Canada’s Native people have inhabited this land since the Ice Age and were already accomplished traders, artisans, farmers, and marine hunters when Europeans first reached their shores. Contact between Natives and European explorers and settlers initially presented an unprecedented period of growth and opportunity. But the two vastly different cultures soon clashed. Arthur Ray charts the history of Canada’s Native people from first contact to current land claims. The result is a fascinating chronicle that spans 12,000 years and culminates in the headlines of today. In the preface to this new edition, Ray elaborates on the increasing effectiveness of Indigenous peoples and their leaders in bringing demands for justice to centre stage. He discusses recent court decisions, the final report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada, and the hope for change following promises made by the new Trudeau government.

ARTHUR J. RAY is the author of, among other books, Indians and the Fur Trade. He is a professor emeritus of history at the University of British Columbia, a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, and co-editor of the Canadian Historical Review. He lives in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Arthur J. Ray's profile page

"[E]ngaging … a familiar story retold firmly from the original inhabitants’ point of view. Chock full of hundreds of photos, drawings, and maps, many in vivid colour, this handsome book is the ideal primer." - The Toronto Star

".. provides the general reader with a useful introduction to many aspects of Aboriginal Canada’s history … The many well-chosen illustrations complement the text superbly." - The Globe and Mail

"Written in clear language and comprehensively illustrated … is an excellent introduction to the history of the relationship between Canada’s Native people and the various European governments they encountered." - The Kitchener-Waterloo Record

"Written in an easy-flowing, conversational manner, it is both eye-opening and controversial." - The Saskatoon Star Phoenix

"Intriguing and provocative. This is not the kind of book destined to gather dust on the shelf." - Canada’s History

"In keeping with Ray’s standing as one of the leading historians of Canada, it is a resolutely materialist history which examines the labouring lives of Native people in the modern era as comprehensively as their pre-colonial life." - University of Toront