In this innovative exploration, told-to narratives, or collaboratively produced texts by Aboriginal storytellers and (usually) non-Aboriginal writers, are not romanticized as unmediated translations of oral documents, nor are they dismissed as corruptions of original works. Rather, the approach emphasizes the interpenetration of authorship and collaboration. Focused on the 1990s, when debates over voice and representation were particularly explosive, this captivating study examines a range of told-to narratives in conjunction with key political events that have shaped the struggle for Aboriginal rights to reveal how these narratives impact larger debates about Indigenous voice and literary and political sovereignty.

Sophie McCall is an associate professor in the Department of English at Simon Fraser University, where she teaches Indigenous literatures and contemporary Canadian literature. Her most recent publication, with co-editor, Gabrielle L’Hirondelle Hill, is The Land We Are: Artists and Writers Unsettle the Politics of Reconciliation (2015).

Sophie McCall's profile page

• Short-listed, Canada Prize in the Humanities, Canadian Federation for the Humanities and Social Sciences
• Short-listed, Gabrielle Roy Prize, Association for Canadian and Quebec Literatures

I must begin by saying that this book has had more impact on me than any other scholarly text written by a non-Aboriginal person that I have read in years…A deeply thoughtful, extensively researched text, First Person Plural brings new ways of thinking about collaborations between Aboriginal storytellers and their non-Aboriginal associates…Whenever I open the book, I find myself totally engaged, often entranced, with a point the author is making. Sometimes I want to argue with her and then, as I keep reading, I see how she has nuanced each claim she makes, twisting herself to see from varied perspectives while constantly seeking an ethical stance.

Journal of the Canadian Association for the Curriculum Studies V10, N2

First Person Plural is a wide ranging, nuanced and perceptive book, one that researchers and writers will find extremely helpful in thinking through issues of collaboration. I recommend it very highly.

Canadian Journal of Native Studies, XXXI, 2