"Paul Bunyan was in BC, that much we can prove. For evidence there is the Inside Passage, the Gulf Islands, Mount Baker and canned meat." So begins Paul Bunyan on the West Coast, a chronicle of Paul's last adventures, when he worked his way across the continent and finally reached the great conifer forests of the West Coast. It was here he faced hi …

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Ulli Steltzer, a distinguished photographer, takes the reader into the carving shed and studio to see Robert Davidson as he creates both monumental poles and intricately detailed powerful masks. More than 100 of her black-and-white photographs, reproduced in duotone, record both the evolution of Davidson and his art, from the early days up to the p …

From the Trickster of Native American legends to the devious Wile E. Coyote of cartoon fame, the coyote has long been associated with cunning, greed and gullibility. At the same time, the coyote has been an enduring symbol of wildness. Combining the sleekness of the cat, the quick intelligence of the fox and the brute wildness of the wolf, the coyo …

The Great Lummi chief's quest for the woman he loves. The saga of the great Lummi chief continues with Cha it zit's challenge to gain the woman he loves. Tsexad, who was born into slavery even though her mother is of noble blood, has taken Cha it zit's heart. Cha it zit acts on his beliefs and refuses his planned marriage, even though it means disg …

In People of Terra Nullius, Boyce Richardson travels across Canada evoking the human richness of aboriginal society as it grows steadily stronger after decades of decline. Richardson journeys among the Mikmaqs of Cape Breton, the Crees and Algonquins of Quebec, the Ojibway of northern Ontario, the Metis of the Prairies, the Gitksan fo BC, the nativ …

Lost in North America is a caustic, humourous exploration of a Canada we don’t often talk about-a collective mental creation of great charm and complexity, hovering precariously somewhere in Video North America, in disguise as the most successful colony in the history of the world. Lost in North America is a personal, idiosyncratic tour of the co …

Through an examination of the roles of relief and relocation in response to welfare and other perceived problems and the federal government's overall goal of assimilating the Inuit into the dominant Canadian culture, this book questions the seeming benevolence of the post-Second World War Canadian welfare state. The authors have made extensive use …

Eagle Down Is Our Law is about the struggle of the Witsuwit'en peoples to establish the meaning of aboriginal rights. With the neighbouring Gitksan, the Witsuwit'en launched a major land claims court case asking for the ownership and jurisdiction of 55,000 square kilometers of land in north-central British Columbia that they claim to have held sinc …

Over much of this century, Canada has played only a minor role in hemispheric affairs. In recent years, dramatic changes have occurred which have catapulted Canada to the role of full partner in the Americas. These include Canada's decision to enter the Organization of American States as a full member, its involvement in the NAFTA negotiations, its …

The events at Oka in 1990 saw the might of the Canadian Armed Forces in the service of the governments of both Quebec and Canada confront some 40 armed Mohawk “Warriors” who were defending their local community’s resistance against a further colonial encroachment on their native lands. The events of that summer have etched themselves indelib …

These wildly funny articles, observations of life in the tiny village of Nazko in the Cariboo-Chilcotin, were first published in the Quesnel Cariboo Observer. Just about everyone in the Cariboo started out as babies when they were quite young, which gives Kishkan a lot of material right there. The other subjects of these real-life stories range fro …

How did Pizarro subjugate the Inca Empire with less than 500 men? How did debates in 16th century Spain between de Sepulveda and de Las Casas lay the basis for the legal concept of Aboriginal title? Providing a broad comparison of historical, social, and cultural aspects of Indigenous groups around the world, this slim volume answers these question …

Indian legends of the Northwest. These never-before-published legends were collected by pioneer merchant and attorney Judge Arthur E. Griffin, beginning in 1884. They have been passed down through five generations of the Griffin family, and have now been edited for publication by Trenholme J. Griffin. The great-grandson of the judge, Tren is steepe …

Magnificent and haunting, the tall cedar sculptures called totem poles have become a distinctive symbol of the native people of the Northwest Coast. The powerful carvings of the vital and extraordinary beings such as Sea Bear, Thunderbird and Cedar Man are impressive and intriguing.

