Author Description

"From 19th century exploration narratives to twentieth century screenings of Nanook of the North, Canada's far North has always commanded a strong fascination, tinged with romanticism and exoticism, for non-Aboriginal peoples. Contact Zones explores a range of Canadian textual and visual depictions of northern Aboriginal life, gender and family relations in the post-World War II period, asking how and why certain images and understandings of Aboriginal life came to dominate, while others were marginalized or suppressed. A critical analysis of the dominant and competing ideological assumptions about northern Aboriginal peoples that circulated through Canadian culture is particularly important for the post-World War II period, as the far North was increasingly occupied by Euro-Canadians, targeted as frontier of economic development, and Aboriginal lives were managed far more intensely by the state than ever before.