National Network for Equitable Library Service

Among the most dynamic Aboriginal peoples in western Canada today are the Ojibwa, who have played an especially vital role in the development of an Aboriginal political voice at both levels of government. Yet, they are relative newcomers to the region, occupying the parkland and prairies only since the end of the 18th century. This work traces the origins of the western Ojibwa, their adaptations to the West, and the ways in which they have coped with the many challenges they faced in the first century of their history in that region, between 1780 and 1870.

From diversity comes strength and wisdom: This was the guiding principle for selecting the articles in this collection. Because there is no single voice, identity, history, or cultural experience that represents the women of the First Nations, a realistic picture will have many facets. Accordingly, the authors in Women of the First Nations include Native and non-Native scholars, feminists, and activists from across Canada." "Their works examine various aspects of Aboriginal women's lives from a variety of theoretical and personal perspectives.

With roots going back to the Red River Settlement in the 1850s, Winnipeg’s St. John’s College is the oldest Anglophone educational institution in Western Canada. First founded as a school for the children of the employees of the Hudson’s Bay Company, over the decades the college has re-invented itself many times. When it was established as St. John’s College in 1866 by bishop Robert Machray, the college was intended primarily to provide theological training for young men going into the Anglican church.

In a micro-analysis of 400 private letters, including three collections that incorporate letters from both sides of the Atlantic, Sonia Cancian provides new evidence on the bidirectional flow of communication during migration. She analyzes how kinship networks functioned as a means of support and control through the flow of news, objects, and persons; how gender roles in productive and reproductive spheres were reinforced as a means of coping with separation; and how the emotional impact of both temporary and permanent separation was expressed during the migration process.

The original people of the Hudson Bay lowlands, often known as the Lowland Cree and known to themselves as Muskekowuck Athinuwick, were among the first Aboriginal peoples in northwestern North America to come into contact with Europeans. This book challenges long-held misconceptions about the Lowland Cree, and illustrates how historians have often misunderstood the role and resourcefulness of Aboriginal peoples during the fur-trade era.

Night Spirits is the story of the Sayisi Dene of northern Manitoba. In their own words, they describe how the Canadian government abruptly relocated them from their ancestral homelands and left them to live in slums on the outskirts of a frontier town. The Sayisi Dene - "the People from the East"--Offer a stark and brutally honest account of their near destruction as a people and their determination to reclaim their lives. It is a dark story, but one that is told in hope.

Traditional approaches to Prairie literature have focussed on the significance of "the land" in attempts to make a place into a home. This emphasis on the importance of landscape as a defining and guiding feature for writers and their writing ignores the important roles played by influences brought to the land - history, culture, gender, ethnicity, religion, community, family, and occupation.

Playing with Memories is the first collection of scholarly essays on the work of internationally acclaimed Canadian filmmaker Guy Maddin. It offers perspectives on his career to date, from the early experimentation of The Dead Father (1986) to the intensely intimate revelations of My Winnipeg (2007).

The Polar Bear: Lord of the Great North, the newest effort from award-winning photographer and author Mike Grandmaison, takes its readers on a thrilling expedition in the low Arctic to locate and admire the great white bear in all its majesty. With only his equipment and his perspicacious eye, Mike set out to a unique part the great Canadian wilderness--Manitoba's Churchill region--to track down this fearsome predator in its natural habitat, in order to capture the magnificent photographs featured in this book.

The Discovering Canada series presents information, stories and activities to make Canadian history interesting to young people. Each of the eleven illustrated books focuses on a theme in Canadian history and includes primary source quotes, biographical details, vocabulary, activities and games. Enter the world of the fur traders and the First Peoples of Canada - when the quest for beaver pelts was opening up the Canadian frontier.