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I Have Lived Here Since the World Began: An Illustrated History of Canada's Native People
Until recently, we were taught that Canada's history started when European explorers first arrived on these shores. In fact, the first people have been here since the Ice Age and were already accomplished traders, artisans, farmers, and marine hunters. Now, thanks to the new compelling title I Have Lived Here Since the World Began: An Illustrated History of Canada's Native People the fascinating record-spanning 12,000 years into today's headlinesis finally revealed.
Arthur J. Ray, one of Canada's foremost historians of Native people, skillfully weaves Native legends of their first encounters with Europeans into his description of the impact the settlers had. He describes the various economic arrangements Native men and women entered into with the newcomers, the assault on Native culture in the Industrial Age, and the relentless efforts of Native groups to find a place in the new world order.
Illustrated throughout with superb photographs, maps, historical engravings, and contemporary native art, this is a dynamic and timely history of Canada's first inhabitants and their ongoing relationships with those who followed.
About the Author:
Arthur J. Ray is a professor of history at the University of British Columbia, specializing in the historical geography of the Native people of Canada. He is the author of, among other books, Indians and the Fur Trade and contributed the section on Native history to The Illustrated History of Canada. He also works as a consultant on various Native land-claim cases.
Arthur J. Ray, one of Canada's foremost historians of Native people, skillfully weaves Native legends of their first encounters with Europeans into his description of the impact the settlers had. He describes the various economic arrangements Native men and women entered into with the newcomers, the assault on Native culture in the Industrial Age, and the relentless efforts of Native groups to find a place in the new world order.
Illustrated throughout with superb photographs, maps, historical engravings, and contemporary native art, this is a dynamic and timely history of Canada's first inhabitants and their ongoing relationships with those who followed.
About the Author:
Arthur J. Ray is a professor of history at the University of British Columbia, specializing in the historical geography of the Native people of Canada. He is the author of, among other books, Indians and the Fur Trade and contributed the section on Native history to The Illustrated History of Canada. He also works as a consultant on various Native land-claim cases.
- GenresHistoryNonfictionCanada
448 pages, Paperback
First published October 1, 1996
9 people are currently reading
113 people want to read
About the author
Arthur J. Ray
15 books4 followersArthur J. Ray is Professor Emeritus in the Department of History at the University of British Columbia.
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
February 25, 2021
I wonder if there is an update for this book. This book was a fascinating overview of a topic about which I knew ashamedly very little. I found it to be a fair and sober-minded summary of historical facts told from traditionally marginalized perspectives. It gets a bit slow in places, particularly toward the end of the book. Overall this was a great light, non-fiction read for me. I definitely want to learn more now.
March 14, 2021
Storia of Canada
An Illustrated History of Canada's Native People:
I Have Lived Here Since the World Began, Fourth Edition
by
Arthur J. Ray
When a white army battles Indians and wins it is called a great victory, but if they lose it is called a massacre and bigger armies are raised. If the Indian flees before the advance of such armies, when he tries to return he finds that white men are living where he lived. If he tries to fight off such armies, he is killed and the land taken away ~ Chiksika, elder brother of Tecumseh, 1779
Life is a struggle to survive – or at least it was. Now we could all be better off if we cooperated and shared. We can argue about who did what to whom. Or we can realize it, study it, understand it and learn from it. A Restorative Justice approach might be useful…to strive not for what was but for what should be.
This book is more history than illustrations; it should be taught in schools! Storia should not be by a narrow segment of victors – Canada was built by losers too. The Natives lost to the Europeans; the French lost to the English; the Loyalists lost to the Americans; the Americans lost to the French, English and Native allies; the losers (and winners) of European wars headed west. The losers and winners of Asian wars headed east. We are a mishmash of people. We should be proud and accept the strength of our multiculturalism.
In Nova Scotia, colonial politicians held the view that Britain had gained title to the area by defeating France and its Native allies. The Europeans were able to make the rules, change the rules and modify them as needed. Welcome to America.
Chief Paussamigh Pemmeenauweet, an important leader…addressed Queen Vitoria directly and powerfully in 1841 (147), he started and then closed with:
I cannot cross the great Lake to talk to you for my Canoe is too small, and I am old and weak….White Man has taken all that was ours. He has plenty here….Let us not perish. Your Indian Children love you, and will fight for you against all your enemies.
• We see that this was not just peace and brotherhood but alliances of respect, love and empowerment…
• We think of the West as being empty. It was big, it was vast, but it was not empty.
The use of schools: Assimilation through white education programs was a cornerstone of British colonial policy. We are starting to understand the wrongs that were caused by such policies – but it was shocking to me to see until how recently we tried this hateful nonsense.
From Buffalo hunting to farming – how were they to succeed without the tools, skills and assets necessary were not the same?
Should we treat our Native peoples as “The forgotten People” or should we show them respect as our elder brothers, cousins and neighbours and as a bridge to tomorrow?
