This book focuses on self-representations of several indigenous communities in Canada, the U.S. and Mexico. It offers a multifaceted understanding of North American indigenous history, identity, community and forms of culture. Intersecting themes shape the structure of this volume: the first part focuses on the theme of recovery in relation to the literary field, the second part examines the theme of governance through examples of conflict, public government and citizenship, and the final part discusses the theme of increased global movements in relation to the preservation of local traditions. The contributors hope to advance trans-indigenous studies by encouraging productive dialogues across the U.S., Canada and Mexico-U.S. borders.

A variety of productions and representations of Canadian identities are the central theme that runs through this book. The different contributions explore imagined spaces by considering Canadian music, poetry and novels; they engage with political space by addressing various ways in which the people of Canada have made claims to different regions in the distant and recent past; and they address lived spaces, and their actual and symbolic meanings. It is an unusual book as it encompasses the writings by those studying the arts and literature as well as writings by social scientists, and it includes both English and French-speaking scholars. The richness that can be found in this multitude of perspectives and approaches to exploring Canadian space is characteristic of the way in which Canadian Studies is practiced nowadays. It is therefore an appropriate volume to celebrate 20 years of Canadian Studies in the Netherlands.