David McNab
Professor
Office: Atkinson College, 121A
Phone: 416-736-2100 Ext: 22423
Email: dtmcnab@yorku.ca
Professor David T. McNab is a Métis historian who has worked for almost forty years on Aboriginal land and treaty rights issues in Canada. David teaches Indigenous and Canadian Studies in the Departments of Equity Studies/Humanities in the Faculty of Liberal Arts and Professional Studies. He has also been a claims advisor for Nin.Da.Waab.Jig., Walpole Island Heritage Center, Bkejwanong First Nations since 1992.
He has also been a claims advisor for Nin.Da.Waab.Jig., Walpole Island Heritage Center, Bkejwanong First Nations since 1992. In addition to over eighty articles, David has published Earth, Water, Air and Fire: Studies in Canadian Ethnohistory (editor) (1998) and Circles of Time: Aboriginal Land Rights and Resistance in Ontario (1999) as well as the co-edited Blockades and Resistance: Studies in Actions of Peace and the Temagami Blockades of 1988-89 (2003), Walking a Tightrope: Aboriginal People and their Representations (2005), The Long Journey of Canada’s Forgotten People: Métis Identities and Family Histories (2007), all with WLU Press. He is currently working on the Fourth Edition (with Olive Patricia Dickason), of Canada’s First Nations, (Oxford University Press), which will published late in 2008 as well as “No Place for Fairness: Stories and Reflections of Bear Island”, a book MSS on the Temagami Land rights issues.
Degrees
PhD, University of LancasterMA in History, McMaster University
BA (Honours) in History, Waterloo Lutheran University
Professional Leadership
Program Co-ordinator and Chair, Session, Algonquian Conference, York University, October 18th-20th, 2007.
Co-ordinator, International Environmental History Workshop on “The Empire of Nature and the Nature of Empires”, York University/Bkejwanong First Nations Partnership, to be held April 28th-30th, 2006. Submitted SSHRC Grant Application for Workshop on October 31st, 2005. The Dean’s Office of the Atkinson Faculty ($6,000) to hold this workshop and a book length publication with WLU Press which is currently in preparation.
Chair, Panel on Louise Erdrich’s Four Souls, Native American Literature Symposium, Minneapolis, Minnesota, April 8th, 2005
Chair, Session, Workshop on “Lines Drawn upon the Water”, Aboriginal People and the International Boundary through the Great Lakes Watershed, University of Western Ontario, February 12th, 2005
Chair of Session at the Midwest Association for Canadian Studies 12th Biennial Conference, Omaha, Nebraska, October 2, 2004
Co-ordinate Métis Symposium, The Métis: Canada’s Forgotten People, The Years of Achievement? School of Canadian Studies, Carleton University held at the Odawa Native Friendship Centre, March 19, 2003
Commentator, “Relics and Rituals: Cultural Encounters or Cultural Appropriation?” Second Annual Laurier Brantford Conference, "Grave Concerns: The Ethics of the Dead", Wilfrid Laurier University, Brantford Campus, November 30, 2001
Co-ordinator, Wanapitei Colloquium, 1999-2000.
Chair, Session on "Legendary Light in Mask and Doll", Twenty-Fourth Annual Colloquium on Modern Literature and Film, Morgantown, West Virginia University, September 17, 1999
Consultations
Advisory Board Member for the History of Canada On-Line Project, September, 2003 to present
North and South American Consultant Advisor to the Cassells Book Project on Nations world-wide, 2002-2005. Published in 2005 as Peoples, Nations and Cultures, An A-Z of the Peoples of the World Past and Present, General Editor Professor John Mackenzie, London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2005
Aboriginal Historical Consultant for TV Ontario on an hour long documentary on “Legend and Memory: Ontario First Nations”, aired March 29, 2002, Nominated for a Gemini Award, 2002
Aboriginal Consultant to the Organization for the Advancement of Aboriginal Peoples Health, Fall, 2000
Consultant on Land and Treaty Rights Issues and Historical research projects with First Nations in Ontario and Newfoundland, Bkejwanong First Nations, Mohawks of Akwesasne, Algonquins of Golden Lake, Thessalon First Nation, Union of Ontario Indians, Teme-Augama Anishnabai (Temagami First Nation), Wasauksing First Nation, Shawanaga First Nation, Sauguine Metis Council, Federation of Newfoundland Indians, 1992 to present.