This book is an ideal primer for what should be a story that every child learns not just from history class but from living class. In should be ingrained in our educational and cultural institutions…
Lino Matteo ©™
Twitter @Lino_Matteo
https://linomatteo.wordpress.com/2021...
An Illustrated History of Canada's Native People:
I Have Lived Here Since the World Began, Fourth Edition
by
Arthur J. Ray
When a white army battles Indians and wins it is called a great victory, but if they lose it is called a massacre and bigger armies are raised. If the Indian flees before the advance of such armies, when he tries to return he finds that white men are living where he lived. If he tries to fight off such armies, he is killed and the land taken away ~ Chiksika, elder brother of Tecumseh, 1779
Life is a struggle to survive – or at least it was. Now we could all be better off if we cooperated and shared. We can argue about who did what to whom. Or we can realize it, study it, understand it and learn from it. A Restorative Justice approach might be useful…to strive not for what was but for what should be.
This book is more history than illustrations; it should be taught in schools! Storia should not be by a narrow segment of victors – Canada was built by losers too. The Natives lost to the Europeans; the French lost to the English; the Loyalists lost to the Americans; the Americans lost to the French, English and Native allies; the losers (and winners) of European wars headed west. The losers and winners of Asian wars headed east. We are a mishmash of people. We should be proud and accept the strength of our multiculturalism.
In Nova Scotia, colonial politicians held the view that Britain had gained title to the area by defeating France and its Native allies. The Europeans were able to make the rules, change the rules and modify them as needed. Welcome to America.
Chief Paussamigh Pemmeenauweet, an important leader…addressed Queen Vitoria directly and powerfully in 1841 (147), he started and then closed with:
I cannot cross the great Lake to talk to you for my Canoe is too small, and I am old and weak….White Man has taken all that was ours. He has plenty here….Let us not perish. Your Indian Children love you, and will fight for you against all your enemies.
• We see that this was not just peace and brotherhood but alliances of respect, love and empowerment…
• We think of the West as being empty. It was big, it was vast, but it was not empty.
The use of schools: Assimilation through white education programs was a cornerstone of British colonial policy. We are starting to understand the wrongs that were caused by such policies – but it was shocking to me to see until how recently we tried this hateful nonsense.
From Buffalo hunting to farming – how were they to succeed without the tools, skills and assets necessary were not the same?
Should we treat our Native peoples as “The forgotten People” or should we show them respect as our elder brothers, cousins and neighbours and as a bridge to tomorrow?
This book is an ideal primer for what should be a story that every child learns not just from history class but from living class. In should be ingrained in our educational and cultural institutions…
Lino Matteo ©™
Twitter @Lino_Matteo
https://linomatteo.wordpress.com/2021...
March 8, 2013
Published in 1996, Arthur J. Ray's book offers readers an excellent overview and insight into the struggle of Native People in Canada.
It helps explain much of what motivates today’s Idle No More movement.
Ray traces the history of the indigenous nations from pre-contact to contact with Europeans on the basis of economic and trade relations, and on to the white settlement throughout Canada, but mostly in the west where successive governments--federal and provincial--bowed to land speculators, and later to proponents of mega projects, all to the detriment and impoverishment of Native People.
Ray also provides historical context to what has come to be known as the "numbered treaties" between Native People nations and bands, and government which were either abrogated, neglected, or used a means of intimidation by federal and provincial elected and non-elected officials. This was especially true under the Indian Act over the decades. The thread throughout is racism.
A key element is the Royal Proclamation of 1763, which the British crown first issued as a means of dealing with the aspirations of Native People in Canada, but ignored and disparaged by successive governments in Canada. This continued until 1973, when the (Frank) Calder case over Aboriginal title in British Columbia gave Native People an inspired boost to their land claims as the Supreme Court of Canada, in a majority decision, upheld the intent of the Royal Proclamation of 1763.
Nevertheless, negotiations over land claims and treaty rights with federal and provincial governments have since been painfully slow as these same governments have delayed and stalled, or favored private interests over the needs of a people.
Thus, the struggle continues.......
"We know from experience that others do not know what is best for us. We are engaged in a fight we will never give up, a fight to implement policies we know will help us lift ourselves above our present problems. We hope for and welcome the support of other people in Canada in that struggle."
--George Erasmus, past president of the Dene Nation, past northern vice chief of the Assembly of First Nations, appointee to the Order of Canada, 1987, and co-chair of the Royal Commission of Aboriginal Peoples, speaking in 1989
It helps explain much of what motivates today’s Idle No More movement.
Ray traces the history of the indigenous nations from pre-contact to contact with Europeans on the basis of economic and trade relations, and on to the white settlement throughout Canada, but mostly in the west where successive governments--federal and provincial--bowed to land speculators, and later to proponents of mega projects, all to the detriment and impoverishment of Native People.
