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Sharing the Land, Sharing a Future looks to both the past and the future as it examines the foundational work of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples (RCAP) and the legacy of its 1996 report. It assesses the Commission's influence on subsequent milestones in Indigenous-Canada relations and considers our prospects for a constructive future. RCAP's five-year examination of the relationships of First Nations, Metis, and Inuit peoples to Canada and to non-Indigenous Canadians resulted in a new vision for Canada and provided 440 specific recommendations, many of which informed the subsequent work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (TRC). Considered too radical and difficult to implement, RCAP's recommendations were largely ignored, but the TRC reiterates that longstanding inequalities and imbalances in Canada's relationship with Indigenous peoples remain and quite literally calls us to action. With reflections on RCAP's legacy by its co-chairs, leaders of national Indigenous organizations and the Minister of Crown-Indigenous Relations, and leading academics and activists, this collection refocuses our attention on the groundbreaking work already performed by RCAP. Organized thematically, it explores avenues by which we may establish a new relationship, build healthy and powerful communities, engage citizens, and move to action.

The acclaimed and accessible Hidden in Plain Sight series showcases the extraordinary contributions made by Aboriginal peoples to Canadian identity and culture. This collection features new accounts of Aboriginal peoples working hard to improve their lives and those of other Canadians, and serves as a powerful contrast to narratives that emphasize themes of victimhood, displacement, and cultural disruption.In this second volume of the series, leading scholars and other experts pay tribute to the enduring influence of Aboriginal peoples on Canadian economic and community development, environmental initiatives, education, politics, and arts and culture. Interspersed are profiles of many significant Aboriginal figures, including singer-songwriter and educator Buffy Sainte-Marie, politician Elijah Harper, entrepreneur Dave Tuccaro, and musician Robbie Robertson. Hidden in Plain Sight continues to enrich and broaden our understandings of Aboriginal and Canadian history, while providing inspiration for a new generation of leaders and luminaries.

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.

Over years of teaching, it became increasingly apparent to the editors of this book (the Aboriginal Education Council at Trent University) that students in their Native Studies classes were dissatisfied with many of the texts they were assigned, which were usually anthropological in nature. Their response was to propose a new text that would provide an overview of the thought-worlds of Aboriginal cultures from the inside.Bringing together the voices of sixteen Elders and traditional teachers from across Canada, this collection allows readers to compare the vision and experience of a generation of Aboriginal people. Today, Elders are the historians of the Aboriginal past and the keepers of cultural events and ceremonies. They are teachers, healers, and experts in survival, sharing a world view based on the knowledge that all things in life are related and are governed by natural laws. Those represented here include men and women from a variety of traditions and geographical locations. This unique collection sets a new standard for the representation of First Nations cultures in the academic context. Not only does it mark a shift in the production of knowledge, it fulfils a need for a closer and more respectful collaboration between Native and non-Native communities.