In Common and Contested Ground, Theodore Binnema provides a sweeping and innovative interpretation of the history of the northwestern plains and its peoples from prehistoric times to the Lewis and Clark Expedition.

The real history of the northwestern plains between a.d. 200 and 1806 was far more complex, nuanced, and paradoxical than often imagined. Drawn by vast herds of buffalo and abundant resources, bands of Indians, fur traders, and settlers moved across the northwestern plains establishing intricate patterns of trade, diplomacy, and warfare. In the process, the northwestern plains became a common and contested ground.

Drawing on a wide range of sources, Binnema examines the impact of technology on the peoples of the northern plains, beginning with the bow-and-arrow and continuing through the arrival of the horse, European weapons, Old World diseases, and Euroamerican traders.

Dr. John E. Foster spent many years researching and interpreting the Metis, continually re-examining his own thinking about the fur trade and the West, trying to find new lines of inquiry across disciplinary boundaries, and, playing with ideas that re-imagined the Canadian West. In From Rupert's Land to Canada, in tribute to John's work, his friends and colleagues further explore themes related to "Native History and the Fur Trade," "Metis History," and the "Imagined West". Contributors include Michael Payne, Nicole St-Onge, Jan Grabowski, Jennifer Brown, Heather Rollason, Frits Pannekoek, Heather Devine, Gerhard Ens, Gerry Friesen, Ted Binnema, Ian MacLaren, Rod Macleod, Tom Flanagan and Glen Campbell.

In Common and Contested Ground, Theodore Binnema provides a sweeping and innovative interpretation of the history of the northwestern plains and its peoples from prehistoric times to the Lewis and Clark Expedition.The real history of the northwestern plains between a.d. 200 and 1806 was far more complex, nuanced, and paradoxical than often imagined. Drawn by vast herds of buffalo and abundant resources, bands of Indians, fur traders, and settlers moved across the northwestern plains establishing intricate patterns of trade, diplomacy, and warfare. In the process, the northwestern plains became a common and contested ground. Drawing on a wide range of sources, Binnema examines the impact of technology on the peoples of the northern plains, beginning with the bow-and-arrow and continuing through the arrival of the horse, European weapons, Old World diseases, and Euroamerican traders.

Scholarly depictions of the history of Aboriginal people in Canada have changed dramatically since the 1970s when Arthur J. (“Skip”) Ray entered the field. New Histories for Old examines this transformation while extending the scholarship on Canada’s Aboriginal history in new directions. This collection combines essays by prominent senior historians, geographers, and anthropologists with contributions by new voices in these fields. The chapters reflect themes including Native struggles for land and resources under colonialism, the fur trade, “Indian” policy and treaties, mobility and migration, disease and well-being, and Native-newcomer relations.