Ray also provides historical context to what has come to be known as the "numbered treaties" between Native People nations and bands, and government which were either abrogated, neglected, or used a means of intimidation by federal and provincial elected and non-elected officials. This was especially true under the Indian Act over the decades. The thread throughout is racism.
A key element is the Royal Proclamation of 1763, which the British crown first issued as a means of dealing with the aspirations of Native People in Canada, but ignored and disparaged by successive governments in Canada. This continued until 1973, when the (Frank) Calder case over Aboriginal title in British Columbia gave Native People an inspired boost to their land claims as the Supreme Court of Canada, in a majority decision, upheld the intent of the Royal Proclamation of 1763.
Nevertheless, negotiations over land claims and treaty rights with federal and provincial governments have since been painfully slow as these same governments have delayed and stalled, or favored private interests over the needs of a people.
Thus, the struggle continues.......
"We know from experience that others do not know what is best for us. We are engaged in a fight we will never give up, a fight to implement policies we know will help us lift ourselves above our present problems. We hope for and welcome the support of other people in Canada in that struggle."
--George Erasmus, past president of the Dene Nation, past northern vice chief of the Assembly of First Nations, appointee to the Order of Canada, 1987, and co-chair of the Royal Commission of Aboriginal Peoples, speaking in 1989
January 22, 2021
An excellent and we'll detailed book that takes the reader logically through Native history. At times it can be a bit dry as it reads more like a textbook.
The final chapters deal with modern case law and helped for me truly contextualize more recent issues in the news. Be it the Mi'kmaq fishing right or the Wet'suwet'en objection to pipeline development. While watching these more recent events unfold I never truly understood where the terms "moderate livelihood" or "unceded land" came from or what the implication of it were. While I still have a lot of questions this book was a fantastic resource.
The final chapters deal with modern case law and helped for me truly contextualize more recent issues in the news. Be it the Mi'kmaq fishing right or the Wet'suwet'en objection to pipeline development. While watching these more recent events unfold I never truly understood where the terms "moderate livelihood" or "unceded land" came from or what the implication of it were. While I still have a lot of questions this book was a fantastic resource.
August 28, 2019
This was helpful for just a general overview of history in post 1500. This was good for grtting an idea of what was taking place all across Canada.
I would have liked to see more detail in some of the descriptions, particularly when it came to the Beaver wars. I also think any information about precontact is incredibly important and helpful. We need as a country to develop a longer history of Canada, of this land we live on, without setting it all about European contact, but also about more emphasis on indigenous groups always should take precedent in these textbooks.
I would have liked to see more detail in some of the descriptions, particularly when it came to the Beaver wars. I also think any information about precontact is incredibly important and helpful. We need as a country to develop a longer history of Canada, of this land we live on, without setting it all about European contact, but also about more emphasis on indigenous groups always should take precedent in these textbooks.
August 10, 2021
Interesting book on the history of the Indigenous Peoples of Canada - heart wrenching at times to see them fight for their means of survival and beliefs
September 14, 2013
The standard narrative of Canadian History that you remember from school- pretty much what you would expect. A major complaint though, especially for an illustrated history, is that the images are poorly rendered. Another annoyance is that the maps are overgeneralised,and often lost in the crack between two pages.
But, if you want to learn about the history First Nations peoples that now live in Canada, this is as good a place as any to start, though its wiser to move on to more comprehensive works. Its sad but I can't really think of a really good comprehensive book- there are good books about specific regions/groups but nothing with a completely revisited national narrative. For that you need to read legal or activist written works that challenge the traditional narrative. Why can we not just revamp the history we already know is wrong?
But, if you want to learn about the history First Nations peoples that now live in Canada, this is as good a place as any to start, though its wiser to move on to more comprehensive works. Its sad but I can't really think of a really good comprehensive book- there are good books about specific regions/groups but nothing with a completely revisited national narrative. For that you need to read legal or activist written works that challenge the traditional narrative. Why can we not just revamp the history we already know is wrong?
June 20, 2013
There is a lot of information about Canada's First Nation's peoples to put into one book. Can it be done? Well that is a tough question to answer and I'll let future readers decide if this book made the seemingly impossible possible or not. I will say though that in the brief mention of the Beothuk people in this book none of the handful of aboriginal people taken by the whites can ever said to have been "saved", they were kidnapped and in a most frightful manner. Otherwise a very interesting read.
August 2, 2016
About 50 pages of this book was it's bibliography.
I learned a bit reading this, but at the same time it wasn't exactly what I was looking for as it turned into a fur trade economics lesson for about half of the book. The struggles today are interesting and I wish there were more personal stories rather than figures about the fur trade.
I learned a bit reading this, but at the same time it wasn't exactly what I was looking for as it turned into a fur trade economics lesson for about half of the book. The struggles today are interesting and I wish there were more personal stories rather than figures about the fur trade.
April 8, 2020
An engaging account of the struggles of Canada's first peoples, up to Delgamuukw.
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews