Part of a scholastic series entitled Canadian Challenges, this book is aimed at secondary school students, but it’s accessible and attractive enough to be an invaluable resource for anyone wanting to know more about aboriginal Canadians.

The book reads like a magazine, with glossy pages full of pictures, colourful maps, and inserts that offer case studies to highlight particular events and issues. It’s divided into three major units, with subsections of two to four pages that begin with key topics and end with questions.

Unit I, Aboriginal Cultures, examines the distinct characteristics of various North American aboriginal societies: their world views, culture, ceremonies, languages, and systems of governance. Unit II, The Road to the Present, covers treaty negotiations, the Métis rebellion, the Indian Act, and assimilation strategies such as the residential school system. This section ably documents aboriginal struggles from the time of European contact up to now. Unit III, Contemporary Challenges, focuses on issues such as land claims and self-government.

Author Kevin Reed has taken care to document injustices. After each jarring fact, however, he makes the point that aboriginal people are actively building the future. For example, after reporting that 47 of the 50 aboriginal languages in Canada are in danger of disappearing, he describes the strategies under way to revitalize these languages. Reed’s focus on the future is a welcome change to the vanishing Indian syndrome of past school books.