Community Contributions
i) Internal: University level
Co-Chair, Aboriginal Council, July 1st, 2006 to March 2007.
Aboriginal Caucus, York University, 2005 to Present
ii) Internal: Faculty Level Committees
Academic Petitions and Appeals Committee, Atkinson Faculty, 2004 to 2007
Merit Pay Committee, Atkinson Faculty, 2005-2006
Indigenous Studies Graduate Program Proposal Committee
iii) Internal: School/Department level
Curriculum Committee, SAL, 2004-2006
Canadian Studies Co-ordinator, 2005 to Present
Chair, Search Committee, Modern European History, 2005-2006
Member, Search Committee, Applied Media and Cultural Studies, 2005-2006
Public History Program Development, Special Committee, 2006-7.
iv) External/community service
Member, Native Canadian Centre of Toronto; Advisory Board, Toronto Native Community History Project, 1997 to Present
The Champlain Society
Member of Council, 1979-2000
Chair, Special Events Committee, 1996-2000
Co-ordinator, The Champlain Society Symposia,
Documenting Aboriginal History in Ontario, Bkejwanong, Walpole Island First Nation, September 23, 1994
"Aboriginal and Non-Aboriginal Histories: Parallel Paths and Convergences?", University of Toronto, May 16, 1998
Member, Publications Committee, 1999-2000
Friends of the Archives of Ontario, 1998-1999
Founding Member and Secretary of the Steering Committee
Co-Editor of The Friends Newsletter, Heritage/Legacy, 1998 to 2000
First Vice-President, Board of the Friends of the Archives of Ontario
Acting Secretary, 1999
Recording Secretary, 1999-2000
Advisor on Land and Treaty Rights and Governance issues, various First Nations and other Aboriginal organizations in Ontario and Newfoundland, 1992 to Present:
Mohawks of Akwesasne
Algonquins of Golden Lake
Thessalon First Nation
Union of Ontario Indians
Teme-Augama Anishnabai (Temagami First Nation)
Wasauksing (Parry Island) First Nation
Shawanaga First Nation
Sauguine Metis Council
Nin.Da.Waab.Jig, (Walpole Island Heritage Centre) Walpole Island First Nation Federation of Newfoundland Indians (Historical Expert on the Status litigation case)
Research Interests
- Visiting Humanities Fellow, Humanities Research Group, University of Windsor, 1993-94 - 1993-94
- Graduate and/or Undergraduate Scholarships: Canada Council Doctoral Fellowship, 1975-1976 - 1975-76
- Ontario Graduate Fellowship, 1971-1972 - 1971-72
- Waterloo Lutheran University Undergraduate Fellowship, 1967-71 - 1967-71
- Organization of Ontario Book Publishers, First Nations Library Project, selected Walking a Tightrope: Aboriginal People and their Representations, Waterloo: WLU Press, 2005 as one of twenty-five (25) new books to be deposited in First Nations’ libraries in Ontario. 2005 - 2005
- Choice, the journal of the American Library Association, chose as the outstanding book for the year 2002. Technology, Disease and Colonial Conquests, Sixteenth to Eighteenth Centuries. Essays Reappraising the Guns and Germs Theories, George Raudzens (ed.), Amsterdam: Brill International, 2001, in which I (with Bruce Hodgins and S. Dale Standen) a chapter entitled "’Black with Canoes’: Aboriginal Resistance and the Canoe: Diplomacy, Trade and Warfare in the Meeting Grounds of Northeastern North America, 1600-1820", 237-92 - 2002 - 2002
- Nomination for the 2002 CUPE Teaching Award, Trent University, May, 2002 - 2002
Current Research Projects
- Visiting Humanities Fellow, Humanities Research Group, University of Windsor, 1993-94 - 1993-94
- Graduate and/or Undergraduate Scholarships: Canada Council Doctoral Fellowship, 1975-1976 - 1975-76
- Ontario Graduate Fellowship, 1971-1972 - 1971-72
- Waterloo Lutheran University Undergraduate Fellowship, 1967-71 - 1967-71
- Organization of Ontario Book Publishers, First Nations Library Project, selected Walking a Tightrope: Aboriginal People and their Representations, Waterloo: WLU Press, 2005 as one of twenty-five (25) new books to be deposited in First Nations’ libraries in Ontario. 2005 - 2005
- Choice, the journal of the American Library Association, chose as the outstanding book for the year 2002. Technology, Disease and Colonial Conquests, Sixteenth to Eighteenth Centuries. Essays Reappraising the Guns and Germs Theories, George Raudzens (ed.), Amsterdam: Brill International, 2001, in which I (with Bruce Hodgins and S. Dale Standen) a chapter entitled "’Black with Canoes’: Aboriginal Resistance and the Canoe: Diplomacy, Trade and Warfare in the Meeting Grounds of Northeastern North America, 1600-1820", 237-92 - 2002 - 2002
- Nomination for the 2002 CUPE Teaching Award, Trent University, May, 2002 - 2002
Junior Faculty Fund (York University)
Minor Research Grant
Strategic Research - SSHRC
No Place for Fairness: Indigenous Land Rights and Policy in the Bear Island Case and Beyond. Montreal and Kingston: McGill-Queens University Press, 2009.
