Aboriginal Oral Traditions

Theory, Practice, Ethics

Edited by Renate Eigenbrod, Renée Hulan

Oral traditions are a distinct way of knowing and the means by which knowledge is reproduced, preserved and transferred from generation to generation. The conference from which these essays were selected created an opportunity for people to come together and exchange information and experiences over three days. The scholarship may be grouped into three broad areas: oral traditions and knowledge of the environment, economy, education and/or health of communities; oral traditions and continuance of… (more information)

Aski Awasis/Children of the Earth

First Peoples Speaking on Adoption

Edited by Jeannine Carrière

The adoption of Aboriginal children into non-Aboriginal families has a long and contentious history in Canada. Life stories told by First Nations people reveal that the adoption experience has been far from positive for these communities and has, in fact, been an integral aspect of colonization. In an effort to decolonize adoption practices, the Yellowhead Tribal Services Agency (YTSA) in Alberta has integrated customary First Peoples’ adoption practices with provincial adoption laws and regulations… (more information)

Differing Visions

Administering Indian Residential Schooling in Prince Albert, 1867-1995

Noel Dyck

”This book tells the story of how residential schooling for Indian children has been administered in Prince Albert for more than a century. In some ways, our experience of residential schooling has been similar to that of other Aboriginal peoples throughout Canada and other countries. In other ways, however, our story is quite different. At a time when Indian residential schools were closing elsewhere in Canada, the people of the Prince Albert Grant Council saw a need to take over and completely… (more information)

Healing Wounded Hearts

Fyre Jean Graveline

Healing Wounded Hearts brings together stories, poems and artwork that illustrate the struggles and strengths that Fyre Jean has, as a Métis Woman, living everyday in intersecting, parallel, sometimes colliding, socio-cultural realities. Baring her Heart and Soul, she shares personal, painful, spiritual discoveries of how life and worlds work, through Stories that have grown her into who she is. Through a blend of original research, reflective journals and creative use of dialogue, people… (more information)

Issumatuq

Learning from the Traditional Healing Wisdom of the Canadian Inuit

Kit Minor

Through the development of a culture-specific design the author shows us how Inuit people, in a working relationship with members of the dominant culture, can continue to define and decide on appropriate helping skills. (more information)

L’sitkuk

The Story of the Bear River Mi’kmaw Community

Darlene A. Ricker

“We have endured slavery, starvation, genocide and wars, but the spirit of our people has survived. We have one battle left to fight — ourselves.” — L’sitkuk Chief Frank Meuse Jr L’sitkuk (pronounced elsetkook) is the original name for the Bear River Mi’kmaw community, which is part of the Mi’kmaw First Nation. Nestled close to the Bear River watershed, this tiny native community is regaining its culture, language and identity after hundreds of years… (more information)

Names, Numbers and Northern Policy

Inuit, Project Surname, and the Politics of Identity

Valerie Alia

Names are the cornerstones of cultures. They identify individuals, represent life, express and embody power. When power is unequal and people are colonized at one level or another, naming is manipulated form the outside. In the Canadian North, the most blatant example of this manipulation is the long history of interference by visitors with the ways to Inuit named themselves and their land. This book is a concise history of government-sponsored interference with Inuit identity. (more information)

Out of the Depths (New Extended Edition)

The Experiences of Mi’kmaw Childrn at the Indian Residential School at Shubenacadie, Nova Scotia

Isabelle Knockwood

“The Residential School experience had serious negative consequences for many of our people who have suffered in silence for too long. It is time to take the first step and let others know they are not alone in their suffering. No matter how painful, the stories of our people must be told and heard. Through sharing our past, we can begin to heal ourselves, our communities, our people as we look to a better tomorrow.” —Phil Fontaine, Grand Chief, Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs, former… (more information)

Seeking Mino-Pimatisiwin

An Aboriginal Approach to Helping

Michael Hart

Historically, social work and psychology professions have pressured and coerced Aboriginal peoples to follow the euro-centric ways of society. The needs of Aboriginal peoples have not been successfully addressed by helping professioan due to a limited attempt to incorporate Aboriginal perspectives and practices of helping. Michael Hart briefly discusses colonization from an Aboriginal perspective, ontological imperialism, social work’s role in colonial oppression, and the dynamic of resistance… (more information)

The Fourth World

An Indigenous Perspective on Feminism and Aboriginal Women’s Activism

Grace Ouellette

This book is not about feminism. Rather, feminism is the basis of the discussion, an example of how understanding oppression must consider a number of barriers. Euro-Canadian feminists rarely address the circumstances that are unique to First Nations’ women, instead working with the assumption that all women are a part of a similar struggle. Ouellette attempts to confront these barriers. Throughout interviews with a number of women, she highlights the following four questions. To what extent… (more information)

The Tragedy of Progress

Marxism, Modernity and the Aboriginal Question

David Bedford, Danielle Irving-Stephens

The Left in Canada has had an uneasy relationship with the Aboriginal struggle for justice. There is a natural sympathy and alliance between the working class and its political representatives who are struggling against the exploitation of labour and Aboriginal peoples and nations who are resisting the dispossession of their lands and the loss of their culture. Yet the co-incidence of interests has very rarely led to any support by labour and the Left for Aboriginal resistance. In fact, rather than… (more information)

Walking This Path Together

Anti-Racist and Anti-Oppressive Child Welfare Practice

Edited by Jeannine Carrière, Susan Strega

This book offers students and experienced practitioners alike the opportunity to explore a range of visions, strategies and concrete skills for anti-racist and anti-oppressive child welfare practice. Significant topics and emerging practice approaches are addressed by contributors who share a passionate commitment to the transformation of child welfare through socially just practices. The book challenges the current Anglo-American child welfare paradigm by centring Indigenous perspectives and voices… (more information)

Wícihitowin

Aboriginal Social Work in Canada

Gord Bruyere, Michael Anthony Hart, Raven Sinclair

Wícihitowin is the first Canadian social work book written by First Nations, Inuit and Métis authors who are educators at schools of social work across Canada. The book begins by presenting foundational theoretical perspectives that develop an understanding of the history of colonization and theories of decolonization and Indigenist social work. It goes on to explore issues and aspects of social work practice with Indigenous people to assist educators, researchers, students and practitioners… (more information)