Les Rêves Canadiens


These annotated bibliographies were completed while John Paul was studying at Vermont College. It is one of the paradoxes of John's life that he needed to observe Canada from a distance in order to learn to love it! These are some of the books used in that study.
  • Knowledge of the Elders
  • History of Wildlife in North America
  • Vision of a Vanishing Race
  • Sitting Bull
  • Death Feast at Dimlahamid
  • Native American Portraits
  • Abused Boys
  • Occupied Canada
  • Brother Eagle, Sister Sky
  • The American Heritage Book of Indians
  • Continental Divide
  • Profiles in Wisdom
  • The Constitution of the Confederacy
  • Norval Morrisseau
  • Other Council Fires were here Before Ours
  • A Cree Life: The Art of Allen Sapp
  • Indians of the Americas
  • The Great Law of Peace
  • Wisdomkeepers
  • Apologies to the Iroquois
  • The Encyclopedia of North American Indian Tribes
     
    Annotated Bibliography:
    
    Barreiro, J. & Cornelius C. (eds), (1991).  Knowledge of the elders: The Iroquois Condolence
    Cane tradition. Ithica NY: Northeast Indian Quarterly, Cornell University.
            A small booklet of thirty pages that provides a clear and concise overview and  
    perspective on Native values and governmental structures. This is a fine map with which to  
    start understanding the use and meaning of the Condolence Cane and Wampum Belts in the  
    reciting of the Great Law.
    
    Borland, H. (1988). The history of wildlife in America. New York: Arch Cape.
            This book is honest in its approach to the destruction of the fauna of North America by  
    the Caucasian races and by the Native peoples. Nothing will ever match the crimes inflicted  
    by the white men, but the book is clear that this did not start with the whites. The many  
    colour illustrations make this book useful for a broad market.
     
    Curtis, E. S. (1986). Visions of a vanishing race. Boston MA: Houghton Mufflin.
            The text by Florence Curtis Graybill (Curtis' daughter) and Victor Boesen does much  
    to shed light on this driven man, who exposed 40,000 photographic plates in his effort to  
    record the last original vestiges of the North American Native culture. He also wrote many  
    volumes of text and recorded many of the sacred rituals of the indigenous culture. Alas, this  
    was done at great cost to his family and may have lead to its break up. Not permanent damage  
    though, for one daughter and two sons are involved in this collection. The photos reproduced  
    here are some of the best of this painterly photographer.
     
    Fleischer, J. (1979). Sitting Bull: Warrior of the Sioux. Mahwah, NJ: Troll.
            My five year old daughter brought me this book from school. The sepia toned  
    illustrations by Bert Dodson highlight an excellent accounting of Sitting Bull's life from his  
    days as a child named Slow till his death at the hands of the Bluecoats. The book is written  
    with true honesty, in a straight forward manner that does not prove to be maudlin.
     
    Glavin, T. (1991). A Death Feast in Dimlahamid. Vancouver BC: New Star Books.
            A great book and a great read by a seasoned newspaper reporter. This book transcends  
    three worlds with surprising fluidity. Glavin manages to take us, within paragraphs, from the  
    Indian spirit world, to the court room, and then back to a road side blockade campfire. We get  
    a true feel for how long the Natives have been negotiating with the province of British  
    Columbia, who have only in late 1992 acknowledged the presence of the Natives themselves.
     
    Hathaway, N. (1990). Native American portraits: 1862-1918. San Francisco CA: Chronicle.
            There were more people than the "Chief," E. S. Curtis, taking photographs of Natives  
    before the demise of much of that culture. Nancy Hathaway, a seasoned journalist, notes that  
    many of the included anonymous artists may have been wives who managed the shop and  
    often filled in for their husbands while their men were otherwise preoccupied. The wide range  
    of motivations for photographing Natives gives a truer picture of the conquered race who were  
    photographed wearing wigs to appear more genuine.
     