with Olive Patricia Dickason. Canada’s First Nations, A History of Founding Peoples from Earliest Times. 4th Ed. Toronto: Oxford University Press, 2009.
The Long Journey of Canada’s Forgotten People: Studies in Métis History and Identities. Ed. David McNab and Ute Lischke. Waterloo: WLU Press, 2007.
Walking a Tightrope: Aboriginal People and their Representations. Ed. David McNab and Ute Lischke. Waterloo: WLU Press, 2005.
Blockades and Resistance: Studies in Actions of Peace and the Temagami Blockades of 1988-89. Ed. David McNab, Bruce W. Hodgins and Ute Lischke. Waterloo: WLU Press, 2003.
Circles of Time: Aboriginal Land Rights and Resistance in Ontario. Waterloo: WLU Press, 1999.
Earth, Water, Air and Fire: Studies in Canadian Ethnohistory. Ed. David McNab. Waterloo: WLU Press, 1998.
Satisfying Hunger: The Many Lives of St. Bartholomew. Ed. David McNab. Toronto, Ontario: St. Bartholomew's Church, 1998.
Gin Das Winan Documenting Aboriginal History in Ontario. Ed. David McNab and S. Dale Standen. Toronto: The Champlain Society, 1996.
'A Brief History of the Denial of Indigenous Rights in Canada.' A History of Human Rights in Canada. Ed. Janet Miron. Toronto: Scholarly Publishing, 2009. 99-115.
''We are sorry'.' Canada’s First Nations, A History of Founding Peoples from Earliest Times. 4th Ed. Oxford University Press, 2009. 427-57.
with Olive Patricia Dickason. 'Epilogue.' Canada’s First Nations, A History of Founding Peoples from Earliest Times. 4th Ed. Oxford University Press, 2009. 458-62.
with Ute Lischke. 'Introduction to Sacred Landscapes.' Sacred Landscapes. Ed. Rick Riewe and Jill Oakes. Winnipeg: Aboriginal Issues Press, 2009. vii-viii.
'The truth about stories is that’s all we are”: Thomas King’s Storytelling and Humour as Healing.' Sacred Landscapes. Ed. Rick Riewe and Jill Oakes. Winnipeg: Aboriginal Issues Press, 2009. 65-73.
'Métis Identities in Louise Erdrich’s The Painted Drum (2004).' Sacred Landscapes. Ed. Rick Riewe and Jill Oakes. Winnipeg: Aboriginal Issues Press, 2009. 155-69.
'Plenty of Food and No Government Agents': Perspectives on the Spirit World, Death and Dying in Louise Erdrich’s Writings.' Studies in the Literary Achievement of Louise Erdrich, Native American Writer: Fifteen Critical Essays. Ed. Brajesh Sawhney. UK: The Edwin Mellen Press, 2008. 95-114.
''A Singular Joy', The Memorable Mindscape of Kit Tatro.' Studies in the Literary Achievement of Louise Erdrich, Native American Writer: Fifteen Critical Essays. Ed. Brajesh Sawhney. UK: The Edwin Mellen Press, March 2008. 256-60.
''Those freebooters would shoot me like a dog': American Terrorists and Homeland Security in the Journals of Ezhaaswe (William A. Elias (1856-1929)).' Lines Drawn upon the Water, First Nations and the Great Lakes Borders and Borderlands. Ed. Karl S. Hele. Waterloo: WLU Press, 2008. 115-29.
