In People of Terra Nullius, Boyce Richardson travels across Canada evoking the human richness of aboriginal society as it grows steadily stronger after decades of decline. Richardson journeys among the Mikmaqs of Cape Breton, the Crees and Algonquins of Quebec, the Ojibway of northern Ontario, the Metis of the Prairies, the Gitksan fo BC, the native enclaves of winnipeg and Regina. In each community he meets men and women who are accomplishing nothing less than the cultural and political rebirth of their people: from urban entrepreneurs to spiritual healers, from scholars to legal experts, from local chiefs on reserves to national political figures such as Elijah Harper and Ovide Mercredi.

Into their trials and triumphs, Richardson weaves the "policy tentacles" they must content with: hostile laws and histroic prejudices inherited from the days when the legal fiction of terra nullius ("empty land") was use dot justify seizure of native territory. But Richardson demonstrates that Canada's aboriginal people refuse to be victims and are already regaining control over their lives. From its memorable opening image of the Indigena 500 conference to its final, poignant portrait, People of Terra Nullius is a work of uncommon passion, conscience and eloquence.

Boyce Richardson has spent twenty-five years documenting aboriginal life in words and film. After winning a National Newspaper Award at the Montreal Star, he published two books about the James Bay hydro development, including the internationally acclaimed Strangers Devour the Land. In 1989 he edited Drumbeat, an anthology of native resistance for the Assembly of First Nations. Richardson liveswith his wife, Shirley, in Ottawa.

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"An astounding book; a must-read for all Canadians who want to understand what is happening in aboriginal Canada today -- and what may happen tomorrow."

David Newhouse (Onondaga)

"Filled with keen observations and sharp criticisms. Richardson's book is...a passionate plea to Canadians to abolish the Indian Act and to heed Ovide Mercredi's call for the recognition of the inherent right of aboriginals to self-government."

Montreal Mirror

"[Richardson's] description fo the Kafkaesque world of the federal Indian Act, with its overwhelming controls over every aspect of aboriginal life, is a masterpiece."

Globe & Mail

"Searing, heartfelt and important."

Peter Gzowski