First Peoples In Canada

by Alan D. McMillan, Eldon Yellowhorn

First Peoples in Canada provides an overview of all the Aboriginal groups in Canada. Incorporating the latest research in anthropology, archaeology, ethnography and history, this new edition describes traditional ways of life, traces cultural changes that resulted from contacts with the Europeans, and examines the controversial issues of land claims and self-government that now affect Aboriginal societies. Most importantly, this generously illustrated edition incorporates a Nativist perspective in the analysis of Aboriginal cultures.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Indigenous, Canada, Anthropology, Childrens, Reference

400 pages, Paperback

First published July 26, 2004

Reviews

[Gradon Nicholls · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really great overview. Tackles the subject from various perspectives (archaeology, history, sociology, public policy, ....). Helps one to start building a mind map for the numerous and diverse peoples that live and have lived in what is now Canada.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book provides a good very high-level overview of indigenous communities in Canada that is, for the most part, politically neutral. The book is most valuable in providing a way to understand the history of first peoples in Canada prior to the era of European colonization. However, the book has a number of serious drawbacks:

- The history of communities after confederation is far too cursory, providing only the slightest glimpse of the history of communities to the present day
- There are major gaps in the history that on occasion are very briefly referred to but are not explored in any detail despite being critical to understanding the history of many communities today (e.g. the residential school system, the process of treaty negotiation, the military alliances with European powers, Canada's child welfare system, the history of the band council system and what it has meant for the political structures of many communities, etc., etc.)
- The book concludes with a chapter that surveys historical developments for many communities to the present day, but the chapter is unfortunately expressed in political terms rather than neutral academic terms. While it is hard for anyone to remain politically neutral about the history of the first peoples in Canada upon learning about it, needless to say that, if the goal of a work is to determine what is the case, the writer should be careful to not confuse that goal with a concern for what ought to be the case. People have a bad habit of coming to inappropriate conclusions about what is the case when they are concerned for what ought to be the case. Generally speaking, this book is good at avoiding making this mistake, but the last chapter seems to be a major exception. Unfortunately, the last chapter also covers a number of historical events that are critical to understanding the modern history of the first peoples in Canada. The political bent to that chapter raises a lot of doubt about its accuracy.
- It is impossible to understand the circumstances of first peoples in Canada today without understanding the law created for them by Canada's courts. This book does a decent job in referencing and surveying some of those cases, but the analysis of some of those cases seems a bit suspect to me as a lawyer familiar with the case law in the area. Some of the conclusions seem far too sweeping to be accurate. In any case, this is a technical area that's probably best reserved for specialists, so a history of these sorts of questions is probably best left to legal historians. The History of Law in Canada series is probably a good bet to supplement your knowledge in this area if you're interested.

Overall, if you're looking for a survey text of the history of first peoples in Canada, this book is a good start. Where it excels relative to other books on the same subject is the history that it provides prior to the era of European colonization and the generally neutral terms in which that history is presented (with the notable exception of the last chapter, which adopts a clear political tone). I'd recommend this book, but for anyone interested in having a good general overview, it would be best to supplement it with others, such as the History of Law in Canada series (for a history of the impact of Canada's legal system on first peoples in Canada), perhaps books by JR Miller (for a focus on such things as the residential school system and treaties, though JR Miller's books have other serious drawbacks in that they tend to be much more politicized overall), and Olivia Dickason's "Canada's First Nation's" (also very politicized, but it can fill in some gaps in terms of the history between first peoples in Canada and their relationships with European powers prior to confederation).

[Daniel Sherman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I bought this book because I wanted to learn more about the aboriginal people in canada, and I achieved most of what I wanted to learn. I wanted to learn about the different groups of first nations, their history, their development, and their cultures. I learned most of that. the book does a good job at giving a comprehensive history. it reminded me much of my high school ancient civilizations class, but rather than learning about the Greeks, Egyptians, or Mesopotamians, I learned about the Cree, Ojibwa, Iroquois, Innuit, Metis, and more. I appreciated the sections about each of the first nations groups in modernity, and the chapter describing first nations place in modern canada was thought provoking despite being published in 2004.

I learned to change my thought process of a monolithic "first nations/aboriginal" identity or group, as each of the first nations groups in canada have very unique culture and history that is directly tied to and related to where they lived and developed their culture. It was fascinating to learn how unique each group was and how the land affected their necessities, skills, and cultural development. The chapters on Innuit and Metis were particularly interesting to me based on personal preference.

