The Seventh Fire: The Struggle for Aboriginal Government

John Stanley is a policy advisor at the Ontario Ministry of Colleges and
Universities.

While Native peoples constitute only about 2 percent of Canada’s
population, there is tremendous interest and sympathy in following the
saga of a national minority whose historical grievances mark a dark
chapter in Canadian history. Dan Smith, in this examination of
aboriginal government, defines “government” broadly. His book
discusses land-settlement negotiations, urban organizations, fishing and
hunting rights, the Anishnawbe Health Clinic in Toronto, and the Nunavut
negotiations in the Arctic. Smith points out that the 605 Indian bands
now recognized by Ottawa have vastly different experiences of
government. After finishing this book, readers will be struck more by
the tremendous differences among aboriginal peoples in Canada than by
the similarities; when similarities do occur, they are often the result
of British and Canadian policies that insisted on the same treatment for
different peoples, regardless of the consequences.

The Seventh Fire relies heavily on interviews and personal experience.
As a journalistic treatment, it has all the advantages and disadvantages
of the style: it is wide-ranging and an easy read, but it also seldom
explores any topic in depth and it focuses on personality rather than
underlying issues. Contemporary events are rarely placed in their
historical context. As a popular work, the book has no footnotes or
bibliography to document the author’s experiences and wide research.
(A short list of suggested readings would have been useful.) While not
exhaustive (or intended to be), this work will serve as a helpful
introduction to a vast and complex field.