Separate but Unequal provides an in-depth critique of the ideology of parallelism—the prevailing view that Indigenous cultures and the wider Canadian society should exist separately from one another in a “nation-to-nation” relationship.

Using the Final Report of the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples as an example, this historical and material analysis shows how the single-minded pursuit of parallelism will not result in a more balanced relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous peoples. On the contrary, it merely restores archaic economic, political, and ideological forms that will continue to isolate the Indigenous population.

This book provides an alternative framework for examining Indigenous dependency. This new perspective—the political economy of neotribal rentierism—shows that Indigenous Peoples’ circumstances have been inextricably linked to the development of capitalism in Canada. While Indigenous Peoples were integral participants in the fur trade, the transition from mercantilism to industrial capitalism led to their marginalization.

This book is published in English.

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Separate but Unequal fournit une analyse approfondie de l’idéologie du parallélisme – la vision dominante selon laquelle les cultures autochtones et la société canadienne en général devraient vivre séparément les unes des autres dans une relation de nation à nation.
En s’appuyant sur le rapport final de la Commission royale sur les peuples autochtones, cette analyse historique et matérielle montre que les propositions parallélistes visant à accroître l’autonomie des Autochtones dans tous les aspects des politiques publiques ne se solderont pas en une relation plus équilibrée entre peuples autochtones et non autochtones, étant donné qu’elles ne font que rétablir des formes économiques, politiques et idéologiques archaïques qui continueront d’isoler la population autochtone.
Elle propose de recadrer la question de la dépendance autochtone en ayant recours à la notion de rentiérisme néotribal. Ce cadre d’économie politique met en lumière le fait que les conditions des peuples autochtones ont été inextricablement liées au développement du capitalisme au Canada.
Ce livre est publié en anglais.

Frances Widdowson is an Associate Professor in the Department of Economics, Justice, and Policy Studies at Mount Royal University. She has co-written and co-edited (with Albert Howard) two books on aboriginal policy – Disrobing the Aboriginal Industry: The Deception Behind Indigenous Cultural Preservation, short-listed for the Donner Prize, and Approaches to Aboriginal Education in Canada: Searching for Solutions. She is currently editing a volume on “Indigenizing the University”, as well as undertaking an investigation of how advocacy studies are “murdering” the human sciences.

Frances Widdowson's profile page

A fearless book, Separate but Unequal needs to be read for its rigorous critique of conventional wisdom—on the right and the left—about the history, the current conditions, and the best ways forward for Indigenous [P]eoples in Canada. It makes a unique contribution to our most important public policy debate.

Leslie Pal

This new book by Professor Widdowson must be read by anyone who wants to understand and improve the lives of Indigenous People.

Professor Emeritus Rodney A. Clifton