Historicizing Canadian Anthropology is the first significant examination of the historical development of anthropological study in this country. It addresses key issues in the evolution of the discipline: the shaping influence of Aboriginal-anthropological encounters; the challenge of compiling a history for the Canadian context; and the place of international and institutional relations. The contributors to this collection reflect on the definition and scope of the discipline and explore the degree to which a uniquely Canadian tradition affects anthropological theory, practice, and reflexivity.
The essays in Anthropology, Public Policy, and Native Peoples in Canada provide a comprehensive evaluation of past, present, and future forms of anthropological involvement in public policy issues that affect Native peoples in Canada. The contributing authors, who include social scientists and politicians from both Native and non-Native backgrounds, use their experience to assess the theory and practice of anthropological participation in and observation of relations between aboriginal peoples and governments in Canada. They trace the strengths and weaknesses of traditional forms of anthropological fieldwork and writing, as well as offering innovative solutions to some of the challenges confronting anthropologists working in this domain. In addition to Noel Dyck and James Waldram, the contributing authors are Peggy Martin Brizinski, Julie Cruikshank, Peter Douglas Elias, Julia D. Harrison, Ron Ignace, Joseph M. Kaufert, Patricia Leyland Kaufert, William W. Koolage, John O'Neil, Joe Sawchuk, Colin H. Scott, Derek G. Smith, George Speck, Renee Taylor, Peter J. Usher, and Sally M. Weaver.
Anthropologists are often reluctant to present their work relating to matters of a broad social context to the wider public even though many have much to say about a range of contemporary issues. In this second edition of a classic work in the field, Edward J. Hedican takes stock of Anthroplogy's research on current indigenous affairs and offers an up-to-date assessment of Aboriginal issues in Canada from the perspective of applied Anthropology. In his central thesis, Hedican underlines Anthropology's opportunity to make a significant impact on the way Aboriginal issues are studied, perceived, and interpreted in Canada. He contends that anthropologists must quit lingering on the periphery of debates concerning land claims and race relations and become more actively committed to the public good. His study ranges over such challenging topics as advocacy roles in Aboriginal studies, the ethics of applied research, policy issues in community development, the political context of the self-government debate, and the dilemma of Aboriginal status and identity in Canada. Applied Anthropology in Canada is an impassioned call for a revitalized Anthropology - one more directly attuned to the practical problems faced by First Nations peoples. Hedican's focus on Aboriginal issues gives his work a strong contemporary relevance that bridges the gap between scholarly and public spheres.
Before Ontario there was ice. As the last ice age came to an end, land began to emerge from the melting glaciers. With time, plants and animals moved into the new landscape and people followed. For almost 15,000 years, the land that is now Ontario has provided a home for their descendants: hundreds of generations of First Peoples. With contributions from the province's leading archaeologists, Before Ontario provides both an outline of Ontario's ancient past and an easy to understand explanation of how archaeology works. The authors show how archaeologists are able to study items as diverse as fish bones, flakes of stone, and stains in the soil to reconstruct the events and places of a distant past - fishing parties, long-distance trade, and houses built to withstand frigid winters. Presenting new insights into archaeology’s purpose and practice, Before Ontario bridges the gap between the modern world and a past that can seem distant and unfamiliar, but is not beyond our reach. Contributors include Christopher Ellis (University of Western Ontario), Neal Ferris (University of Western Ontario/Museum of Ontario Archaeology), William Fox (Canadian Museum of Civilization/Royal Ontario Museum), Scott Hamilton (Lakehead University), Susan Jamieson (Trent University Archaeological Research Centre - TUARC), Mima Kapches (Royal Ontario Museum), Anne Keenleyside (TUARC), Stephen Monckton (Bioarchaeological Research), Marit Munson (TUARC), Kris Nahrgang (Kawartha Nishnawbe First Nation), Suzanne Needs-Howarth (Perca Zooarchaeological Research), Cath Oberholtzer (TUARC), Michael Spence (University of Western Ontario), Andrew Stewart (Strata Consulting Inc.), Gary Warrick (Wilfrid Laurier University), and Ron Williamson (Archaeological Services Inc).
This history of Amerindian and Inuit experience from first arrival from Asia to the present day, uses and interdisciplinary approach to describe the various societies and cultures, their response to colonial pressure, and current attempts of preserve territories and traditional values.
According to convential nineteenth-century wisdom, societies of European origin were naturally progressive; native societies were static. One consequence of this attitutde was the almost universal separation of history and anthropology. Today, despite a growing interest in changes in Amerindian societies, this dichotomy continues to distort the investigation of Canadian history and to assign native peoples only a marginal place in it. Natives and Newcomers discredits that myth. In a spirited and critical re-examination of relations between the French and the Iroquoian-speaking inhabitants of the St Lawrence lowlands, from the incursions of Jacques Cartier through the explorations of Samuel de Champlain and the Jesuit missions into the early years of the royal regime, Natives and Newcomers argues that native people have played a significant role in shaping the development of Canada. Trigger also shows that the largely ignored French traders and their employees established relations with native people that were indispensable for founding a viable European colony on the St Lawrence. The brisk narrative of this period is complemented by a detailed survey of the stereotypes about native people that have influenced the development of Canadian history and anthropology and by candid discussions of how historical, ethnographical, and archaeological approaches can and cannot be combined to produce a more rounded and accurate understanding of the past.
Aboriginal Ontario: Historical Perspectives on the First Nations contains seventeen essays on aspects of the history of the First Nations living within the present-day boundaries of Ontario. This volume reviews the experience of both the Algonquian and Iroquoian peoples in Southern Ontario, as well as the Algonquians in Northern Ontario. The first section describes the climate and landforms of Ontario thousands of years ago. It includes a comprehensive account of the archaeologists' contributions to our knowledge of the material culture of the First Nations before the arrival of the Europeans. The essays in the second and third sections look respectively at the Native peoples of Southern Ontario and Northern Ontario, from 1550 to 1945. The final section looks at more recent developments. The volume includes numerous illustrations and maps, as well as an extensive bibliography.
In this thoughtful book, Robert J. Muckle provides a brief, thematic overview of the key issues facing Indigenous peoples in North America from prehistory to the present.
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.