Book reviews

BOOK REVIEWS
Driben, Paul and Robert S. Trudeau: When Freedom is Lost: The Dark Side of the Relationship Between Government and the Fort Hope Band. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1983, xii + 131 pp., Illus.
The situation that exists between the Government of Canada and the Canadian Native peoples in settlements and on reserve lands that pertains toeconomic dependency, causes of this dependency, and possible solutions to theformer through economic development, prompted the Canadian Department of Manpower and Immigration, through its LEAP program (Local EmploymentAssistance Program) to do a socio-economic study of the Fort Hope Band.
LEAP employed Paul Driben and Robert S. Trudeau to carry out the research.
Driben and Trudeau accomplished their task and submitted an extensive report which included some recommendations for amendment. The subsequent ig- norance, by the government, of these recommendations and its failure to betterthe economic foundation of Indian settlements and reserve lands, has resultedin the publication of this book. The book is partly funded by a grant from theSocial Sciences Federation of Canada using funds from the Social Sciences andHumanities Research Council of Canada.
The book gives a detailed account of the problems in the relationship between the Fort Hope Band and the government before and after the govern-ment's new policy (referred to as "The White Paper") on aboriginal peoplescame about.
This book includes l l photographs, 2 graphs, 2 maps and 6 tables of statistics. This compilation complements the body of the documentary thatmakes up the book. There is also an extensive section of footnotes and a com-petent bibliography.
Driben and Trudeau spent seven years conducting research, pouring through records and doing interviews. They learned about the helpless dependency ofthe Natives on funding for employment and on support for their sources ofemployment; of their lack of control in management positions; and of theoutright artificiality of the economy. In fact, they found that an incredible90% of Native income is funded through job-start programs, welfare and othergovernment programs. They learned of the lonely and harsh environment ofthe residential high school students who spent most of their school years awayfrom their families and of the unnecessary social deterioration of these Nativecommunities: the drunkenness, violence, vandalism, and sexual violence.
The authors' arrangement of their report in this literary form is, doubtlessly, a powerful one. It reads very factually, but its biases, though forgivable, have anoticeable bearing on the literary professionalism of their research. Their con-cluding statements involve a short wistful look at the whole situation andinclude some ideas for reformation including the introduction of more promising developments in the future. "Will DIAND, Manpower, and other government agencies help people plan for these developments and for others yet to come?Will they provide the people with adequate resources to take advantage of theseopportunities? Will they develop clear and workable objectives? Will theymonitor their programs? Will they promote local control? Will they consult with the people or will they continue to offer inflexible programs that work atcross purposes and against any real chance for economic independence andsuccess?" (p. 106).
The book is an enlightening documentary of the socio-economic status of Canadian Native peoples and is required reading for all who are interested inCanadian Native peoples.
Jean-Marc Onions,29, rue de LEPANTE,06000, Nice, France.
Echlin, Kim (Compiler): Bibliography of Canadian Indian Mythology. Toronto: (Address requests to: The Robarts Centre for Canadian Studies, Attention: Celia Hart, 4700 Keele Street, Downsview, Ontario, M3J 1P3. A self-addressed, stamped 9 x 11 envelope would be appreciated.) Echlin's particular purpose in creating this bibliography, as stated in the to uncover lesser known sources such as museum reports, geological ii) to identify sources which contain original language materials.
As reviewer and experienced reference librarian, I have found a third particular purpose for this bibliography; it serves as a potential link between standardsources and lesser known sources.