''Canada, Indian policies'; 'Canoes'; 'Erdrich, Louise (Turtle Mountain Chippewa)'; 'Hudson's Bay Company'.' Encyclopedia of American Indian History. ABC Clio, 2007.
with Ute Lischke. ''Preface', and 'We are still here: Introduction'.' The Long Journey of Canada’s Forgotten People: Metis Identities and Family Histories. Waterloo: WLU Press, 2007. 1-9.
'A Long Journey: Spirit Memory and Métis Identities.' The Long Journey of Canada’s Forgotten People: Metis Identities and Family Histories. Waterloo: WLU Press, 2007. 21-37.
'The Mi’kmaq Nation of Newfoundland and Section 35 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.' Aboriginal Connections to Race, Environment and Traditions. Ed. Rick Riewe and Jill Oakes. Winnipeg: Aboriginal Issues Press, 2006. 27-35.
'Following Up on Delgamuukw: Mi'kmaq Oral Traditions and Nicolas Denys (1598-1688).' Aboriginal Connections to Race, Environment and Traditions. Ed. Rick Riewe and Jill Oakes. Winnipeg: Aboriginal Issues Press, 2006. 47-56.
'Nature in the Life and Autobiographical Writings of Louise Erdrich.' Aboriginal Connections to Race, Environment and Traditions. Ed. Rick Riewe and Jill Oakes. Winnipeg: Aboriginal Issues Press, 2006. 71-79.
with Ute Lischke. 'DEFA Indian Films.' Encyclopedia of German-American Relations. Ed. Thomas Adam. ABC Clio, 2005.
'Hiding in Plane View: Aboriginal Identities and a Fur Trade Company Family through Seven Generations.' Hidden in Plain Sight, Contributions of Aboriginal Peoples to Canadian Identity and Culture. Ed. David R. Newhouse, Cora J. Voyageur and Dan Beavon. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2005. 295-308.
'Canada’s Constitution and Metis Family History.' Historic Saugeen and Its Metis People. Southampton: Sauguine Metis Council, 2005. 23-39.
'HBC (Here Before the Company): The Saguingue Metis Community, Family History and Metis Trade and Trading.' Historic Saugeen and Its Metis People. Southampton: Sauguine Metis Council, 2005. 11-16.
'The Significance of Metis Family History in Canada’s History.' Historic Saugeen and Its Metis People. Southampton: Sauguine Metis Council, 2005. 40-44.
'Storytelling and Transformative Spaces in Louise Erdrich’s The Blue Jay’s Dance, The Birchbark House, and The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse.' Interdisciplinary and Cross-Cultural Narratives in North America. Ed. Mark Anderson and Irene Blayer. New York: Peter Lang, 2005. 73-88.
''Preface', and 'Introduction'.' Walking a Tightrope: Aboriginal People and their Representations. Ed. David McNab and Ute Lischke. Waterloo: WLU Press, 2005. xvii-xix; 1-18.
with Ute Lischke. 'Show me the money: Representations of Aboriginal People in East German Indian Films in the late Twentieth Century.' Walking a Tightrope: Aboriginal People and their Representations. Ed. David McNab and Ute Lischke. Waterloo: WLU Press, 2005. 287-308
'Borders of Water and Fire: Islands as Sacred Places and as Meeting Grounds.' Aboriginal Cultural Landscapes. Ed. Jill Oakes and Rick Riewe. Winnipeg: Aboriginal Issues Press, 2004. 35-46
''A Lurid Dash of Colour': Powassan’s Drum and Canada’s Mission, the Reverend William and Duncan Campbell Scott.' Aboriginal Cultural Landscapes. Ed. Jill Oakes and Rick Riewe. Winnipeg: Aboriginal Issues Press, 2004. 258-71.
'Of Bears and Birds: The Concept of History in Erdrich’s Autobiographical Writings.' Approaches to Teaching the Works of Louise Erdrich. New York: Modern Language Association, 2004. 32-41.
with Ute Lischke and Bruce W. Hodgins. 'Preface.' Blockades and Resistance: Studies in Actions of Peace and the Temagami Blockades of 1988-89. Ed. David McNab, Bruce W. Hodgins and Ute Lischke. Waterloo: WLU Press, 2003. ix-xi.
with Ute Lischke. 'Actions of Peace: Introduction.' Blockades and Resistance: Studies in Actions of Peace and the Temagami Blockades of 1988-89. Ed. David McNab, Bruce W. Hodgins and Ute Lischke. Waterloo: WLU Press, 2003. 1-9.
