the Salmon is full of action, amazing adventures and fascinating connections between land, water and people. In My Life with the Salmon, we follow “Honey” through sometimes hilarious and sometimes difficult periods but we always learn a life lesson.

Awards

• 2012 Winner of the Independent Publisher Book Awards

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176 pages | 5.50" x 8.47" 

Many people have a mental picture of the Canadian north that juxtaposes beauty with harshness. For the Van Tat Gwich'in, the northern Yukon is home, with a living history passed on from elders to youth. This book consists of oral accounts that the Elders have been recording for 50 years, representing more than 150 years of their history, all meticulously translated from Gwich'in. Yet this is more than a gathering of history; collaborator Shirleen Smith provides context for the stories, whether they are focused on an individual or international politics. Anthropologists, folklorists, ethnohistorians, political scientists, economists, members of First Nations, and readers interested in Canada's northernmost regions will find much to fascinate them.

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For three months in 1987 Michael Poole guided his canoe along the confused and confusing coast of the Inside Passage, living through the sudden gales, opaque fog banks and treacherous rapids. But this book is not merely a sea odyssey. It is also a tale of encounters with the extraordinary people who make their lives in a place where solitude and natural beauty are the bottom line. Michael Poole is an award-winning filmmaker. He lives in North Vancouver and on the Sechelt Peninsula.

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258 pages | 6.00" x 9.00"

Referencing a classic Haida oral narrative, this stunning full-colour graphic novel documents the powerful story of Red, a leader so blinded by revenge that he leads his community to the brink of war and destruction.

Set in the islands off the northwest coast of B.C., it tells the tale of orphan Red and his sister, Jaada. When raiders attack their village, Red, still a boy, escapes dramatically. But Jaada is whisked away. The loss of Jaada breeds a seething anger, and Red sets out to find his sister and exact revenge on her captors.

Red blends traditional Haida imagery into a Japanese manga-styled story. Tragic and timeless, it is reminiscent of such classic stories as Oedipus Rex, Macbeth and King Lear.

This innovation in contemporary storytelling consists of 108 pages of hand-painted illustrations. When arranged in a specific order, the panels of the narrative create a Haida formline image four metres long. The sequence for this complex design is displayed on the inside jacket.

Educator & Series Information
Haida manga is a contemporary style of Haida comics and print cartoons that explores the elements of both traditional North Pacific Indigenous arts and narrative, while also adapting contemporary techniques of artistic design from the western portion of the North Pacific, namely the Japanese manga from which its name derives.

This book is available in French: Red: Un manga haïda 

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120 pages | 8.00" x 8.75"

On the cusp of the Depression, Sheilagh Driscoll of isolated Rennie's Bay nearly dies while giving birth prematurely to baby Leah. Sheilagh is attended by a traditional midwife, part Mi'kmaq, Mrs. Mary, as well as by Leah Clarke, a nurse-midwife from England. Baby Leah Mary survives but develops serious asthma, which requires treatment throughout her childhood. Traumatized by the birth, Sheilagh learns about age-old ways of preventing pregnancy. The result is an awakening that impacts on Sheila's relationship with all the women around her, especially her younger sister Claire. Informed by the occasional newspapers and magazines that make their way to Rennie's Bay via sea-going schooners, Claire's worldview contrasts sharply with Sheilagh's. In contrast to Sheilagh's acceptance of life in Rennie's Bay, Claire reacts against it. Claire stumbles into a sexual relationship but sees relations with David, or any man, as a trap and tries to avoid him. She is not entirely successful and finds herself pregnant. Like her sister, she turns to Mrs. Mary for help.

Following the removal of the gray whale from the Endangered Species list in 1994, the Makah tribe of northwest Washington State and the Nuu-chah-nulth Nation of British Columbia announced that they would revive their whale hunts. The Makah whale hunt of 1999 was met with enthusiastic support and vehement opposition. A member of the Nuu-chah-nulth First Nation, Charlotte Coté offers a valuable perspective on the issues surrounding Indigenous whaling. Her analysis includes major Aboriginal studies and contemporary Aboriginal rights issues, addressing environmentalism, animal rights activism, anti-treaty conservatism, and the public’s expectations about what it means to be “Indian.”

The Drum Story book and movie were created so people could hear and see the storyteller tell the story. This book and DVD combination also features the Ojibwe language alongside English. This beautiful and ancient story has been passed down through many generations. The story tells of a young girl given the gift of the first drum, and how she used that drum to bring peace to her people. Told in the traditional oral style, the teachings of the story are all about respect for one another and how to live well and properly with Mother Earth.

This hardcover book is richly illustrated (60 pictures and paintings) with 12 originally commissioned original artworks. The DVD is included in a sleeve on the inside back cover. The combination of reading and hearing the story told in the ages-old traditional method is extraordinary. The DVD also features traditional drumming and singing. 

Educator Information
The Drum Story book with story-telling DVD includes English and Ojibwe language translation - selectable on DVD with opposing subtitle and teacher/educational aids in PDF format included on the DVD, printable as a teacher resource. 

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65 pages | paperback with DVD