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First Nations Education Policy in Canada
By Gérald Fallon, Jerry Paquette. 2010
How can First Nations schools in Canada offer a curriculum that is at once authentically and deeply Aboriginal while comparable…
in content, quality, and standards to provincial and territorial education? First Nations Education Policy in Canada is a critical analysis of policy developments affecting First Nations education since 1986 and a series of recommendations for future policy changes.Jerry Paquette and Gérald Fallon challenge the fundamental assumptions about Aboriginal education that have led to a Balkanized and ineffective educational system able to serve few of the needs of students. To move forward, the authors have developed a conceptual framework with which to re-envision the social, political, and educational goals of a self-governing First Nations education system. Offering a sorely needed fresh perspective on an issue vital to the community, First Nations Education Policy in Canada is grounds for critical reflection not only on education but on the future of Aboriginal self-determination.Home in the City
By Alan B. Anderson. 2013
During the past several decades, the Aboriginal population of Canada has become so urbanized that today, the majority of First…
Nations and Métis people live in cities. Home in the City provides an in-depth analysis of urban Aboriginal housing, living conditions, issues, and trends. Based on extensive research, including interviews with more than three thousand residents, it allows for the emergence of a new, contemporary, and more realistic portrait of Aboriginal people in Canada's urban centres.Home on the City focuses on Saskatoon, which has both one of the highest proportions of Aboriginal residents in the country and the highest percentage of Aboriginal people living below the poverty line. While the book details negative aspects of urban Aboriginal life (such as persistent poverty, health problems, and racism), it also highlights many positive developments: the emergence of an Aboriginal middle class, inner-city renewal, innovative collaboration with municipal and community organizations, and more. Alan B. Anderson and the volume's contributors provide an important resource for understanding contemporary Aboriginal life in Canada.Stickhandling through the Margins
By Michael A. Robidoux. 2012
Some of hockey's fiercest and most passionate players and fans can be found among Canada's First Nations populations, including NHL…
greats Jordin Tootoo, Jonathan Cheechoo, and Gino Odjick. At first glance the importance of hockey to the country's Aboriginal peoples may seem to indicate assimilation into mainstream society, but Michael A. Robidoux reveals that the game is played and understood very differently in this cultural context. Rather than capitulating to the Euro-Canadian construct of sport, First Nations hockey has become an important site for expressing rich local knowledge and culture.With stories and observations gleaned from three years of ethnographic research, Stickhandling through the Margins richly illustrates how hockey is played and experienced by First Nations peoples across Canada, both in isolated reserve communities and at tournaments that bring together participants from across the country. Robidoux's vivid description transports readers into the world of First Nations hockey, revealing it to be a highly social and at times even spiritual activity ripe with hidden layers of meaning that are often surprising to the outside observer.Spirits of the Rockies
By Courtney W. Mason. 2014
The Banff-Bow Valley in western Alberta is the heart of spiritual and economic life for the Nakoda peoples. While they…
were displaced from the region by the reserve system and the creation of Canada's first national park, in the twentieth century the Nakoda reasserted their presence in the valley through involvement in regional tourism economies and the Banff Indian Days sporting festivals.Drawing on extensive oral testimony from the Nakoda, supplemented by detailed analysis of archival and visual records, Spirits of the Rockies is a sophisticated account of the situation that these Indigenous communities encountered when they were denied access to the Banff National Park. Courtney W. Mason examines the power relations and racial discourses that dominated the eastern slopes of the Canadian Rocky Mountains and shows how the Nakoda strategically used the Banff Indian Days festivals to gain access to sacred lands and respond to colonial policies designed to repress their cultures.Negotiating the Deal
By Christopher Alcantara. 2013
This book provides the first systematic and comprehensive analysis of the factors that explain both completed and incomplete treaty negotiations…
