Skyscrapers Hide the Heavens: A History of Native-Newcomer Relations in Canada, Fourth Edition

by J.R. Miller

First published in 1989, Skyscrapers Hide the Heavens continues to earn wide acclaim for its comprehensive account of Native-newcomer relations throughout Canada's history. Author J.R. Miller charts the deterioration of the relationship from the initial, mutually beneficial contact in the fur trade to the current displacement and marginalization of the Indigenous population.

The fourth edition of Skyscrapers Hide the Heavens is the result of considerable revision and expansion to incorporate current scholarship and developments over the past twenty years in federal government policy and Aboriginal political organization. It includes new information regarding political organization, land claims in the courts, public debates, as well as the haunting legacy of residential schools in Canada.

Critical to Canadian university-level classes in history, Indigenous studies, sociology, education, and law, the fourth edition of Skyscrapers will be also be useful to journalists and lawyers, as well as leaders of organizations dealing with Indigenous issues. Not solely a text for specialists in post-secondary institutions, Skyscrapers Hide the Heavens explores the consequence of altered Native-newcomer relations, from cooperation to coercion, and the lasting legacy of this impasse.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Canada, Indigenous, Politics

456 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1989

About the author

J.R. Miller is a professor emeritus of history at the University of Saskatchewan. He is the author of numerous works on issues related to Indigenous peoples including Skyscrapers Hide the Heavens and Shingwauk’s Vision, both published by University of Toronto Press.

Reviews

[Alex Strohschein · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5/5

This is the book to read on First Nations-Newcomer relations in Canada. It is comprehensive in scope, introducing Canada's indigenous peoples before contact and chronicling their relationship with newcomers to their lands up until the time of Justin Trudeau's government (the edition I read being the fourth, published in 2018. J.R. Miller (1942 - 2025) was a highly regarded Canadian historian who frequently worked on First Nations history, notably his book Shingwauk's Vision: A History of Native Residential Schools.

The first half of the book was more interesting to me as Miller explores the early decades of contact and the struggle between the French and English for control of Canada. One of the fascinating points Miller makes is that the First Nations often regarded the French more favourably than the English because they were occasional traders who, upon securing furs, would leave never to be seen again but when the English arrived in a region, they would set up farms that would permanently drive First Nations from their ancestral lands. The interplay of government, business, and religion is a recurring theme throughout the book. The latter half deals much more with court cases and commissions which, while no doubt important, does tend to be a bit tedious (hence the 3.5/5).

Miller to my knowledge was not First Nations but he writes as a sincere ally to their cause(s). This is a book well worth reading to better understand our shared Canadian history.

[Muhammed Nijim · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an insanely detailed account of the European-Indigenous relations in North America in general and Canada as a case study. This is a great work that needs to be read slowly since it has valuable details and so much information about settler-colonialism and the changing relations.

Like any other settler-colonial regime, Europeans sought for resources and profitability off North American land. They started with pelts and fur trade where they cooperated with Indigenous bands, then they turned to agriculture where they started to focus more on the land and coerce Indians to abandon their traditional lifestyles. They coerced them to abandon fishing and hunting and tried to convince them that agriculture is the only way for economic salvation.

This book shows how Europeans committed genocidal acts in North America and killed Indigenous, animals and caused significant damage to the ecosystem in search of resources for greedy gains. The Europeans adopted many modes of destruction including cultural assimilation, residential schools system, cultural wars, forced displacement and relocation of various bands, as well as ecocide.

I like how the book ends. The author suggests some solutions/lessons that both parties should consider if they want to put the past behind and live together in peace.

[A.J. · Rating 4 out of 5]

An important overview of the relationship between settlers and native peoples in Canada. The headings of the three sections of the book sum up the story concisely: Co-operation, Coercion and Confrontation.

[Ben Peltz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Comprehensive and Readable

Although there are stretches where the details of various legal aspects of history get overwhelming, for the most part Miller does a good job of weaving a narrative out of the history of relations between settlers and indigenous people in Canada and his conclusions in the last chapter are a helpful summary of where we've been and need to go.

[AskHistorians]

J.R. Miller argues that aboriginal peoples in Canada have had agency throughout their interactions with Europeans and whites, although he does highlight a number of turning points in which this relationship became uneven. The challenges faced by aboriginal communities today, he argues, are directly related to European and Canadian government policies towards aboriginals, the racialization of native groups, and the imposition of a paternalistic relationship.

[Jack · Rating 4 out of 5]

Detailed and thought-provoking