Scholarly depictions of the history of Aboriginal people in Canada have changed dramatically since the 1970s when Arthur J. (“Skip”) Ray entered the field. New Histories for Old examines this transformation while extending the scholarship on Canada’s Aboriginal history in new directions.

The collection combines essays by prominent senior historians, geographers, and anthropologists with contributions by new voices in these fields. The chapters reflect the core themes studied by Ray himself, including Native struggles for land and resources under colonialism, the fur trade, “Indian” policy and treaties, mobility and migration, disease and well-being, and Native-newcomer relations.

This book sheds new light on the history of scholarship on Canada’s Aboriginal past and the leading role played by one of Canada’s foremost historians. It also provides a fascinating snapshot of the lines of inquiry pursued by emerging scholars in the field.

New Histories for Old is a major contribution to understanding Native-newcomerrelations, Native struggles for land and resources under colonialism, “Indian” policy and treaties, mobility and migration, disease and well-being, and questions about “doing” Native history. It will appeal to scholars and students in history, Native studies, geography, anthropology, and related fields.

Dr. Binnema entered the historical profession after teaching high school English and social studies for several years. He has been teaching at UNBC since 2000, where he now teaches in the fields of Canadian and United States history, aboriginal history, and environmental history. He has written several books that examine various aspects of environmental history, aboriginal history, and the history of science. Common and Contested Ground (2001) examines the human and environmental history of the northwestern plains of North America from AD 200 to 1806. With Gerhard Ens of the University of Alberta, he published The Hudson's Bay Company Edmonton House Journals, Correspondence, and Reports: 1806-1821 (2012). That book consists of primary documents and a long essay offering a new interpretation of the history of the northern plains and Athabasca region between 1806 and 1821. "Enlightened Zeal": The Hudson's Bay Company and Scientific Networks, 1670 to 1870" (2013), is the first book to examine the relationship between science and a major chartered monopoly over its entire lifetime. Dr. Binnema also co-edited two collections of original articles, New Histories for Old: Changing Perspectives on Canada's Native Pasts (2007) and From Rupert's Land to Canada (2001). He has also published many scholarly articles including articles in Environmental History, The Canadian Historical Review, Journal of the Early Republic, Western Historical Quarterly, and The Journal of Canadian Studies.

Theodore Binnema's profile page

Suzanne Luke is the Curator of the Robert Langen Art Gallery at Wilfrid Laurier University.

Susan Neylan's profile page

This selection of essays sheds new light on historical and up to date relationships between the European and the Native. It reviews the aspirations of the Indigenous people to recover their lands in whole or in part. The book is a fresh look at the history of our original peoples and is an up to date reference for both historians and litigators.

Barrister, Issue 87