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  • The New Buffalo: The Struggle for Aboriginal Post-secondary Education in Canada
  • Keavy Martin (bio)
Blair Stonechild. The New Buffalo: The Struggle for Aboriginal Post-secondary Education in Canada. University of Manitoba Press. 2006. ix, 190. $24.95

The Numbered Treaties of the 1870s, which negotiated the transfer of Indian lands to the British Crown, incorporated a series of compensations for Aboriginal peoples, including medical care, exemption from taxes, and access to education. Since that time, however, the First Nations and the Canadian government have been at odds over whether the latter promise should include access to post-secondary education. In this [End Page 300] book, Blair Stonechild (Cree-Saulteaux) traces the history of the policies and events that have shaped the pursuit of this ‘new buffalo’ – the future livelihood of Aboriginal peoples. Stonechild argues for the importance of not only funding Native students, but also of supporting Aboriginal-controlled programs and institutions. This issue has been complicated by the fact that education falls under provincial jurisdiction and thus has held a tenuous position within the mandate of the federal Department of Indian Affairs. Stonechild points out, furthermore, that – although the Supreme Court of Canada and the 1996 Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples have both recommended that the government honour the ‘spirit and intent’ of the treaties by providing First Nations people with access to all levels of schooling – funding for Aboriginal post-secondary education continues to be regarded as a social program, rather than as a treaty right.

Stonechild provides a useful and meticulously researched overview of Indian policy in Canada and demonstrates the way in which ‘the role of Aboriginal post-secondary education has evolved from a tool of assimilation to an instrument of empowerment.’ In the early days of Indian Affairs under Duncan Campbell Scott, Aboriginal education policy was geared toward ‘enfranchisement,’ wherein individuals who pursued education would be stripped of their legal Indian status. Under Diefenbaker, Pearson, and Trudeau, the dominant model became ‘integration’ of Aboriginal people into the federal whole; they would be ‘gradually encouraged to enter mainstream society on a basis of consultation and without coercive measures being imposed.’ While the notion of treaty rights was continually under threat (particularly during the tabling of the 1969 White Paper), the government had to contend with the rise of Aboriginal organizations such as the National Indian Brotherhood (now the Assembly of First Nations). Currently, although Native studies programs are becoming common in Canadian universities, Aboriginal students and leaders continue to express concerns about the assimilationist possibilities of mainstream institutions. As such, they continue to advocate for Aboriginal-controlled post-secondary education and for ‘culturally relevant approaches to education that include an holistic balance of spiritual, physical, emotional, and intellectual components.’ Here, Stonechild draws extensively upon the example of his own institution, First Nations University in Regina (formerly the Saskatchewan Indian Federated College).

The author acknowledges that his discussion of Metis and Inuit experience is somewhat limited; indeed, this topic might belong in a separate volume, given the distinct histories of these groups’ interaction with the federal government. The present study is highly valuable, meanwhile, in its ability to familiarize readers with the history of Canadian Indian policy and with the question of treaty rights and interpretation. [End Page 301] Decisions on Aboriginal rights and access to post-secondary education continue to be negotiated today; as such, The New Buffalo will no doubt be an important reference for students and researchers.

Keavy Martin

Keavy Martin, Centre for Comparative Literature, University of Toronto

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