In this beautifully crafted collection of essays, Cole Harris reflects on the strategies of colonialism in British Columbia during the first 150 years after the arrival of European settlers. The pervasive displacement of indigenous people by the newcomers, the mechanisms by which it was accomplished, and the resulting effects on the landscape, social life, and history of Canada’s western-most province are examined through the dual lenses of post-colonial theory and empirical data. By providing a compelling look at the colonial construction of the province, the book revises existing perceptions of the history and geography of British Columbia.

Cole Harris is a Professor Emeritus at the University of British Columbia. He is the author of several books, including Making Native Space: Colonialism, Resistance, and Reserves in British Columbia (UBC Press, 2002), which was nominated for the Hubert Evans Non-Fiction Prize, and The Reluctant Land: Society, Space, and Environment in Canada before Confederation (UBC Press, 2008), which won the Srivastava Prize for Excellence in Scholarly Publishing. He is an Officer of the Order of Canada and a Fellow of The Royal Society of Canada. He lives in Vancouver, BC. To this day Harris and his family maintain a summer home on property originally staked out by his grandfather.

Cole Harris' profile page

• Winner, Clio Award (British Columbia), Canadian Historical Association

This is an important book, characterized by its broad, sometimes breath-taking, intellectual and empirical sweep ... a provocative and important book by someone who has given a great deal of thought to the relationship between land and power in Canada.

BC Studies

The Resettlement of British Columbia, analyzing the historical geography of distance, disease, and multiculturalism, demonstrates how elegantly and gracefully the social sciences can be written.

Canadian Literature

An engaging provocative, introduction to the early history of the province that only someone of {Harris's] experience and ability could produce ... The Resettlement of British Columbia is a fine book. Full of wonderful insights and candid observations, it offers a nuanced look at the history of Canada's Pacific province ... What distinguishes the collection, however, is Harris's challenge to the reader to re-think some common assumptions, beliefs, and attitudes.

Western Historical Quarterly