'Remembering an Intellectual Wilderness: A Captivity Narrative at Queen's Park in 1988-89.' Blockades and Resistance: Studies in Actions of Peace and the Temagami Blockades of 1988-89. Ed. David McNab, Bruce W. Hodgins and Ute Lischke. Waterloo: WLU Press, 2003. 31-53.
''Time is a Fish': The Spirit of Nanapush and the Power of Transformation in the Stories of Louise Erdrich.' (Ad)dressing Our Words: Aboriginal Perspectives on Aboriginal Literature. Ed. Armand Garnet Ruffo. Penticton, B.C.:Theytus Press, 2001. 181-204.
with Bruce Hodgins and S. Dale Standen. ''Black with Canoes': Aboriginal Resistance and the Canoe: Diplomacy, Trade and Warfare in the Meeting Grounds of Northeastern North America, 1600-1820.' Technology, Disease and Colonial Conquests, Sixteenth to Eighteenth Centuries. Essays Reappraising the Guns and Germs Theories. Ed. George Raudzens. Amsterdam: Brill International, 2001. 237-92.
''The land was to remain ours': The St. Anne Island Treaty of 1796 and Aboriginal Title and Rights in the Twenty-first Century.' Native American Speakers of the Eastern Woodlands: Selected Speeches and Critical Analyses. Ed. Barbara Alice Mann. New York: Greenwood Press, 2001. 229-50.
'The Spirit of Delgamuukw and Aboriginal Oral Traditions in Ontario.' Beyond the Nass Valley: National Implications of the Supreme Court’s Delgamuukw Decision. Ed. Owen Lippert. Vancouver: The Fraser Institute, 2000. 273-83.
''Introduction', and 'Retrospect'.' Earth, Water, Air and Fire: Studies in Canadian Ethnohistory. Ed. Nin.Da.Waab.Jig. Waterloo: WLU Press, 1998. 1-6; 325-327.
''Water is Her Lifeblood': The Waters of Bkejwanong and the Treaty-Making Process.' Earth, Water, Air and Fire: Studies in Canadian Ethnohistory. Ed. Nin.Da.Waab.Jig. Waterloo: WLU Press, 1998. 35-63.
'Making a Circle of Time: The Treaty-Making Process and Aboriginal Land Rights in Ontario.' Co-existence? Studies in Ontario-First Nation Relations, Peterborough: Frost Centre for Canadian Heritage and Development Studies. Trent University, 1992. 27-49.
'Aboriginal Land Claims in Ontario.' Aboriginal Land Claims in Canada, A Regional Perspective. Ed. Kenneth Coates, Toronto: Copp Clark Pitman, 1992. 73-100.
''Principally Rocks and Burnt Lands' Crown Reserves and the Tragedy of the Sturgeon Lake First Nation.' Aboriginal Resource Use in Canada. Ed. Kerry Abel and Jean Friesen. Winnipeg: University of Manitoba Press, 1991. 157-172.
''Chief Ponekeosh' (?-1891).' Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Vol. XII. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1990. 854-855.
'Nicolas Chatelain (c.1795-1892).' Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Vol. XII. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1990. 187-188.
'The Lac la Croix Indian Band Land Claim to Sturgeon Lake Indian Reserve #24C in Quetico Provincial Park.' Historical Research Report Series, Report No. 2, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources. Toronto: Queen's Printer for Ontario, 1986. 21.
'George Martin (1767-1853).' Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Vol. VIII. Toronto: University of Toronto Press 1985. 619-21.
'The Administration of Treaty #3: The Location of the Boundaries of Treaty #3 Indian Reserves in Ontario, 1873-1915.' As Long as the Sun Shines and Water Flows, A Reader in Canadian Native Studies. Vancouver: UBC Press, 1983. 145-57.
'The Significance of Place and Indigenous Knowledge in Louise Erdrich’s Books and Islands in Ojibwe Country (2003).' European Journal of American Culture 25.3 (2006): 205-19.
with Ute Lischke. 'Storytelling and cultural identity: Louise Erdrich’s exploration of the German/American connection in The Master Butchers Singing Club.' European Journal of American Culture 25.3 (2006): 189-203.
