Over years of teaching, it became increasingly apparent to the editors of this book (the Aboriginal Education Council at Trent University) that students in their Native Studies classes were dissatisfied with many of the texts they were assigned, which were usually anthropological in nature. Their response was to propose a new text that would provide an overview of the thought-worlds of Aboriginal cultures from the inside.

Bringing together the voices of sixteen Elders and traditional teachers from across Canada, this collection allows readers to compare the vision and experience of a generation of Aboriginal people. Today, Elders are the historians of the Aboriginal past and the keepers of cultural events and ceremonies. They are teachers, healers, and experts in survival, sharing a world view based on the knowledge that all things in life are related and are governed by natural laws. Those represented here include men and women from a variety of traditions and geographical locations.

This unique collection sets a new standard for the representation of First Nations cultures in the academic context. Not only does it mark a shift in the production of knowledge, it fulfils a need for a closer and more respectful collaboration between Native and non-Native communities.

Peter Kulchyski grew up in northern Manitoba and was one of the few non-Aboriginal students to attend a government-run residential high school. He has a PhD from York University and is a senior Canadian scholars in Native Studies. He is the co-editor of In the Words of the Elders: Aboriginal Cultures in Transition and co-author of Tammarniitt [Mistakes]: Inuit Relocation in the Eastern Arctic, which won the Erminie Wheeler-Voegelin Prize of the American Society for Ethnohistory. He is the head of the department of Native Studies at the University of Manitoba.

Peter Kulchyski's profile page

ka-pi-ta-aht (Don McCaskill) is professor emeritus in the Department of Indigenous Studies at Trent University, where he taught for forty-seven years and served as chair for thirteen years. He has edited seven books in the fields of Anishinabe culture, education, community development, and urbanization. He has gained knowledge from Anishinabe Elders through teachings and participation in ceremonies. He lives in Toronto.

Don McCaskill's profile page

David Newhouse is Professor of Indigenous Studies and Director of the Chanie Wenjack School for Indigenous Studies at Trent University. He was a member of the policy team on economics for the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples.

David Newhouse's profile page