Native Peoples: The Canadian Experience. 2nd ed.

Kerry Abel is a professor of history at Carleton University. She is the author of Drum Songs: Glimpses of Dene History, co-editor of Aboriginal Resource Use in Canada: Historical and Legal Aspects, and co-editor of Northern Visions: New Perspectives on the North in Canadian History.

This second edition of a collection of essays originally published in
1986 introduces readers to the experiences of First Nations across
Canada, with particular emphasis on cultural description. Although
designed for use as a student text, the book will be of interest to
general readers as well.

The essays were written by a number of prominent anthropologists and
historians and cover an impressive range of Native groups. Although a
short list of suggested readings is included in each essay, there are
few footnotes, a situation that may prove frustrating to readers who
wish to pursue a specific topic. The book is more valuable as an
anthropological reference (particularly with respect to the glimpses it
provides into the practice of anthropology) than as a historical study.
Cultural descriptions are often presented without explanation of the
historical period to which they apply, and there are many controversial
assertions (e.g., that the English undertook a “genocide campaign”
in Nova Scotia beginning in the early 18th century). This collection is
nevertheless useful as an introduction to the variety and complexity of
the cultural experiences of Canada’s First Nations.