A REVIEW OF A CONCISE HISTORY OF CANADA'S FIRST NATIONS BY OLIVE PATRICIA DICKENSON WITH WILLIAM NEWBEGGINING
Second edition. Toronto, ON: Oxford University Press, 2010, 420pp., including a list of national historic sites of Canada commemorating Aboriginal history, glossary, list of websites, notes, and index.
John W. Friesen*
It is always cause for admiration when a book achieves second edition status. The first question for reviewers is, Òhas the new edition changed much?" This indeed the case with the late DickasonÕs work who served as the primary author. A new writing partner, William Newbigging, replaced Moira Jean Calder, who in the previous adapted the text of this volume from the fourth edition of Olive DickasonÕs watershed book, CanadaÕs First Nations. Thus Olive DickasonÕs legacy lives on! DickasonÕs literary works certainly deserve to be read by all Canadians.
In this edition readers will be attracted by the new cover which features a portrait of ÒEagle/Salmon" by Yukon artist Vernon Asp. Second, the acknowledgements section was penned by Newbigging, rather than Dickason. Third, an added chapter entitled, ÒWe are sorry" appears addressing contemporary Aboriginal concerns such as land claims (for example, Gitskan, WetÕsuweten, and Caldonia), the 2007 Residential School Settlement, and contemporary Indian activism. The added chapter begins with the federal apology of June 11, 2008 to First Nations, then follows an historical time line from the Patriation of the Canadian Constitution in 1982, which Òrecognizes and affirms Òexisting aboriginal and Treaty rights,Õ" to the election of hereditary Chief Shawn Atleo as National Chief of the Assembly of First Nations in July, 2009.
Those not familiar with A Concise History of CanadaÕs First Nations, will be pleasantly surprised by the parameters of its content. The 18 chapters start with ÒAt the Beginning" (chapter one), and end with ÒThe Road to Self-Government" (chapter 17), and "We are Sorry" (chapter 18). In between the reader learns about such phenomena as ÒSome Amerindian-Colonial Wars" (chapter four), "The 'Indian Problem:' Isolation, Assimilation, and Experimentation" (chapter 9), ÒThe First Numbered Treaties, Police, and the Indian Act" (chapter 11), and ÒCanadian Courts and Aboriginal Rights" (chapter 16). The final three chapters on northern development, Aboriginal rights, and self-government provide up-to-date information about these important developments.
It is important to note that the establishment of Nunavut in 1999 coincided with the centenary of the signing of Treaty Eight and emphasized the development of new strategies on the part of northern First Nations. Their sense of cultural revitalization motivated them to demand full partnership in negotiating land settlements and formulating plans for expanded economic development. Further south, the origin of the warrior movement that highlighted the Oka tragedy underscored the fact that CanadaÕs Indigenous people are a political force to be bargained with. As proof of First Nations persistence, Canadians should take note that it took nearly 200 years to negotiate and ratify the NisgaÕa Treaty. Equally important is the fact that the decision to accept oral history as evidence in court aided in bringing about a conclusion to negotiations.
Dickason documents the reality that First Nations have not fared well in the courts, particularly with respect to the Canadian Criminal Justice System. A hope that the system may be changing was the appointment of CanadaÕs first Aboriginal court on the Tsuu TÕina Reserve in Alberta on October 6, 2000.
The road to attaining self-government for CanadaÕs Aboriginal people has long been fraught with legal technicalities and government equivocation. In the Lubicon case, for example, federal objections to names on band lists have conveniently served as a stalling point through numerous courts hearings, judicial inquiries, and vigorous public relations campaigns. Dickason documents a number of cases across Canada that illustrate government reluctance to act on First NationsÕ behalf. For example, in 1972 Judge Albert Malouf granted the Grand Council of Crees (Quebec) and the Quebec Inuit Association an injunction to stop the James Bay hydroelectric project only to see it suspended by an appeal a week later. It took three years to see the matter resolved (p. 307). Similarly, action on a bill to introduce recommendations of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples died on the order paper when a federal election was called on June 2nd, 1997.
If the second edition of this book has shortcomings, they are minor. It is, first of all, a concise history, so one expects to find little more an overview of significant events. However, with this book, that is not the case; a number of significant historical events are well outlined. What is bothersome, however, is DickasonÕs reference to the fabled Bering Strait migration of Aboriginal peoples to North America some 15,000 to 75,000 years ago. Although long ago debunked by the late Sioux historian, Vine Deloria in Red Earth, White Lies, some historians continue to acknowledge this unfounded theory as worthy of mention. It is also a bit surprising that Dickason would use the preferred term, ÒFirst Nations" in addressing CanadaÕs Indigenous peoples (and in the title of the book), yet include the American preferred nomenclature, ÒAmerindian," throughout much of the discussion.
These picayune points aside, this is a delightfully presented history of CanadaÕs Aboriginal people, and a worthy tribute to CanadaÕs late MŽtis historian. It is well illustrated and contains a multiplicity of study helps. This book will surely find a place in many Canadian university and high school libraries.
*John W. Friesen is in the Faculty of Education, University of Calgary.
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