The history of Aboriginal people in Canada taught in schools and depicted in the media tends to focus on Aboriginal displacement from native lands and the consequent social and cultural disruptions they have endured. Collectively, they are portrayed as passive victims of European colonization and government policy, and, even when well intentioned, these depictions are demeaning and do little to truly represent the role Aboriginal peoples have played in Canadian life. Hidden in Plain Sight adds another dimension to the story, showing the extraordinary contributions Aboriginal peoples have made - and continue to make - to the Canadian experience.
From treaties to contemporary arts and literatures, Aboriginal peoples have helped to define Canada and have worked to secure a place of their own making in Canadian culture. For this volume, editors David R. Newhouse, Cora J. Voyageur, and Daniel J.K. Beavon have brought together leading scholars and other impassioned voices, and together, they give full treatment to the Aboriginal contribution to Canada's intellectual, political, economic, social, historic, and cultural landscapes. Included are profiles of several leading figures such as actor Chief Dan George, artist Norval Morrisseau, author Tomson Highway, activist Anna Mae Pictou Aquash, and politician Phil Fontaine, among others. Canada simply would not be what it is today without these contributions. The first of two volumes, Hidden in Plain Sight is key to understanding and appreciating Canadian society and will be essential reading for generations to come.
Table of Contents:
Preface xi
Acknowledgments xv
Contributors xvii
PART 1: SETTING THE STAGE
Introduction 3
Profile of Chief Dan George 14
Christine Armstrong
PART 2: TREATIES
Treaties and the Evolution of Canada 19
Jean-Pierre Morin
Profile of Harold Cardinal 35
Catherine Clennet
Treaties and Aboriginal-Government Relations, 1945–2000 38
Michael Cassidy
Profile of Albert (‘Billy’) Diamond 61
Alan Cho
PART 3: ARTS AND MEDIA
The Art of Survival 67
Maria von Finckenstein
Profile of Norval Morrisseau 86
Amanda Sellar
Connecting the Artists with the Art 89
Marybelle Mitchell
Profile of Daphne Odjig 96
Renee Vardy
Nunavut Territory: Communications and Political Development in the
Canadian North 99
Gail Guthrie Valaskakis
Profile of Kenojuak Ashevak 112
Jennifer Singh
Natives and Newcomers in the New World: Maritime Furniture and the
Interaction of Cultures 115
Jane l. Cook
Profile of Robert Charles Davidson 136
Domenyk Leach
Contributions to Canadian Art by Aboriginal Contemporary Artists 140
Gerald McMaster
Profile of Allen Sapp 163
Laura Nimilowich
PART 4: LITERATURE
First Peoples Literature in Canada 169
Kateri Akiwenzie-Damm
Profile of Jeannette C. Armstrong 177
Angela Shepard
Aboriginal Literatures: A Distinctive Genre within Canadian
Literature 180
Jeannette c. Armstrong
Profile of Tomson Highway 187
Nancy Luu
Aboriginal Voices: Canada’s Aboriginal Peoples in Their Own Words 191
Cheryl Isaacs
Profile of Basil H. Johnston 200
Kimberly Bruce
Laughing Till Your Face Is Red 203
Drew Hayden Taylor
Profile of Emily Pauline Johnson 210
Cash Rowe
PART 5: JUSTICE
Profile of Anna Mae Pictou Aquash 215
Natasha Joachim
Getting Tough on Crime the Aboriginal Way: Alternative Justice Initiatives
in Canada 218
Katherine Beaty Chiste
Profile of John Joseph (‘J.J.’) Harper 233
Janet Trace
Aboriginal Peoples and the Canadian Criminal Justice System 236
Carol Laprairie
Profile of Helen Betty Osborne 246
Stephanie Pyne
PART 6: CULTURE AND IDENTITY
Inuit Names: The People Who Love You 251
Valerie Alia
Profile of John Kim Bell 267
Nashila Dharshi
Aboriginal Peoples and Canada’s Conscience 270
Russel Lawrence Barsh
Profile of Freda Ahenakew 292
Amber McGinnis
Hiding in ‘Plane’ View: Aboriginal Identities and a Fur-Trade Company
Family through Seven Generations 295
David T. McNab
Profile of Douglas Joseph Henry Cardinal 309
Mary Cummings
Aboriginal Peoples and the Canoe 312
Bruce W. Hodgins and Bryan Poirier
PART 7: SPORTS
Profile of Sharon Anne and Shirley Anne Firth 331
Roland Simon
The Qimmiq 334
Bryan Cummins
Profile of Alwyn Morris 349
Leona Furgason
‘Eminently Canadian’: Indigenous Sports and Canadian Identity in
Victorian Montreal 352
Gillian Poulter
Profile of Wayne ‘Gino’ Odjick 376
Amy Deller
Aboriginal Rodeo Cowboys: The Good Times and the Bad 379
Morgan Baillargeon
Profile of Thomas Charles Longboat 400
Roland Simon
PART 8: MILITARY
Aboriginal Contributions to Canadian Culture and Identity in Wartime:
English Canada’s Image of the ‘Indian’ and the Fall of France, 1940 405
R. Scott Sheffield
Profile of Thomas George Prince 419
Jennifer Aragon
PART 9: OVERVIEW
Multiple Points of Light: Grounds for Optimism among First Nations in
Canada 425
J. Rick Ponting and Cora J. Voyageur
Profile of Larry Philip (‘Phil’) Fontaine 455
Sophie Bonneau
About the Author :
Cora J. Voyageur is an associate professor in the Department of Sociology at the University of Calgary.
David R.Newhouse is the Chair and an associate professor in the Department of Indigenous Studies at Trent University.
Dan Beavon is the past director of Strategic Research and Analysis for Indian and Northern Affairs Canada.