    Hunter, M. (1991). Abused boys: The neglected victims of sexual abuse. New York: Fawcett
    Columbine.
            Mic Hunter is a psychologist and expert on male sexual abuse victims. He has, with  
    the help of case studies, shown the range of this crime. There is one pattern that emerges and  
    runs like a thread through the book; it is of the strong lording it over the weak. Recovery as  
    well as treatment are covered and a strong resource section is included.
     
    Hunter, R, & Calihoo, R. (1991). Occupied Canada. Toronto: McClelland & Steward.
            Robert Calihoo was raised as a white child by a religious Catholic grandmother. When  
    she died he was shuffled from mother, to foster parents, to a Cree reserve and then straight to  
    prison for various crimes. He then found himself at twenty-one facing possible imprisonment  
    for habitual crime. At this time he decided to rediscover his Indian history. This is the book  
    from an Indian's perspective about how the Indians had been treated and treatied with.  
    Calihoo eventually regains his status as an Indian, recovers his stolen land and finds his  
    scattered people. In the process he finds that they are really a family of Iroquois who had  
    travelled west in the 1793 to find free range. Co-author, Robert Hunter, first president and  
    chairman of the board of the Greenpeace Foundation has done a fine collaboration that enables  
    Bob Calihoo's own voice and spirit to speak out in this great book.  
     
    Jeffers, S. (1991). Brother eagle, sister sky. New York: Dial.
            The words attributed to Chief Seattle are used as a background for a book that is filled  
    with beautiful colour pencil drawings of nature, ghostlike indigenous people, and a modern  
    white family planting trees. This children's book has much to say to adults. Susan Jeffers has  
    proven herself again as  an accomplished artist with a great depth of feeling for Native people.
     
    Josephy, A. (Ed.). (1961). The American heritage book of Indians. New York: Simon &
    Schuster.
            Each tribe from Central America to the Arctic is viewed in detail with the help of  
    Josephy's editing skills. The introduction by John F. Kennedy sets the tone of the volume.  
    That tone is one of honesty and respect familiar in those days of the Camelot Republic. The  
    spiritual traditions are portrayed in a clear, unbiased fashion and with a surprising depth of  
    commitment. The photographs, maps and documented art work by both Natives and whites  
    are truly impressive on their own, and the text follows closely with the same attributes listed  
    above.
     
    Lipset, S. M. (1990). Continental divide: The values and institutions of the United States and
    Canada. New York: Routledge.
            This is a great book that answers a big question. The difference between Canadian and  
    American cultures and their pressures are explored in the greatest of details by this ardent  
    researcher. This book is a must read book for anyone interested in Canadian and American  
    studies, especially in these times of Free Trade.
     
    McFadden, S. (1991). Profiles in wisdom: Native elders speak about the earth. Santa Fe NM:
    Bear & Company.
            The Native leaders are beginning to speak out more clearly and many of those leaders  
    wish to spread the words of their traditions to their white bothers. The prophecies are different  
    from tribe to tribe, but they all have a common theme. The Mother Earth is in trouble and  
    hurting and if she is not valued and honoured she will strike back. These Native leaders,  
    traditional and modern, view themselves as the caretakers of the planet and through this  
    powerful book they are going to be heard now or in retrospect. McFadden with his  
    background in astrology and farming has a balance of sky energy and the grounded sense of a  
    gardener, which led these elders to trust him.
     
    Newhouse, S. (1897). The constitution of the Confederacy (Rev. Ed. Chief Jacob Thomas
    1989). Wilsonville ON: Sandpiper.
            This is the definitive written representation of the constitution of the Iroquois people. It  
    represents the Native effort to describe in written language that which has only been handed  
    down by oral traditions through the mnemonic device of the eighty sacred Wampum Belts.
    
