There are 1.8 million Indigenous people in Canada, accounting for five percent of the total population. They speak more than seventy languages and represent many different cultures. With recent land claims and the discovery of unmarked graves at former residential schools, the situation of the First Nations, Inuit, and Métis has gained critical attention. Teaching Indigenous Studies, however, is a difficult endeavor, as educators must be knowledgeable and sensitive about Indigenous histories, cultures, traditions, and political issues.
Incorporating the latest research in anthropology, ethnography, history, literary and film studies, the chapters in this book focus on current matters such as traditional ways of life, land claims, and self-government, trace cultural changes that resulted from contacts with the Europeans, and discuss the process of reconciliation. Referring to Indigenous perspective in the analysis of cultures and the teaching of these issues, the authors have included many Indigenous voices and sources, and explore the institutions that provide Indigenous communities in Canada with national and international visibility.