I do not undermine the struggles of the aboriginal community, but one must admit that the millions of dollars given to the aboriginal communities still seems to be perpetuating them further into their misfortune. This novel offers a very real and applicable critique of the way in which our aboriginal affairs are managed. I found this novel refreshing to finally encounter authors who are not afraid to address the mismanagement issues within the aboriginal community instead of simply mindlessly condoning funding that seems to be doing very little to actually rehabilitate aboriginal groups.

This book is neither a Native Studies nor Political Science book, as it indicates on its cover. This book is an uninformed Anglo-centric diatribe that is racist in its intent.
The authors open with the thought that any criticism against the Aboriginal Industry is seen as racism, but really, it's just standing up against the system. If you have to explain that what you are saying is not racist, there is a good chance it is.

One of the authors claims to be a "consultant" for Native groups, but I can't see him doing an effective job, with his attitude towards First Nations, which is downtrodden, poor addicts, who don't have a say in what happens to them.

Some of the more outrageous claims in this book include the idea that (and this is a direct quote) " if it were not for the educational and socialization efforts provided by the residential schools aboriginal peoples would be even more marginalized and dysfunctional than they are today (26)." They argue that since hunting and gathering societies are bound to fail in this day in age, we did our First Nations a favour by putting them in residential schools.

They also make the statement that oral traditions are less 'trustworthy' than written traditions, and even go so far as to state that some First Nations tribes fabricate oral traditions to get land claims and other monetary compensation (44). Was it not Mark Twain who wrote "The very ink with which history is written is merely fluid prejudice?"


The sad part is, I suspected that this book was going to be extremely prejudiced when I started, but I gave it a chance - luckily, I borrowed it from the library, since this is not a book I would be happy spending any amount of money on. I am only on Chapter two and I have already wondered how this book ever got published.

I do not recommend this book to anyone, unless you are alright with gross inaccuracies, sweeping generalizations and an Anglo centric smugness.

Canadian anthropologist Wade Davis said it best when he said that "It is a book as bitter as it is uninformed." (Davis 2009:230)