First Nations peoples believe the eagle flies with a female wing and a male wing, showing the importance of balance between the feminine and the masculine in all aspects of individual and community experiences. Centuries of colonization, however, have devalued the traditional roles of First Nations women, causing a great gender imbalance that limits the abilities of men, women, and their communities in achieving self-actualization. Restoring the Balance brings to light the work First Nations women have performed, and continue to perform, in cultural continuity and community development. It illustrates the challenges and successes they have had in the areas of law, politics, education, community healing, language, and art, while suggesting significant options for sustained improvement of individual, family, and community well-being. Written by fifteen Aboriginal scholars, activists, and community leaders, Restoring the Balance combines life histories and biographical accounts with historical and critical analyses grounded in traditional thought and approaches. It is a powerful and important book.

"The overarching theme of this volume is that Canada's Aboriginal population has reached a critical stage of transition, from a situation in the past characterized by delayed modernization, extreme socio-economic deficit, and minimal control over their demography, to a point of social, political, economic, and demographic ascendancy." -from the Preface Experts from around the world review and extend the research on Aboriginal Peoples in Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the circumpolar North, mapping recent changes in their demography, health, and sociology and comparing their conditions with that of Aboriginal Peoples in other countries. Contributors point to policies and research needed to meet the challenges Aboriginal Peoples are likely to face in the 21st century. This substantial volume will prove indispensable and timely to researchers, policy analysts, students, and teachers of social demography and Native Studies. Contributors: Chris Andersen, Nicholas Biddle, Michael J. Chandler, Stewart Clatworthy, Senada Delic, James Frideres, Gustave J. Goldmann, Eric Guimond, Malcolm King, Brenda Kobayashi, Tahu H. Kukutai, Ron F. Laliberte, Roger C.A. Maaka, Mary Jane Norris, Evelyn J. Peters, Andrey N. Petrov, Ian Pool, Sarah Prout, Norbert Robitaille, Anatole Romaniuk, Sacha Senecal, C. Matthew Snipp, John Taylor, Frank Trovato, Ravi B.P. Verma, Cora J. Voyageur, Paul C. Whitehead, Mandy L.M. Yap, T. Kue Young.