- Hardcover: 336 pages
- Publisher: McGill-Queen's University Press (Oct 24 2008)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0773534202
- ISBN-13: 978-0773534209
- Product Dimensions: 22.8 x 15.8 x 2.6 cm
- Shipping Weight: 599 g
- Average Customer Review: 2.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (19 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #341,552 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- See Complete Table of Contents
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
Product Details |
Product Description
Review
"Disrobing the Aboriginal Industry does an excellent job of pointing out logical inconsistencies in the Aboriginal political movement - a matter of great practical as well as academic importance." Tom Flanagan, author of First Nations? Second Thoughts "Insightful, carefully argued and meticulously documented." John Richards, Simon Fraser University
Product Description
Despite the billions of dollars devoted to aboriginal causes, Native people in Canada continue to suffer all the symptoms of a marginalized existence - high rates of substance abuse, violence, poverty. "Disrobing the Aboriginal Industry" argues that the policies proposed to address these problems - land claims and self government - are in fact contributing to their entrenchment. By examining the root causes of aboriginal problems, Frances Widdowson and Albert Howard expose the industry that has grown up around land claim settlements, showing that aboriginal policy development over the past thirty years has been manipulated by non-aboriginal lawyers and consultants.They analyse all the major aboriginal policies, examine issues that have received little critical attention - child care, health care, education, traditional knowledge - and propose the comprehensive government provision of health, education, and housing rather than deficient delivery through Native self-government. "Disrobing the Aboriginal Industry" presents a convincing argument that the 'Aboriginal Industry' has failed to address the fundamental economic and cultural basis of native problems, leading instead to policies that offer a financial benefit to the leadership while entrenching the misery of most aboriginal people.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
|
Share your thoughts with other customers:
|
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most helpful customer reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
1.0 out of 5 stars
yoko should sue!,
By
This review is from: Disrobing the Aboriginal Industry: The Deception Behind Indigenous Cultural Preservation (Paperback)
Widdowson and Howard are extremely racist and rely on dirty tricks to convince readers of their opinions. For example, the authors have a sarcastic tone throughout the whole book. Also, the authors use misinformation or details that only when isolated from the greater context, support Widdowsn and Howards' views.What also bugs me is that they quote Lennon's Imagine at the end ... Yoko should have sued Widdowson and Howard like she threatened to when Harper posted his rendition. Overall, it is very apparent that the authors have a bone to pick with native people. In fact, Widdowson and Howard used to work as policy analysts in the North West Territories but were fired. You only need to google "Francis Widdowson" to find her blog which confirms her prejudice.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
1.0 out of 5 stars
The rant of arrogant white people,
By
This review is from: Disrobing the Aboriginal Industry: The Deception Behind Indigenous Cultural Preservation (Paperback)
This book makes me embarrassed to be white. It is full of racist rants based on the belief that Western thinking is superior to Indigenous thinking. This book is written by white people who still believe in their right to colonize the "other". It is easy to criticize others for their percieved failure because, unfortunately, oppression can not really be understood by people who have never experienced it.
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful
2.0 out of 5 stars
Sometimes right, but always the wrong argument.,
By
This review is from: Disrobing the Aboriginal Industry: The Deception Behind Indigenous Cultural Preservation (Paperback)
When the authors said they were going to abandon old politically charged understandings of aboriginal policy in Canada for an honest look at the facts, I was excited. When the authors announced in the introduction that they were going to be using the lens of a marxist theory of development, my heart sank.In short, the authors do a good job of knocking down a few sacred cows of contemporary aboriginal policy in Canada. "Traditional knowledge" and "oral histories" are given far too much credit in policy making and the courts. Policies that identify self government as a panacea without taking a good look at the often corrupt inner workings of aboriginal communities, are doomed to failure. Some misstatements and exaggerations included, this book provides a good overview of everything that has gone wrong. The problem comes when the authors try to explain why things are in a dismal state. They have essentially knocked down one false intellectual idol, only to put another in its place. The theory of "development" the authors espouse has been relegated to the dustbin of academia for decades. The very title of the book is a slap in the face to critical thinkers everywhere as the existence of an "aboriginal industry" is assumed with no evidence being presented. No where to be found is a moderate discussion over the place of traditional knowledge and oral histories. While not up to the standards of the scientific method and written history, they are not devoid of value. I don't think I am alone in having exited my formal education with a feeling that too many academics waste much of their (supposed) talents and intellect on tearing down. "The Aboriginal Industry", has done nothing to improve the situation.
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Want to see more reviews on this item?
|
Most recent customer reviews |
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
- Books > Nonfiction > Current Events > Native Issues
- Books > Nonfiction > Government > Politics
- Books > Nonfiction > Social Sciences > Anthropology > Cultural
- Books > Nonfiction > Social Sciences > Political Science > International Institutions
- Books > Nonfiction > Social Sciences > Political Science > Levels of Government
- Books > Nonfiction > Social Sciences > Political Science > Public Policy
- Books > Nonfiction > Social Sciences > Sociology
- Books > Nonfiction > Social Sciences > Special Groups > Native American Studies
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
