Covering topics such as the Indian Act, the High Arctic relocation of 1953, and the conflict at Ipperwash, Keith D. Smith draws on a diverse selection of documents including letters, testimonies, speeches, transcripts, newspaper articles, and government records. In his thoughtful introduction, Smith provides guidance on the unique challenges of dealing with Indigenous primary sources by highlighting the critical skill of "reading against the grain."

Each chapter includes an introduction and a list of discussion questions, and helpful background information is provided for each of the readings. Organized thematically into fifteen chapters, the reader also contains a list of key figures, along with maps and images.

Keith D. Smith is Chair of the Department of First Nations Studies and teaches in the Department of History at Vancouver Island University in Nanaimo, British Columbia.

Keith D. Smith's profile page

Keith D. Smith's Strange Visitors: Documents in Indigenous-Settler Relations in Canada from 1876 is an excellent resource for instructors and students alike, and it could not have been published at a better time. In a clearly written introduction to a collection of primary source documents for Indigenous studies and Canadian history classes, the author has provided a how-to manual to critically assess both historical and modern documents. Smith reminds us that critical reading is 'a life skill—some might say even a duty in a democratic society' (xxiii). In very accessible language, he breaks down the difference between 'reading with the grain'—what an author wants the reader to believe—and 'reading against the grain'—that is, interrogating the document to uncover embedded meanings. The introduction is so clearly written that Smith's book should serve not only as a text for undergraduates but could easily find a niche in high school classes where teachers often struggle to find high-quality resources for their students.

<i>Canadian Historical Review</i>

This is a timely, thoughtful, and useful collection of primary documents on the history of the interactions among Indigenous people, non-Indigenous people, and the Canadian state. Given what is currently available, it will be invaluable to those teaching Native Studies, Canadian history and, at least as background material, Indigenous law.

<em>BC Studies</em>