Contact and Conflict: Indian-European Relations in British Columbia, 1774-1890

by Robin Fisher

Originally published in 1977, and reprinted several tiems since, Contact and Cnoflict remains an invaluable account of the profound impact that white settlement had on Native-European relations in British Columbia after the fur trade ended. Robin Fisher argues that the fur trade had a limited effect on the cultures of Native people. Both Natives and Europeans were involved in a mutually beneficial economic system, and there was no incentive for non-Native fur traders to alter radically the Native social system. With the passing of the fur trade in 1858, however, and the beginning of white settlement, what has been a reciporcal system between the two civilizations became a pattern of white dominance.

The second edition includes a preface in which the author re-examines his original arguments, surveys the literature since 1977, and comments on directions for new research. The original edition of the book was published at a time when there was relatively little written by historians on the subject. Today, "Contact and Conflict" is still widely used by scholars and students, and its arguments have endured, yielding new insights into the role of Native people in the history of British Columbia.

Genres: History

282 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1977

Reviews

[Warren Wulff · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a disturbing and upsetting book to read, but absolutely necessary for those who wish to understand indigenous relations in BC from 1774-1890. It spares nothing of the brutal push by the BC government to obliterate BC First Nations culture and land use and title. For Fisher, the main turning point was 1858, when the Fraser River Gold Rush turned First Nations from partners in the fur trade to competitors over land and natural resources. Despite being written in 1977, it remains a sound thesis.

There are no doubt some aspects of this book that don’t age well. I read the “second” edition from 1992 which kept all the original text but gave a new introduction to rebut criticism of the first edition and made some concessions. The two big ones are the use of the term “Indian” throughout, which is always jarring. Even the author noted that by 1992, “First Nations” was a better term but was reluctant to change what probably amounted to over 1000 uses of “Indian” throughout. Also, the author recognized that his downplaying of FN population decline hasn’t lived up to new research showing its reality, and wished he had acknowledged its more serious impact. I understand that a second edition would be a lot of work to make these changes, but what I would have really appreciated is correcting the (thankfully few) times when incorrect dates were given. Some I knew were wrong, by fact or mathematically, but one was laughable, stating a meeting of 19th century Indian agents took place in 1972.

It still deserves five stars because overall it is groundbreaking and it is one of the few books of the era to treat BC settler history with a critical eye. This book should serve as bedrock knowledge as one reads other BC history books to keep in mind the subtext of 19th century BC. Just remember, the same year this book came out was the same year that Nicholson published his history of the west coast of Vancouver Island and he says in the first paragraph that he wouldn’t be including First Nations in his history book because their concerns are the stuff of anthropologists! Then he says that BC history begins only when Captain Cook arrived at Nootka Sound! From this example of the historiography of the 1970s, which fundamentally ignored or downplayed FN pre- and post-contact history, it is clear that Fisher, by putting it front and centre, created a watershed moment.

[spike marlin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent book. I first read it in university in the 1980’s and it was worthwhile to read again. This book really started me questioning how we treated the First Nations of Canada and I became very empathetic of their struggle for recognition, compensation, and truth. You have to look past some of the terminology the author used like “Indian” and “tribe”. If you can the thesis is excellent.

[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very good carefully researched book. The author was on of the first to give a Native perspective on British Columbia. He shows how they were willing participants in the fur trade and had lots of control over it. He then shows how that was lost when colonizing and settling and the missionaries began to erode this and lead to a loss of land.
The one reason I am not giving this book five stars in the author's terrible stance on the toll of disease. The author is very dismissive on eye witness accounts of abounded villages, and statements of traders and missionaries who state 1 in 5 Natives died. The author dismiss all this as vague, claim there is not enough 'data', ignoring the eyewitness accounts. As an argument against the terrible cause of disease he argues that maybe the Natives were away from the village when the traders arrived. The author makes some rather unbelieve statements such as child birth would have balanced it out, not really having much to back up this bizarre claim and not taking into account the lack of immunity in the populating to things such as Small Pox, which has been proven to be devastating continent wide.
In the preface to the new edition the author continues to deny dieses as a major contributing factor to Native populating decline, effectively refusing to listen to newer research that show the opposite of what he is saying.
However despite this rather boneheaded stance on disease this is a good book and should be read by anyone want to learn more about Native British Columbia.

[Emily Watt · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have a lot of opinions on this that I may state at a later date.