The First Nations of Canada have survived many cultural onslaughts since European contact. However, they still face a myriad of socioeconomic, educational, and legal challenges if they are to experience socioeconomic success in the twenty-first century.

Western Canadian Native Destiny examines a series of watershed issues that remain on the order paper for Canada’s Aboriginal people. It is important for all Canadians, Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal, to understand these issues if they are to lend support to the First People’s quest for justice and equality in this prosperous nation.

Headlining the list of unresolved matters is the public’s lack of understanding of Indigenous knowledge and spirituality, which form the basis of First Nations needs and demands. This discussion is followed by examining Native urban migrations, health, education and welfare needs, residential school aftermath, cultural identity and Indian self-image, language maintenance, role of women, status of Aboriginal art, function of Aboriginal leadership, land claims, economic development, the challenge of Aboriginal self-government, and the quest for social justice.

John W. Friesen, PhD, DMin, is a professor in the Faculty of Education at the University of Calgary, where he conducts research in Aboriginal education and teacher training. An ordained clergyman with the All Native Circle Conference of the United Church of Canada, he has authored or co-authored more than 50 books.

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Virginia Lyons Friesen, PhD, is a sessional instructor in the Faculty of Communication and Culture at the University of Calgary and a frequent instructor at Old Sun College in Siksika, Alberta. She has co-presented a number of papers at academic conferences and has co-authored several books.

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