In clear and lively prose, Hilary Stewart describes the various t …

This innovative interdisciplinary study offers a comprehensive analysis of the French, Dutch and English colonization of northeastern North America during the early and middle decades of the seventeenth century. It is the first book to pay serious attention to the European economic and political factors which promoted colonization, and it argues th …

The Twana speech community of Coast Salish Indians lived, before 1860, in nine villages in western Washington. Twana Narratives presents first-person, insider accounts of Twana history, society, and religion, as told by natives Frank and Henry Allen to anthropologist William Elmendorf between 1934 and 1940. The Allens were born in the Hood Canal ar …

These traditional teaching legends come straight from the oral traditions of the Sechelt Nation. Simple enough to be understood by young children, yet compelling enough for adults, they are gentle, beautifully presented cautionary tales. You'll want to read them again and again - and you'll learn a few words of the Shishalh language while you're at …

These traditional teaching legends come straight from the oral traditions of the Sechelt Nation. Simple enough to be understood by young children, yet compelling enough for adults, they are gentle, beautifully presented cautionary tales. You'll want to read them again and again - and you'll learn a few words of the Shishalh language while you're at …

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Weeng, the spirit of sleep. How Odjibaa won the Red Swan. Waupee and the daughters of the star. The whispering grass. Full of mystery, a sense of awe at the surrounding world and the courage of great warriors, the mythology of Canada's Indians forms an incredibly rich source of story and legend. Whether celebrating great journeys and feats of endur …

The Haida are a proud and cultured people, whose home is Haida Gwaii (the Queen Charlotte Islands) off the coast of Northern British Columbia. Until the first Europeans arrived in 1775, the Haida were the lords of the coast. The meeting of cultures was a fateful one: the Europeans had the advantages of firearms and immunity to their own deadly dise …

Bold, inventive indigenous art of the Northwest Coast is distinguished by its sophistication and complexity. It is also composed of basically simple elements which, guided by a rich mythology, create images of striking power.

In Looking at Indian Art of the Northwest Coast, the elements of style are introduced; the myths and legends which shape the …

For the first time under one cover, the author has assembled the results of the renewed interest, extensive experimentation, and technological progress that have advanced falconry over the past three decades. The Hunting Falcon is a fresh approach to the sport of falconry. For the first time under one cover, the author has assembled the results of …

Julia Averkieva's study represents the most comprehensive Native American string collection ever assembled from a single tribe. In addition to characterizing the social conditions that prompted string figure making among the Kwakiutl during the time of her field study, Averkieva noted step-by-step instructions for each figure and transcribed tradi …

In Thomas Crobsy and the Tsimshian: Small Shoes for Feet Too Large, Clarence Bolt demonstrates that the Indians were conscious participants in the acculturation and conversion process – as long as this met their goals – and not merely passive receivers of the blessings as typically reported by the missionaries. In order to understand the comple …

This collection of essays deals with the development of Native American art history as a discipline rather than with particular art works or artists. It focuses on the early anthropologists, museum curators, dealers, and collectors, and on the multiple levels of understanding and misunderstanding, appropriation and reappropriation which characteriz …

Finalist, Bill Duthie Booksellers' Choice Award (1993).

"Chilcotins, they never got beat. Never got beat." — Henry Solomon, in Nemiah: The Unconquered Country

Those words were true in 1864, when the Tsilhqot'in Nation were among the very few First Nations peoples to win a war against European settlers (the Chilcotin War). They were true in 1990, wh …

Originally published in 1977, Contact and Conflict has remained an important book, which has inspired numerous scholars to examine further the relationships between the Indians and the Europeans – fur traders as well as settlers. For this edition, Robin Fisher has written a new introduction in which he surveys the literature since 1977 and commen …

In Our Chiefs and Elders, David Neel presents us with a magnificent series of images of Native chiefs and elders which sharply contrasts with earlier depictions of Natives as “noble savages” or representatives of a “vanishing race.” Neel’s photographs of, and conversations with, his own people introduce us to individuals who know who they …

In 1964, social worker Bridget Moran attracted widespread attention and the wrath of the BC government with her open letter to Premier W.A.C. Bennett, charging the welfare department with gross neglect in addressing the problems of the province's needy. This very public dispute formed a small part of Bridget Moran's "little rebellion" against a sy …

This is the second of three volumes of educational activities for use in First Nations and multicultural classrooms. The activities stress the importance of culture in students' lives, and teaches them basic personal and community-related skills so they may become more self-reliant and culturally responsible.
The Native Education Services Associat …

The People's Land is an expression of a particular moment in norhtern history -- the darkness, even, that preceded the light.