    Pollock, Jack.   The Art of Norval Morrisseau. New York: Methuen, 1979.
            This book describes the career of the artist, Norval Morrisseau, up until 1979. It not  
    only shows his work, but also his friends, his religion and his troubled soul. This man is one  
    of the greatest artists that I have ever met. I am proud to say that I have met him, through my  
    friendship with Jack Pollock but with this book I can say that I know him. I was disappointed  
    that Jack choose not to include a portrait that Norval did in oil of Dorothy Poste, who was still  
    performing as a singer in the early eighties. The portrait is large and looks totally different  
    than the work he is famous for, but I feel that it is a masterpiece that should be documented.
     
    Sams, J. & Nitsch. T. (1991). Other council fires were here before ours. San Francisco CA:
    Harper Collins.
            A Native American creation tale told by a stone. The Seneca elder Twylah Nitsch and  
    her granddaughter Jamie Sands have joined forces to create a cute and lovable world of wee  
    people and talking stones. Just as you are being lulled into a fantasy land the conversation of  
    the book snaps you into the world of speculative physics. This is a finely crafted teaching for  
    anyone.
     
    Sapp, A. (1977). A Cree life: The art of Allen Sapp. Vancouver BC: J. J. Douglas.
            This is a great book about a great artist. Allen Sapp is a Cree Indian who grew up on  
    the reservation without his original name Saposkum. It had been shortened to fit into the  
    whiteman's world better. That tendency almost lost us a fine artist as Sapp tried to produce  
    good white art for people. The book is also the story of his grandmother Maggie who played a  
    strong part in Sapp's life. The art speaks for itself as it describes the simple motions of a Cree  
    life. The introduction is written by people who love Allen Sapp: John Anson Warner and  
    Thecla Bradshaw.
     
    Stirling, M. (Ed.) (1955). Indians of the Americas: A colour-illustrated record. Washington
    DC: National Geographic.
            This is another great compendium of knowledge about the Natives of the Americas. It  
    is detailed, unbiased and fair for its day. The highlight of the work for me is the beautiful  
    paintings of W. Langdon Kihn. There were many documented insights into Native cultures  
    with many photos and collected engravings from the past, but each time I was drawn back to  
    the numerous works by Kihn. He seems to have truly thrown himself into the world of the  
    Native to portray it. I can sense a growth in his style due to his involvement.
     
    Tree of Peace Society. (1989). The Great Law of Peace and the constitution of the United
    States of America. Harrisburg PA: Viola White Water Foundation.
            This pamphlet documents the similarities between the constitution of the United States  
    and the Iroquois. It is full of references that could lead one into greater depths of study.
     
    Wall, S. and Arden, H. (1990). Wisdomkeepers. Hillsboro, OR: Beyond Words.
            This book is a visual work of art, at the very least, but it is also a work of great love.  
    These two white journalists, went to great lengths to track down Native leaders and gain their  
    confidence to record accurately their thoughts. The photographs by Steve Wall are frank,  
    simple and underline the messages' honesty. The layout of the book adds to the personal  
    charm of the documentation.
     
    Wilson, E. (1992). Apologies to the Iroquois. Syracuse NY: Syracuse U.
            This book is a powerful insight into the inner world of the Iroquois. Each tribe of the  
    confederacy was studied personally and in depth by Edmund Wilson, one of Americas finest  
    essayists and critics but he also had an excellent scholarly guide, Dr. William N. Fenton. The  
    everyday life is detailed as well as the spiritual and political realms. Ritual ceremonies are  
    recorded too for this is the realm that the Natives regard as the most important. There are  
    many religious and political pressures placed on the Iroquois: the Qu�becquois; the  
    Anglophones; the United States government, state and federal; the hereditary chiefs; the  
    elected chiefs; the grandmothers; the traditional religion; the great law; the many invasive  
    Caucasian religions; and the confederacy. All are presented clearly.
     
    Yenne, B. (1988). The encyclopedia of North American Indian tribes. London England:
    Bison.
            This is a fine reference book with details and illustrations about every tribe in North  
    America. The photography ranges from the ancient grainy treasures of the past to the modern  
    Native.


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