• Age: 15
• Grade: 10

Originally published in 1975, this important book is now back in print in a revised and updated edition. Since its first publication it has become a classic of revisionist history. Bringing a Native viewpoint to the settlement of the West, Howard Adam's book shook its readers. What Native people had to say for themselves was quite different from the convenient picture of history that even the most sympathetic books by white authors had presented. Until Adams's book, the cultural, historical, and psychological aspects of colonialism for Native people had not been explored in depth. In Prison of Grass Adams objects to the popular historical notion that Natives were warring savages, without government, seeking to be civilized. He contrasts the official history found in the federal government's documents with the unpublished history of the Indian and Métis people. In this new edition Howard Adams brings the latest statistics to bear on his arguments and provides a new Preface.

Howard Adams is the acclaimed author of Prison of Grass. In 1999, in recognition of his outstanding contribution, he was awarded a National Aboriginal Achievement Award. He died in 2001. Tortured People: The Politics of Colonization is his first book with Theytus.

Howard Adams' profile page

Prison of Grass: Canada from a Native Point of View

Originally published in 1975, this revised edition is the first scholarly attempt, from an Aboriginal perspective, to provide an accurate historical record of the injustices and oppression suffered by Aboriginal peoples in Canada. Adams exposes some of the ways the government fabricated the truth, perpetuated racism and practised discrimination. He examines the total failure of government policies to give Aboriginal peoples basic rights or means for survival, and the negative effects resulting from colonization. Includes appendices and endnotes.

Adams was the first Métis to receive his PhD. During the 1960s, he was instrumental in forcing the Saskatchewan government to place Métis concerns on the political agenda.In 1999, Dr. Adams received the National Aboriginal Achievement Award.