About BC Books Online
BC Books Online was created for anyone interested in BC-published books, and with librarians especially in mind. We'd like to make it easy for library staff to learn about books from BC publishers - both new releases and backlist titles - so you can inform your patrons and keep your collections up to date.
Our site features print books and ebooks - both new releases and backlist titles - all of which are available to order through regular trade channels. Browse our subject categories to find books of interest or create and export lists by category to cross-reference with your library's current collection.
A quick tip: When reviewing the "Browse by Category" listings, please note that these are based on standardized BISAC Subject Codes supplied by the books' publishers. You will find additional selections, grouped by theme or region, in our "BC Reading Lists."
Description
Father August Brabant (1845–1912) was the first Roman Catholic missionary to live and work among indigenous peoples on the west coast of Vancouver Island during the colonial period. He endured long periods of isolation, built a number of log churches and undertook extraordinarily difficult trips along the west coast in dugout canoes. His thirty-three-year-long effort to transform Nuu-chah-nulth culture gives us a provocative case study of the dynamics that shaped, and continue to define, the settler-colonial relationship between indigenous peoples and the state in Canada. Convinced he had a mission to save the indigenous people from being themselves, the zealous priest strove to instill alien spiritual beliefs. He served as a willing instrument for imposing colonial power by introducing new forms of justice, commerce, dress, housing, personal identity, and—most devastating of all—schooling. As the father of British Columbia’s first residential school, Brabant precipitated the single institution that proved most destructive to the people he set out to rescue. Brabant’s biography will be of interest to historians, anthropologists, political scientists, individuals engaged in First Nations Studies, and general readers.
Recommended Age, Grade, and Reading Levels
- Age:
- 15
- Grade:
- 10
Awards
- Short-listed, Basil Stuart-Stubbs Award
Editorial Reviews
“Although [McDowell’s] writing style was clearly based on his extensive, thorough research, for me, it read like a historical novel. The way he ended each chapter left me anticipating moving on to the next, often delaying some chore in order to get into the next chapter.” —Sandra Klonsky
“McDowell’s look at Brabant is superb, combining information on the priest’s life with the appropriate context — the social history of the indigenous people he was trying to save from themselves. . . . This is not merely the story of one priest, but about the clash between two dramatically different viewpoints.” —Times Colonist
“McDowell’s look at Brabant is superb, combining information on the priest’s life with the appropriate context — the social history of the indigenous people he was trying to save from themselves. . . . This is not merely the story of one priest, but about the clash between two dramatically different viewpoints.” —Times Colonist
“Although [McDowell’s] writing style was clearly based on his extensive, thorough research, for me, it read like a historical novel. The way he ended each chapter left me anticipating moving on to the next, often delaying some chore in order to get into the next chapter.” —Sandra Klonsky
