The Imaginary Indian: The Image of the Indian in Canadian Culture [Paperback]

Daniel Francis (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 2002

Now entering a seventh printing, and with over 18,000 copies sold, The Imaginary Indian is a fascinating, revealing history of the "Indian" image mythologized by popular Canadian culture since 1850, propagating stereotypes that exist to this day.

Images of the Indian have always been fundamental to Canadian culture. From the paintings and photographs of the nineteenth century to the Mounted Police sagas and the spectacle of Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show; from the performances of Pauline Johnson, Grey Owl, and Buffalo Long Lance to the media images of Oka and Elijah Harper—the Imaginary Indian is ever with us, oscillating throughout our history from friend to foe, from Noble Savage to bloodthirsty warrior, from debased alchoholic to wise elder, from monosyllabic "squaw" to eloquent princess, from enemy of progress to protector of the environment.

The Imaginary Indian has been, and continues to be —as Daniel Francis reveals in this book—just about anything the non-Native culture has wanted it to be; and the contradictory stories non-Natives tell about Imaginary Indians are really stories about themselves and the uncertainties that make up their cultural heritage. This is not a book about Native people; it is the story of the images projected upon Native people—and the desperate uses to which they are put.

The Imaginary Indian is an essential title for aboriginal studies in Canada.

Now in its 7th printing.

(arsenalpulp.com )

Editorial Reviews

Review

Francis has done an amazing job of tracing down through Canadian history the perceptions . . . that the dominant culture had and has of this country's Aboriginal people.
—Drew Hayden Taylor (Drew Hayden Taylor Books In Canada )

About the Author

Daniel Francis is a historian and the author/editor of more than twenty books, including four for Arsenal Pulp Press: The Imaginary Indian: The Image of the Indian in Canadian Culture , National Dreams: Myth, Memory and Canadian History, LD: Mayor Louis Taylor and the Rise of Vancouver (winner of the City of Vancouver Book Award), and Imagining Ourselves: Classics of Canadian Non-Fiction. His other books include A Road for Canada, Red Light Neon: A History of Vancouver's Sex Trade, Copying People: Photographing British Columbia First Nations 1860-1940, The Great Chase: A History of World Whaling, New Beginnings: A Social History of Canada, and the popular Encyclopedia of British Columbia. He is also a regular columnist in Geist magazine. Daniel lives in North Vancouver, B.C.

Product Details

• Paperback: 260 pages
• Publisher: Arsenal Pulp Press (July 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0889782512
• ISBN-13: 978-0889782518
• Product Dimensions: 8.3 x 5.3 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,876,771 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars excellent book to open your eyes, October 23, 2008

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Anna-maria Macneil "anna the avid reader and ... (vancouver island) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Imaginary Indian: The Image of the Indian in Canadian Culture (Paperback)

I am using this book in my fnat class at VIU and am amazed at how easy it is to understand. Daniel Francis is non-native and he manages to give many perspectives to the image non-natives have of first nations people.
He breaks it down to explain how from first contact non-natives have been creating the "image" of what we think is "indian". Francis helps you figure out where all the myths and cultural misconcepts come from and why many of these ideas were encouraged by non-natives and who gained from these myths. Fascinating reading, I finished it weeks before I was supposed to!