between Aboriginal groups and the federal, provincial, and territorial governments of Canada. Since 1973, groups that have never signed treaties with the Crown have been invited to negotiate what the government calls "comprehensive land claims agreements," otherwise known as modern treaties, which formally transfer jurisdiction, ownership, and title over selected lands to Aboriginal signatories. Despite their importance, not all groups have completed such agreements - a situation that is problematic not only for governments but for Aboriginal groups interested in rebuilding their communities and economies.Using in-depth interviews with Indigenous, federal, provincial, and territorial officials, Christopher Alcantara compares the experiences of four Aboriginal groups: the Kwanlin Dün First Nation (with a completed treaty) and the Kaska Nations (with incomplete negotiations) in Yukon Territory, and the Inuit (completed) and Innu (incomplete) in Newfoundland and Labrador. Based on the experiences of these groups, Alcantara argues that scholars and policymakers need to pay greater attention to the institutional framework governing treaty negotiations and, most importantly, to the active role that Aboriginal groups play in these processes.All That We Say Is Ours
By Ian Gill. 2009
Haida Gwaii, also known as the Queen Charlotte Islands, is the Galapagos of the north. Famous for their wild beauty,…
the islands are also the ancient homeland of the Haida Nation. Integral to Haida culture is the relationship to the land, and the Haidas have spent many years trying to protect and recover control of it. Under the leadership of Giindajin Haawasti Guujaaw, the visionary artist, drummer, and orator, the Haida blockaded loggers, joined forces with environmentalists, lobbied political leaders, and in 2004 filed suit against the Canadian government, laying claim to their entire traditional territory. Ian Gill captures the excitement of the Haida struggle and their passion for their culture. He also reveals the making of an artist and political activist: Guujaaw's audacity, eloquence, tactical skills, and deep knowledge of his homeland place him at the heart of this riveting story, and this book reveals his extraordinary role in it.Oka
By Harry Swain. 2010
On July 11, 1990, tension between white and Mohawk people at Oka, just west of Montreal, took a violent turn.…
At issue was the town's plan to turn a piece of disputed land in the community of Kanesatake into a golf course. Media footage of rock-throwing white residents and armed, masked Mohawk Warriors facing police across barricades shocked the world and galvanized Aboriginal people across the continent. In August, Quebec Premier Robert Bourassa called for the Canadian army to step in.Harry Swain was deputy minister of Indian Affairs throughout the 78 -day standoff, and his recreation of events is dramatic and opinionated. Swain writes frankly about his own role and offers fascinating profiles of the high-level players on the government's side. Swain offers rare insight into the workings of government in a time of crisis, but he also traces what he calls the 200-year tail of history and shows how the Mohawk experience reflects the collision between European and Aboriginal cultures.Twenty years on, health, social and economic indicators for Aboriginals are still shameful. Identifying current flashpoints for Aboriginal land rights across the country, Swain argues that true reconciliation will not be possible until government commits to meaningful reform.Horse, Follow Closely
By Gawani Pony Boy. 1998
The bible of North American Horsemanship, Horse, Follow Closely is GaWaNi Pony Boy's signature title about the relationship training methods…
that are steeped in common sense and the age-old wisdom of his Native American ancestors. Of mixed blood Tsa-la-gi, GaWaNi Pony Boy was able to conceive his philosophy and compile the methods of relationship training while touring the United States with a Native American drum band and consulting the Tribal Elders from many different nations and backgrounds. The methods and beliefs of relationship training come directly from the first great horsemen of North America. "Horse and rider are one. Theirs is a relationship of trust, harmony, and respect born of a way of life that is all but lost." The stunning full-color photographs by Gabrielle Boiselle capture Pony Boy's serenity and unity with his close horse companions. The author's simple eloquence forges a deep, profound relationship with his readers that few books ever hope to achieve. As Pony Boy writes in the introduction, "For many [the Native American horseman] represents the ultimate rider. The essence of a horseman, both his skill and intuition, goes beyond the hours he spends in the saddle....the folklore of every Native tribe are stories, tales, and beliefs to exemplify human's relations to other animals." The book begins with an analysis of how horses came to live with the Natives of North America and horses' impact on Native life. The crux of relationship training, according to the author, is to understand "what it means to be a horse, react like a horse, and relate to other things like a horse...." Native Americans were able to create such strong relationship with horses in a short time because they understood that "a horse is a horse." Learning to balance the relationship between horse and human is the missing link to becoming a masterful horseman or horsewoman. The book describes not only the techniques involved for relationship training but also the belief system and attitude that must be applied to all methods of horsemanship.In addition to presenting the methods and philosophy of relationship training, Horse, Follow Closely also includes many stories and legends of Native Americans and their horses, all of which teach the reader something new about himself and his relationship with his horse.The Iroquois Indians
By Bill Lund. 1997
Where the Pavement Ends
By Marie Wadden. 2008
Over the past fifteen years, Canada's Aboriginal healing community has emerged as a vital and visible force. Creative recovery programs…
have been established across the country, and international initiatives such as the "Healing Our Spirit Worldwide" gatherings have originated here. The Canadian government has thrown millions of dollars at the issue of addictions, yet alcoholism, fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, drug abuse and gambling are epidemic today in the lives of Aboriginal people.Where the Pavement Ends is filled with inspiring stories gathered from journalist Marie Wadden's discussions with activists across Canada who are involved in the Aboriginal healing movement. But the book is also a passionate wake-up call aimed at all Canadians. Existing government policies, Wadden argues, perpetuate the problems that are tearing Aboriginal families and communities apart. We must make social healing in Aboriginal communities an immediate national priority. We must also demand public policy that guarantees First Nations, Inuit and Métis people the right to live as full and equal citizens. In these ways, we can offer true support to these marginalized communities.Singing for the Dead: The Politics of Indigenous Revival in Mexico
By Paja Faudree. 2013
Singing for the Dead chronicles ethnic revival in Oaxaca, Mexico, where new forms of singing and writing in the local…
Mazatec indigenous language are producing powerful, transformative political effects. Paja Faudree argues for the inclusion of singing as a necessary component in the polarized debates about indigenous orality and literacy, and she considers how the coupling of literacy and song has allowed people from the region to create texts of enduring social resonance. She examines how local young people are learning to read and write in Mazatec as a result of the region's new Day of the Dead song contest. Faudree also studies how tourist interest in local psychedelic mushrooms has led to their commodification, producing both opportunities and challenges for songwriters and others who represent Mazatec culture. She situates these revival movements within the contexts of Mexico and Latin America, as well as the broad, hemisphere-wide movement to create indigenous literatures. Singing for the Dead provides a new way to think about the politics of ethnicity, the success of social movements, and the limits of national belonging.Where the River Ends: Contested Indigeneity in the Mexican Colorado Delta
By Shaylih Muehlmann. 2013
Living in the northwest of Mexico, the Cucapá people have relied on fishing as a means of subsistence for generations,…
but in the last several decades, that practice has been curtailed by water scarcity and government restrictions. The Colorado River once met the Gulf of California near the village where Shaylih Muehlmann conducted ethnographic research, but now, as a result of a treaty, 90 percent of the water from the Colorado is diverted before it reaches Mexico. The remaining water is increasingly directed to the manufacturing industry in Tijuana and Mexicali. Since 1993, the Mexican government has denied the Cucapá people fishing rights on environmental grounds. While the Cucapá have continued to fish in the Gulf of California, federal inspectors and the Mexican military are pressuring them to stop. The government maintains that the Cucapá are not sufficiently "indigenous" to warrant preferred fishing rights. Like many indigenous people in Mexico, most Cucapá people no longer speak their indigenous language; they are highly integrated into nonindigenous social networks. Where the River Ends is a moving look at how the Cucapá people have experienced and responded to the diversion of the Colorado River and the Mexican state's attempts to regulate the environmental crisis that followed.Governing Indigenous Territories: Enacting Sovereignty in the Ecuadorian Amazon
By Erazo, Juliet S.. 2013
Governing Indigenous Territories illuminates a paradox of modern indigenous lives. In recent decades, native peoples from Alaska to Cameroon have…
sought and gained legal title to significant areas of land, not as individuals or families but as large, collective organizations. Obtaining these collective titles represents an enormous accomplishment; it also creates dramatic changes. Once an indigenous territory is legally established, other governments and organizations expect it to act as a unified political entity, making decisions on behalf of its population and managing those living within its borders. A territorial government must mediate between outsiders and a not-always-united population within a context of constantly shifting global development priorities. The people of Rukullakta, a large indigenous territory in Ecuador, have struggled to enact sovereignty since the late 1960s. Drawing broadly applicable lessons from their experiences of self-rule, Juliet S. Erazo shows how collective titling produces new expectations, obligations, and subjectivities within indigenous territories.The Paraguay Reader: History, Culture, Politics
By Peter, Andrew, Lambert, Nickson. 2013
Hemmed in by the vast, arid Chaco to the west and, for most of its history, impenetrable jungles to the…
east, Paraguay has been defined largely by its isolation. Partly as a result, there has been a dearth of serious scholarship or journalism about the country. Going a long way toward redressing this lack of information and analysis, The Paraguay Reader is a lively compilation of testimonies, journalism, scholarship, political tracts, literature, and illustrations, including maps, photographs, paintings, drawings, and advertisements. Taken together, the anthology's many selections convey the country's extraordinarily rich history and cultural heritage, as well as the realities of its struggles against underdevelopment, foreign intervention, poverty, inequality, and authoritarianism. Most of the Reader is arranged chronologically. Weighted toward the twentieth century and early twenty-first, it nevertheless gives due attention to major events in Paraguay's history, such as the Triple Alliance War (1864-70) and the Chaco War (1932-35). The Reader's final section, focused on national identity and culture, addresses matters including ethnicity, language, and gender. Most of the selections are by Paraguayans, and many of the pieces appear in English for the first time. Helpful introductions by the editors precede each of the book's sections and all of the selected texts.Dispersed but not destroyed: a history of the seventeenth-century Wendat people
By Kathryn Magee Labelle. 2013
Situated within the area stretching from Georgian Bay in the north to Lake Simcoe in the east, the Wendat Confederacy…
flourished for two hundred years. By the mid-seventeenth century, however, Wendat society was threatened by European disease and Iroquois attacks. This book depicts the creation of a powerful Wendat diaspora in the wake of their dispersal and throughout the latter half of the century. Turning the story of the Wendat conquest on its head, the author demonstrates the resiliency of the Wendat Confederacy and its people. 2013.One Story, One Song
By Richard Wagamese. 2011
A new collection of warm, wise and inspiring stories from the author of the bestselling One Native Life.Since its publication…
in 2008, readers and reviewers have embraced Richard Wagamese's One Native Life. "In quiet tones and luminous language," wrote the Winnipeg Free Press, "Wagamese shares his hurts and joys, inviting readers to find the ways in which they are joined to him and to consider how they might be joined to others."In this new book, Richard Wagamese again invites readers to accompany him on his travels. This time his focus is on stories: how they shape us, how they empower us, how they change our lives. Ancient and contemporary, cultural and spiritual, funny and sad, the tales are grouped according to the four essential principles Ojibway traditional teachers sought to impart: humility, trust, introspection and wisdom.American Indian Constitutional Reform and the Rebuilding of Native Nations
By Eric D. Lemont. 2006
Since 1975, when the U.S. government adopted a policy of self-determination for American Indian nations, a large number of the…
562 federally recognized nations have seized the opportunity to govern themselves and determine their own economic, political, and cultural futures. As a first and crucial step in this process, many nations are revising constitutions originally developed by the U.S. government to create governmental structures more attuned to native people's unique cultural and political values. These new constitutions and the governing institutions they create are fostering greater governmental stability and accountability, increasing citizen support of government, and providing a firmer foundation for economic and political development. This book brings together for the first time the writings of tribal reform leaders, academics, and legal practitioners to offer a comprehensive overview of American Indian nations' constitutional reform processes and the rebuilding of native nations. The book is organized in three sections. The first part investigates the historical, cultural, economic, and political motivations behind American Indian nations' recent reform efforts. The second part examines the most significant areas of reform, including criteria for tribal membership/citizenship and the reform of governmental institutions. The book concludes with a discussion of how American Indian nations are navigating the process of reform, including overcoming the politics of reform, maximizing citizen participation, and developing short-term and long-term programs of civic education.Ancient Objects and Sacred Realms: Interpretations of Mississippian Iconography
By James F. Garber, F. Kent Reilly. 2007
Between AD 900-1600, the native peoples of the Mississippi River Valley and other areas of the Eastern Woodlands of the…
United States conceived and executed one of the greatest artistic traditions of the Precolumbian Americas. Created in the media of copper, shell, stone, clay, and wood, and incised or carved with a complex set of symbols and motifs, this seven-hundred-year-old artistic tradition functioned within a multiethnic landscape centered on communities dominated by earthen mounds and plazas. Previous researchers have referred to this material as the Southeastern Ceremonial Complex (SECC). This groundbreaking volume brings together ten essays by leading anthropologists, archaeologists, and art historians, who analyze the iconography of Mississippian art in order to reconstruct the ritual activities, cosmological vision, and ideology of these ancient precursors to several groups of contemporary Native Americans. Significantly, the authors correlate archaeological, ethnographic, and art historical data that illustrate the stylistic differences within Mississippian art as well as the numerous changes that occur through time. The research also demonstrates the inadequacy of the SECC label, since Mississippian art is not limited to the Southeast and reflects stylistic changes over time among several linked but distinct religious traditions. The term Mississippian Iconographic Interaction Sphere (MIIS) more adequately describes the corpus of this Mississippian art. Most important, the authors illustrate the overarching nature of the ancient Native American religious system, as a creation unique to the native American cultures of the eastern United States.This is an honour song: twenty years since the blockades, an anthology of writing on the "Oka crisis"
By Leanne Simpson, Kiera L Ladner. 2010
A collection of narratives, poetry, and essays exploring the impact of the 1990 resistance at Kanehsatà:ke, otherwise known as the…
“Oka Crisis”. The book is written by leading Indigenous and non-Indigenous artists, scholars, activists and traditional people, and is sung as an Honour Song celebrating the commitment, sacrifices and achievements of the Kanien’kehaka individuals and communities involved. c2010.Shamans of the Foye Tree
By Ana Mariella Bacigalupo. 2007
Drawing on anthropologist Ana Mariella Bacigalupo's fifteen years of field research, Shamans of the Foye Tree: Gender, Power, and Healing…
among Chilean Mapuche is the first study to follow shamans' gender identities and performance in a variety of ritual, social, sexual, and political contexts. To Mapuche shamans, or machi, the foye tree is of special importance, not only for its medicinal qualities but also because of its hermaphroditic flowers, which reflect the gender-shifting components of machi healing practices. Framed by the cultural constructions of gender and identity, Bacigalupo's fascinating findings span the ways in which the Chilean state stigmatizes the machi as witches and sexual deviants; how shamans use paradoxical discourses about gender to legitimatize themselves as healers and, at the same time, as modern men and women; the tree's political use as a symbol of resistance to national ideologies; and other components of these rich traditions. The first comprehensive study on Mapuche shamans' gendered practices, Shamans of the Foye Tree offers new perspectives on this crucial intersection of spiritual, social, and political power.