Despite each first nation having a unique culture, story, and development, there are unfortunately some grim commonalities between all the groups. European settlement and fur trade destabilized their cultures as they put economic pressure on their hunting prey rather than simply food pressure, and economic pressure is orders of magnitude larger than food pressure if not infinite. Europeans also brought disease which lead to rapid population, particularly smallpox. Another commonality of note is of alcohol abuse after being intentionally introduced by Europeans.

I found it uniquely sad that first nations culture seems to have a direct rivalry with modernity. That is to say, as many first nations assimilate in modern society, they see their culture and traditional ways of life (which can be seen as a religion) weaken if not fade away. This is especially tragic as their belief in the spiritual/spirit world/animistic spirits is fascinating and unique in a largely Abrahamic population.

It was also interesting to discover that yet another generation of Trudeau politicians betrayed the first nations population in this country.

Having read this book, there are still some topics I wish I knew about. Those weaknesses are primarily due to the book being published in 2004. I wish it went in depth more on the residential school system and effect it had on the first nations population, but I cannot fault this book for not knowing about how important that tragedy and shame would be for our country come 2020. I still do not know what "land back" means, although this book did give me a slightly better idea about what the Indian Act was, and paradoxically, why first nations populations would be interested in keeping it alive, but modifying it to better represent their desires.

I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in learning more about the rich cultures that are so often and tragically hidden in our country.

[Norman Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very good book for anyone looking for a framework to understanding the history of First Nations in Canada. It is broad in time (from entering the Americas to the present), and territory (all of Canada). Most chapters are about a specific group of First Nations, such as those living in the Atlantic Provinces, the Iroquoians of the the Eastern Woodlands, and so on.

The tone is generally neutral and objective. The object of the book, it seems, is to provide information rather than to be a polemic.

I wish I had read this book (or its equivalent) about 40 years ago. It provides me now, however, with a basis for further reading.

[Josh Elkin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Growing up in Quebec, what we learn about indigenous history and native ways of knowing leaves much to be desired. This really helped open up my eyes to the depth of history that exists in North America that we don't ever look at.

[Brandon Gould · Rating 5 out of 5]

Took me a while to read because it is rather scholarly dense in places, but it is definitely a good read with a good discussion and presentation of First Peoples in Canada to quote the title.

Would recommend to any interested in learning more of the many indigenous nations in Canada.

[Katrina Arndt · Rating 4 out of 5]

My wife and I read this aloud on our winter road trip and it was fantastic to work through it. Reading aloud helped us understand it more deeply than reading it alone. Informative, sad, tragic.

[Graham Gibbs · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although an academic book I found it provided a most comprehensive account of our First Peoples and was of huge benefit as I was researching for my own book Five Ages of Canada

[J Haeske · Rating 4 out of 5]

As I was primarily only familiar (to a very limited extent) with some of the First Nations of the Prairies, I decided that this is the book for me to learn about First Nations of other parts of Canada. Dealing with all of them in a book of about 330 pages (although they are printed in rather small type) means the book's main purpose can only to be something of an introduction, but in that it succeeds. The various tribes are discussed from their ancient beginnings, relying mainly on archeological records,as theirs was an oral tradition, to the contemporary time (it was first published in 1988) with the majority of information naturally available from the 19th and early 20th Century. The very recent past is dealt with somewhat briefly. There is a wealth of information gathered in this book, and considering it is primarily aimed at readers in universities and such, the writing isn't overly challenging.
It took me quite a long time to read, but now I feel all the richer for learning much more about Canada's aboriginal history and feel compelled to explore that area more thorougly in the future.

[pG Ra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, this book was one journey to go through, learning about all of the historical evidence of diverse indigenous cultures in Canada from a reputable and unbiased source. I learn so much about the cultures that existed, what cultures they became, and the experience of status and non-status aboriginal people in Canada through history. Even just the last chapter was such a good, manageable summary of our indigenous history that helped me make sense of where we are no, in history, with ongoing issues faced by indigenous people and Canadian settlers , along with the nationalistic attempt to erase diversity of interests and culture and why it is working. It is probably too late to try to convince aboriginal people they can be Canadians just like every one else, because they have had to kick and scream and demand and protest just to get to the point where they are now -- and the barriers toward a repaired identity are still many.

[Martin Empson · Rating 3 out of 5]

"The First Nations people are not a living museum, they are a people with a rich history which continues to develop. The great strength of this book is to link that history to today, and present a continuity of struggle."

My Complete Review: http://resolutereader.blogspot.co.uk/...