Historically, Aboriginal people have had little influence on the development of Native policy from within government; as a result political organizations have been established to lobby government on Native peoples’ issues. Using his experience as director of land claims for the Métis Association of Alberta, Joe Sawchuk explains how these Aboriginal organizations began, how they set their political agendas, and how they are influenced by government funding and internal politics. The record of Native political organizations in Canada has been impressive, yet questions remain if government agendas blunts their effectiveness, and how decreases in funding might affect them in the future.

Joe Sawchuk is an anthropologist. He has worked as a consultant for various Aboriginal organizations and has taught anthropology at the University of Toronto and at Memorial University. He is Professor of Socio-Cultural Anthropology at Brandon University, whose research interests include 20th Century Metis, Chamorro of Guam, Native Political Organizations, and Political Anthropology. He is the author of The Metis of Manitoba: Reformulation of an Ethnic Identity, co-author of Metis Land Rights in Alberta: A Political History, and has written numerous articles.

Joe Sawchuk's profile page

The Métis land claims are now coming into their own and Professor Sawchuk gives us a quick overview as to matters we must understand in order to deal with the same.

The Verdict

This is not a book for recreational reading. But if you would like to get a picture of the native political organizations and their complex relationships with provincial and federal governments, this is a good book to start with.

The Prairie Messenger

Sawchuk displays an obvious expertise in his subject, and his book contains breathtaking detail regarding the genesis and maintenance of Alberta Métis organizations.

Great Plains Research, Vol. 10, No. 1