Necessary reading!

Liked it, there was a ton of good information but I also felt it a bit repetitive, though I think it would be great for someone who knows very little about Canada's real history.

• Page xvi — the Canadian vs American debate
• Focus on American history
• Page 34 — fought the cavalry
• Page 41 — Indians on the Hollywood walk of fame
• Page 45 — white actors playing POC
  • Cultural appropriation — dressing up as indigenous people
• Page 60 — too heavy to lift. WOW
• Page 94 — insanity or policy?
• Page 97 — moving Indians around like you’re moving house
• Chapter 5 — the genocide of a people / residential schools
  • We have no history of colonialism (124)
• Page 136 — Indians from India
  • You mean like cowboys and Indians??
• Page 179 — the new buffalo — Indian Gaming.
• Page 188 — “racism is endemic in North America. And it’s also systematic. While it affects the general population at large, it’s also buried in the institutions that are supposed to protect us from such abuses.”
  • Talking about racism in Alberta.
• Page 192 — “1985 — you see my problem. The history I offered to forget, the past I offered to burn, turns out to be our present. It may well be our future.”
• Chapter 8 — sovereignty argument — gaming profits, landfills, and coal mining? WOW *heavy chapter
• Chapter 9 — whites want land.
  • Using Alberta is a bad example.
• Page 225 — “Of course, no one in Canada or the United States is going to support a holiday that isn’t a celebration of national power and generosity, so we’d have to disguise it, much the way we do Thanksgiving.”
  • Victoria Day reference
• Page 236 — salmon people

• This book has not aged well. Environmental discussions did not age well. Race relations did not age well. Ethnic titles and language did not age well. Not my favourite. I want to learn about Canadian First Nations — not cowboys and Indians.

One North America accepts that it was built by stolen hands, maybe they’ll get around to accepting that it was built on stolen land.

I fear it’s going to take a while...

I wasn't sure what to expect when I grabbed this book, but I love the sardonic undercurrent throughout the book. It doesn't take away from the depressing content but gives the facts in a way to keep it engaging.

Really enjoyed the historical details here and genuinely appreciated the author’s sense of humor, which he brought to even the most difficult details.

"In 1492, the Native people discovered Christopher Columbus." - Richard Wagamese

As someone who did not go to school in Canada, this book serves as a diving board into the history of the Native people in North America. He referenced a number of historical facts in such a way that would make a reader want to read more about them in details.

I am writing a list as we speak.