For some years, Hugh Brody lived and studied among the Inuit, the people fo the Arctic. His book, The People's Land, describes their recent past with sympathy and indignation. He tells how the Whites came as fur traders and …

The Brooklyn Museum has played a major role in presenting and interpreting North American Native art. Its commitment to this field began in 1903, when R. Stewart Culin was appointed to head its new Department of Ethnology. During three trips to the Northwest in 1905, 1908, and 1911, Culin collaborated with Dr. Charles F. Newcombe and bought several …

Storytelling is a universal activity and may well be the oldest of the arts. It has always provided a vehicle for the expression of ideas, particularly in societies relying on oral tradition. Yet investigation of what contemporary storytellers actually communicate to their listeners occupies a restricted place in anthropology. The growing literatur …

Pacific salmon are an important biological and economic resource of countries of the North Pacific rim. They are also a unique group of fish possessing unusually complex life histories. There are seven species of Pacific salmon, five occurring on both the North American and Asian continents (sockeye, pink, chum, chinook, and coho) and two (masu and …

In this tale, the ever-wily, ever-hungry Raven visits the generous Snipe family, in the hope of getting lots of free food. When she gets a bit too greedy, however, she finds out the Snipes have a few tricks of their own.

Raven is clever and tricky - and greedy. In this story, she persuades her friends Gull, Cormorant, and Puffin to pick berries with her, and tricks them into doing more than their share of work, for less than their share of food. In the end, her friends find a clever way to teach Raven an important lesson.

This is the third of three volumes of educational activities for use in First Nations and multicultural classrooms. The activities stress the importance of culture in students' lives, and teaches them basic personal and community-related skills so they may become more self-reliant and culturally responsible.
The Native Education Services Associate …

Why did Canada abandon four decades of peace to join the United States in the Persian Gulf War? The author of this provocative book argues that Canada's status as a nuclear colony of the US military paves the way for Canadian participation in American military adventures abroad. One nuclear outpost is Nanoose Bay on Vancouver Island, where the US N …

The masterworks of Northwest Coast Indians are admired today as among the great achievements of the world's primitive artisans. The painted and carved wooden screens, chests and boxes for storage and cooking, dishes, rattles, crest hats, and other ceremonial paraphernalia reveal a rare artistic virtuosity and document the unique involvement of thes …

Native Writers and Canadian Writing is a co-publication with Canadian Literature – Canada’s foremost literary journal – of a special double issue which focuses on literature by and about Canada’s Native peoples and contains original articles and poems by both Native and non-Native writers. These not only reflect the growing prominence of co …

Spirit Quest was written from an Indian point of view, depicting the way events could have taken place, considering the facts as we know them and the culture as it was. Spirit Quest is the story of one boy's ordeal as he comes to grips with the natural forces and his inner turmoil during his lonely initiation rites. Trying to prove himself as he se …

Judgement at Stoney Creek has been released in a new edition of an aboriginal studies classic: an engrossing look at the investigation into the hit-and-run death of Coreen Thomas, a young Native woman in her ninth month of pregnancy, at the wheels of a car driven by a young white man in central BC. The resulting inquest into what might have been ju …

Responsibility is the theme of this modern detective story laced with comedy - but with the tragedy of white-Indian relations overshadowing every scene. Annie Charlie was a groundbreaking novel when it first appeared in 1973 and continues to spread to a new audience today.

A novel with many heroines. . .

Some are black, some white; some are babies and some grandmothers. What they have in common is Cassidy, a wealthy and merciless plantation owner in the pre-Civil War American South, for whom the black women are slaves and the white women are concubines.

Their story is the story of thousands of women of their time and p …

A guide to North American Indian Quillworking. Quillwork, once practiced by Great Lakes and Plains Indian tribes, has inspired Christy Ann Hensler to save this delicate art from extinction. Mrs. Hensler's detailed step-by-step instructions and how-to sketches describe the techniques of quillworking, from plucking and preparing the quills, to finish …