Scholarly Books (Edited)
Michael A. Robidoux., Courtney W. Mason. (eds.), A Land Not Forgotten: Indigenous Food Security and Land-Based Practices of Northern Ontario (Winnipeg: University of Manitoba Press, 2017, 314 pages).
Food insecurity takes a disproportionate toll on the health of Canada’s Indigenous people. A Land Not Forgotten examines the disruptions in local food practices as a result of colonization and the cultural, educational, and health consequences of those disruptions. This multidisciplinary work demonstrates how some Indigenous communities in northern Ontario are addressing challenges to food security through the restoration of land-based cultural practices. Improving Indigenous health, food security, and sovereignty means reinforcing practices that build resiliency in ecosystems and communities. As this book contends, this includes facilitating productive collaborations and establishing networks of Indigenous communities and allies to work together in promotion and protection of Indigenous food systems. This will influence diverse groups and encourage them to recognize the complexity of colonial histories and the destructive health impacts in Indigenous communities.
In addition to its multidisciplinary lens, the authors employ a community-based participatory approach that privileges Indigenous interests and perspectives. A Land Not Forgotten provides a comprehensive picture of the food security and health issues Indigenous peoples are encountering in Canada’s rural north.
Praise for A Land Not Forgotten:
“Without glossing over the terrible costs of the colonial legacy that Indigenous people are still paying, A Land Not Forgotten offers hope for a healthier, more food secure future for all of us.”
Elaine Power, Associate Professor, School of Kinesiology and Health Studies, Queen’s University.
Scholarly Books
(Monograph)
Courtney W. Mason. Spirits of the Rockies: Reasserting an Indigenous Presence in Banff National Park (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2014, 285 pages).
The Banff–Bow Valley in western Alberta is the heart of spiritual and economic life for the Nakoda peoples. While they were displaced from the region by the reserve system and the creation of Canada’s first national park, in the twentieth century the Nakoda reasserted their presence in the valley through involvement in regional tourism economies and the Banff Indian Days sporting festivals.
Drawing on extensive oral testimony from the Nakoda, supplemented by detailed analysis of archival and visual records, Spirits of the Rockies is a sophisticated account of the situation that these Indigenous communities encountered when they were denied access to the Banff National Park. Courtney W. Mason examines the power relations and racial discourses that dominated the eastern slopes of the Canadian Rocky Mountains and shows how the Nakoda strategically used the Banff Indian Days festivals to gain access to sacred lands and respond to colonial policies designed to repress their cultures.
Spirits of the Rockies book launch at the Whyte Museum in Banff, 2014. Pictured from left: Elder Jackson Wesley, Elder Margaret Snow, author Courtney Mason, Elder Roland Rollinmud, Elder Lenny Poucette.
Praise for Spirits of the Rockies:
“When I first discovered mountain climbing and skiing in the 1960s, I did not think enough about the First Nations who hsponsibilityave called the Rocky Mountains home for millennia. Reading this book has made me rethink my place in the Banff–Bow Valley and increased my awareness of our re to honour the presence of First Nations and share this place with our Nakoda neighbours.”
Chic Scott, author of ‘Pushing the Limits: The Story of Canadian Mountaineering’
“Spirits of the Rockies is an important and timely book. Its dynamic account reframes the Banff–Bow Valley, placing indigenous actors and understandings at its centre. In the process, it explores the impacts wrought by colonialism, the opportunities brought by tourism, and the ways First Nations people have engaged with both. Its discussion of the contradictions at the heart of the Canadian experience and of indigenous resilience has special relevance today.”
C. Richard King, Department of Critical Culture, Gender, and Race Studies, Washington State University
“A valuable piece of scholarship on Aboriginal peoples in Canada. Spirits of the Rockies will contribute to discussions on how we ‘do’ history and how we can understand complex power and racial relations in new ways.”
Carly Adams, Department of Kinesiology and Physical Education, University of Lethbridge
“Mason offers a novel interpretation of the historical production of racialized Indigenity.”
Anna J. Willow, Canadian Journal of History, vol 51:03:2016
“Spirits of the Rockies contributes most significantly to our understanding of the history of Indigenous people’s participation in sport, recreation, and exhibition…Scholars in several disciplines will appreciate it.”
Ted Binnema, The Canadian Journal of Native Studies, vol35:01:2015