The Indian History of British Columbia: The Impact of the White Man

by Wilson Duff

First published in 1965, The Indian History of British Columbia: The Impact of the White Man remains an important book thanks to Wilson Duff's rigorous scholarship. It is an excellent overview of the history of the interaction between the First Nations of British Columbia and the colonial cultures that came to western North America. In its 30 years in print, this book has sold more than 15,000 copies and continues to reside on the reading lists of many university and college anthropology courses.


Wilson Duff wrote this book as the first in a series. The second was to be the first book in a line of "ethnic histories" on specific First Nations; the third was to cover a thousand or so years before contact with Euro-Americans. Regrettably, he never finished the other manuscripts. But The Impact of the White Man stands alone and is, indeed, a mainstay of anthropology and history in British Columbia.


For the first time, this book is issued in a quality paperback size and a more readable type. The original text is virtually unchanged, but the publishers have added more photographs, an appendix updating the names and territories of British Columbia First Nations, a new list of recommended reading, and an index.

Genres: History

184 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1997

Reviews

[Gerj · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fascinating historical artifact. A historical curiosity in many respects, for myself as a modern reader, since it's "no nonsense" approach to a historical narrative means that this often feels very pedestrian; almost reading like a kind of log-book, rather than a piece of writing that might be enjoyed or at least appreciated for its delivery of information, not just for the information itself. The characterisation of colonization here has given me much to think about and is a reminder that, as far-away as they might sometimes feel for myself and other settlers, the days of colonization and racism are hardly a distant memory.

[Ron Peters · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book decades ago. I went looking for it on my shelf but couldn't find it, so I picked up a new copy. It’s still interesting but decidedly dated. I’d forgotten reading about the spread of muskets in the early 19th century and how this led to an increase in deadly wars. This was then replaced by more intense potlatching, “warring with wealth.” The sections on Indian administration and land rights need to be supplemented with more modern readings, or you’ll get a distorted idea of things. In many ways the time around 1960 was a low point for indigenous art and culture, so Duff held unduly pessimistic views about their future survival. He also expresses views that you'd be surprised to hear from an anthropologist today, e.g., “the degree to which Indians have adapted themselves to modern North American material culture is the degree to which they have been successful in finding their way in today’s world.” Of course, no one says “Indian” any longer, and the names used for many language groups have changed since he wrote. He also does things like discuss residential schools without noticing any problem with them, and he adopts the attitude that it’s lucky that museums ‘collected’ the last of the valuable coastal cultural materials, since they would have been lost otherwise. So, this book still contains some useful material, but reader beware, you need to do a lot of mental ‘adjusting’ while you make your way through it.