Since it was first published in 1998, The First Nations of British Columbia has been an essential introduction to the province’s first peoples. Written within an anthropological framework, it familiarizes readers with the history and cultures of First Nations in the province and provides a fundamental understanding of current affairs and concerns. This fully revised third edition includes: an all new introduction and conclusion updated information and references sidebars on topics of interest such as totem poles, sasquatch, and Chinook jargon discussions of enduring stereotypes and misperceptions of First Nations excerpts from important historical documents, including the Canadian government’s Apology for Residential Schools Concise and accessibly written, this book is essential reading for anyone who wants to deepen their understanding of First Nations in what is now British Columbia.

The First Nations of British Columbia provides an up-to-date, concise, and accessible overview of First Nations' peoples, cultures, and issues. This updated edition contains new information on plant management, wage labor, the Nisga's agreement, and the discovery in Northwestern B.C. of a frozen 600-year-old man. The appendices, readings, and all names, numbers, and spellings have been updated. Robert Muckle surveys the history, diversity, and complexity of First Nations from an anthropological perspective, incorporating archaeological, ethnographic, historic, and legal-political issues. The book is an excellent introduction for anyone interested in Native American peoples.

Brett McGillivray focuses first on the combination of physical processes that produced a spectacular variety of mountains, rivers, lakes, islands, fjords, forests, and minerals, explaining the forces that created the province and the natural hazards that can reshape it. A concise examination of B.C. historical geography follows, covering First Nations ways of life, colonization, Asian immigration, and the sad history of institutionalized racism. The second half of the book contains a detailed description of the economic geography of the province, with chapters on forestry, the salmon fishery, metal mining, energy supply and demand, agriculture, water, and the tourism industry. It addresses the present-day issues of urbanization, economic development, and resource management, providing a thorough background to these topics and suggesting what the future might hold. This up-to-date and comprehensive exploration of the rich historical geography and development of British Columbia will be welcomed by teachers, students, scholars, and everyone with an interest in the province.

Living in pre-Civil War Philadelphia, young Black activist Mifflin Gibbs was feeling disheartened from fighting the overwhelming tide of White America’s legalized racism when abolitionist Julia Griffith encouraged him to “go do some great thing.” These words helped inspire him to become a successful merchant in San Francisco, and then to seek a more just society in the new colony of Vancouver Island, where he was to become a prominent citizen and elected official. Gibbs joined a movement of Black American emigrants fleeing the increasingly oppressive and anti-Black Californian legal system in 1858. They hoped to establish themselves in a new country where they would have full access to the rights of citizenship and would be free to seek success and stability. Some six hundred Black Californians made the trip to Victoria in the midst of the Fraser River Gold Rush, but their hopes of finding a welcoming new home were ultimately disappointed. They were to encounter social segregation, disenfranchisement, limited employment opportunities and rampant discrimination. But in spite of the opposition and racism they faced, these pioneers played a pivotal role in the emerging province, establishing an all-Black militia unit to protect against American invasion, casting deciding votes in the 1860 election and helping to build the province as teachers, miners, artisans, entrepreneurs and merchants. Crawford Kilian brings this vibrant period of British Columbia’s history to life, evoking the chaos and opportunity of Victoria’s gold rush boom and describing the fascinating lives of prominent Black pioneers and trailblazers, from Sylvia Stark and Saltspring Island’s notable Stark family to lifeguard and special constable Joe Fortes, who taught a generation of Vancouverites to swim. Since its original publication in 1978, Go Do Some Great Thing has remained foundational reading on the history of Black pioneers in BC. Updated and with a new foreword by Adam Rudder, the third edition of this under-told story describes the hardships and triumphs of BC’s first Black citizens and their legacy in the province today. Partial proceeds from each copy sold will be donated to the Hogan's Alley Society.

Why is British Columbia unique within Canada? What forces have shaped its landscape and its people? To answer these questions, Brett McGillivray adopts primarily a thematic approach. He begins by giving a regional overview and introduction to geographic concepts and the physical processes that produced a spectacularly diverse landscape. He then tackles different themes, tracing the province's historical geography, offering detailed accounts of its economic geography, and discussing contemporary issues such as urbanization, economic development, and resource management. This fully revised edition is enhanced by updated figures, maps, and graphs and by new discussions of how globalization, climate change, and recession are influencing the province and its people.

"Building on the success of the first two editions, this volume briefly recaps the historical development and public acceptance of the concept of Aboriginal self-government, then proceeds to examine its theoretical underpinnings, the state of Aboriginal self-government in Canada today, and the many practical issues surrounding implementation. Topics addressed include: justice innovations, initiatives in health and education to grant greater Aboriginal control, financing and intergovernmental relations, Aboriginal-municipal government relations, developing effective Aboriginal leadership, Métis self government aspirations, the intersection of women's rights and self-government, and international perspectives. Various self-government arrangements already in existence are examined including the establishment of Nunavut, the James Bay Agreement, Treaty Land Entitlement settlements, the Alberta Métis settlements, and many other land claims settlements that have granted Aboriginal communities greater control over their affairs."--Pub. website.

Ward draws upon a rich record of events and opinion in the provincial press, manuscript collections, and successive federal enquiries and royal commissions on Asian immigration. He locates the origins of west coast racism in the frustrated vision of a white British Columbia and an unshakeable belief in the unassimilability of the Asian immigrant. Canadian attitudes were dominated by a series of interlocking, hostile stereotypes derived from western perceptions of Asia and modified by the encounter between whites and Asians on the north Pacific coast. Public pressure on local, provincial, and federal governments led to discriminatory policies in the field of immigration and employment, and culminated in the forced relocation of west coast Japanese residents during World War II.

Contrasting immigrant experiences in remote regions and metropolitan centres of Canada.

Treaty Talks in British Columbia traces the origins and development of treaty negotiations in the province. Since the second edition of this book was published in 2000, a number of significant developments have occurred: a controversial referendum on treaty mandates was held; the historic Tsawwassen treaty, the first to be signed in the BC treaty process, finally came into effect; and a second treaty was signed with the five Maa-nulth First Nations on the west coast of Vancouver Island. A striking theme running through the narrative is the way in which the provincial government changed the way it approached the negotiations and its relations with First Nations. This updated edition includes a postscript, co-authored with Peter Colenbrander, which provides an extensive overview of the treaty process from 2001 to 2009. The authors outline the achievements of and challenges for the treaty process and review some of the most recent jurisprudence affecting Native and non-Native rights. They also reflect on the growing number of initiatives outside the treaty process to achieve reconciliation between First Nations and the Crown and raise questions about the future relationship between these initiatives and treaty negotiations. Treaty Talks in British Columbia is a valuable resource for those interested in Aboriginal issues and the treaty process both in BC and throughout Canada. Succinct, informative, and easy to read, this book brings clarity to a complex and often contentious issue.