This introduction notes that North American Indians have "one of the richest ethnological literatures in the world" and that due to the efforts ofearly collectors this literature has not been "entirely lost with the appearance Material in the bibliography is organized along Stith Thompson's division of culture areas into Northeast Woodland, Iroquois, Plains, Plateau, North Pacific,Mackenzie River and Eskimo. The bibliographer has searched for the oldestrecordings of the myths and has omitted translations/adaptations written speci- An examination of the entries in each section shows a good mix between entries from well known sources such as American Anthropoloist and theJournal of American Folk-Lore and from lesser known sources such as mono- graphs, museum publications, publications of anthropological and historical societies and small presses. Some of the lesser known Canadian sources cited areTransactions of the Royal Astronomical Society of Canada; Papers and Recordsof the Ontario Historical Society; Geological Survey of Canada, AnthropologicalSeries; Ontario Archaeological Report; Publications of the Champlain Society;publications of the British Columbia Provincial Museum; and Transactions ofthe Royal Society of Canada. The bibliographer states "I am eager to learn ofadditional sources, particularly in the original languages. I always welcome a new story and hope you will feel free to contact me." This short, near-print bibliography fits neatly into the gaps between such standard Native Studies and Canadian Studies sources as Carl F. Klinck's Liter-ary History of Canada: Canadian Literature in English; Claude Thibault's Bib-liographia Canadiana; and Hirschfelder et. al. Guide to Research on NorthAmerican Indians. Echlin provides a useful bibliography for scholars in the field and for librarians and teachers who work with undergraduate and high Brandon University Archives,Brandon, Manitoba, Hornby, Rodger and Richard H. Dana, Jr. (Editors): Mni Wakan and The Sioux: Respite, Release and Recreation. Brandon: Justin Publishing, 1984, xv+ 343 pp. ISBN 0-920127-00-2 cloth, ISBN 0-920127-01-0 paper.
"Anyone working with, living near, or interested in Native people is aware of the impact of alcohol upon Indian life." This reviewer, as a counsellor foryoung offenders (most of whom are from Northern Manitoba), fits into allthree of the above categories outlined by the editors in their foreward to Mni Wakan and the Sioux, and quite possibly is why I was asked to review this book.
I spent much of my formative years in The Pas, Manitoba watching and wonder-ing about the many intoxicated Indians who "lived" on Edwards Avenuefronting the "infamous" Gateway Hotel and along the banks of the Saskat-chewan River. One feels disheartened when asked to "get off my beggingcorner" by a person three times one's age; this feeling has stayed with me.
When one is instructed on how to make "bean juice" to get "high" by a fifteenyear old boy and finds that most of the offences are alcohol related, one canperceive, though minutely, how it must be to grow up on a Northern Manitobareserve. Mni Wakan and the Sioux addresses this subject of alcohol use and Mni Wakan and the Sioux is a collection of 26 papers, concerned with alcohol and the North American Indian reprinted from numerous journals ofMedicine, Psychiatry and Anthropology, as well as numerous alcohol specific journals, i.e., Quarterly Journal of Studies on Alcohol. The book is a well presented academic treatise of the subject; it gives the reader an understanding of the Indian use of alcohol from a variety of opinions and disciplines. Mni Wakan and the Sioux is divided into four sections, each contributing to the The first section is concerned with an overview of Indian alcohol use, depicting how this use originated and pervaded the Sioux culture. The sectionalso provides the reader with an understanding of the "state of the art" inalcohol related studies. Section Two elaborates upon this insight of Indian useof alcohol, presenting a multitude of causes for the behaviour and its effects.
The third section concentrates upon the Sioux people, both urban and rural.
Within this section one finds a type of "ethnographic" approach to the subject; drinking patterns are discussed and contrasted with that of other study groups,i.e., Mexican, Bolivian. The closing section deals specifically with the methodsand results of various treatment programs - Alcoholics Anonymous, Detoxifica-tion, and Disulfiram therapy.
Mni Wakan and the Sioux concentrates predominantly upon work done in the United States, though papers by John Price and Louise Jilek-Aall do providean insight as to what occurs north of the border. It would be worthwhile tocompile a Canadian edition of the subject, even though the research in Mni Wakan and the Sioux could be generalizable across tribes.
Mni Wakan and the Sioux is the result of the efforts of editors Rodger Hornby and Richard H. Dana, Jr. Rodger Hornby teaches in the Human ServicesDepartment at Sinte Gleska College, Rosebud, South Dakota. He has consider-able work experience with Indian mental health, alcohol, and other chemical abuse problems. Richard H. Dana is professor of Psychology at the Universityof Arkansas, Fayetteville. He is the author or editor of seven books and haspublished well over one hundred papers, book chapters, and reviews. They bothhope "that the text will serve as a foundation for those who wish to pursue their interest in Indian alcohol use and abuse." I believe they have achieved thisgoal.
Darryl Jones,1259 Lorne Avenue,Brandon, Manitoba,

Source: http://www3.brandonu.ca/library/cjns/5.1/book_rev.pdf