Ways of knowing : an introduction to native studies in Canada

This book is a historically grounded look at the wide variety of issues that inform Native peoples in Canada today. The book is divided into four sections: Philosophy and Worldview, History, Political Economy, and Contemporary Issues. In addition to those topics commonly considered in existing texts, such as health, politics, self-government, and urban reserves, Belanger includes unique chapters on Native philosophy, language, art and literature, and writing about Native history and Native issues. This text is designed to satisfy the needs identified by these students' while presenting an academic interpretation illustrative of how Native people in Canada scrutinize the last four centuries of contact. It also highlights, within the context of the 14 chapters, the socio-political and socio-economic challenges impacting Native leaders and their communities nationally. Belanger avoids historicizing Native people. Rather the larger historical narrative is contextualized within the 14 chapters while also demonstrating how history continues to inform the evolution of self-government, urban reserve development, literature, and health. Written in a narrative style that largely avoids technical language, this book is unique in that it is written for lower-division students being introduced for the first time to Native issues framed from an academic perspective.