Hidden in Plain Sight

Contributions of Aboriginal Peoples to Canadian Identity and Culture, Volume 1

Edited by Cora J. Voyageur, David Newhouse & Dan Beavon
Categories: Social Science
Publisher: University of Toronto Press
Paperback : 9780802085818, 420 pages, August 2005

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

Description

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.