'Sovereignty, Treaties, and Trade in the Bkejwanong Territory.' Journal of Aboriginal Economic Development (Fall 2003).
'The Perfect Disguise: Frank Speck's Pilgrimage to Ktaqamkuk-the Place of Fog-in 1914.' The American Review of Canadian Studies, (Spring-Summer 2001): 85-104.
'Of Beads and a Crystal Vase, Michael Dorris’ The Broken Cord and Cloud Chamber.' West Virginia University, Philological Papers 47 (2000): 109-119.
'Indigenous Voices, Indigenous Histories Part IV - Gathering Gum from the Silver Pine: A Cree Woman’s Dream and the Battle of Belly River Crossing of October, 1870.' Saskatchewan History 52.2 (Fall 2000): 15-27.
'The Mi'kmaq of Ktaqamkuk, Sylvester Joe and William Epps Cormack: Some Uses of Exploration Literature as History and as Propaganda.' West Virginia University, Philological Papers 44 (1999): 58-64.
'Who is on trial? Teme-Augama Anishnabai Land Rights and George Ironside, Junior: Re-considering Oral Tradition.' The Canadian Journal of Native Studies 18. 1 (1998): 117-34.
''The Promise That He Gave To My Grand Father was Very Sweet': The Gun Shot Treaty of 1792 at the Bay of Quinte.' The Canadian Journal of Native Studies 16.2 (1996): 293-314.
'Treaties and an Official Use of History.' The Canadian Journal of Native Studies XIII.1 (1993): 139-43.
'Making a Circle of Time: The Treaty-Making Process and "The Professionalization of Historical Research in the Ontario Department of Crown Lands and its Successors".' The Public Historian 8.4 (Fall 1986): 27-45.
'Some Reflections on the Life and Hard Times of an Indian Land Claims Researcher.' The Canadian Journal of Native Studies 6.1 (1986): 129-39.
'Metis Participation in the Treaty-Making Process in Ontario: A Reconnaissance.' Native Studies Review 1.2 (1985): 57-79.
'The Walpole Island Indian Band and the Continuity of Indian Claims: An Historical Perspective.' Nin.Da.Waab.Jig., Occasional Papers (1985): 29.
'Hearty Co-operation and Efficient Aid.' The Canadian Journal of Native Studies III.1 (1983): 131-149.
'Herman Merivale and Colonial Office Indian Policy in the Mid-Nineteenth Century.' The Canadian Journal of Native Studies 1.2 (1981). 277-93.
'The Colonial Office and the Prairies in the Mid-Nineteenth Century.' Prairie Forum 3.1 (Fall 1978): 21-38.
'Herman Merivale and the Native Question, 1837-1861.' Albion 9.4 (Winter 1977): 359-384.
with Ute Lischke. 'Petition from the Backwoods.' The Beaver 308.1 (Summer 1977): 52-57.
'Peter McArthur and Canadian Nationalism.' Ontario History LXIV.1 (March 1972): 1-10.
with Paul-Emile McNab. 'Are We Sorry?: Some Reflections on Canadian Indigenous Policies in the early 21st Century.' Proceedings of the Aboriginal Policy and Research Conference. Ottawa. 2010.
with Paul-Emile McNab. 'HISTORICAL REPORT ON THE METIS OF SAUGEEN AND INVERHURON AND INVERHURON PROVINCIAL PARK.' Friends of Inverhuron. January 20th, 2009.
Ipperwash Inquiry on the Natural Resource Regulatory Regime. Toronto, Ontario. March 15th, 2005.
''Back to a Time when only the Stones Howled': Louise Erdrich as an International Writer.' Proceedings of the Sixth Annual Red River Conference on World Literature and Film-On-Line. North Dakota State University, Fargo, North Dakota. 27-30 April, 2003.
'The Spirit of the Canadas: The Kennedys, A Fur Trade Company Family through Seven Generations.' Aboriginal People and The Fur Trade, Proceedings of the Eighth North American Fur Trade Conference. Ed. Louise Johnston. Akwesasne, Akwesasne Council. 2001. 114-121.
Professor David T. McNab is a Métis historian who has worked for almost forty years on Aboriginal land and treaty rights issues in Canada. David teaches Indigenous and Canadian Studies in the Departments of Equity Studies/Humanities in the Faculty of Liberal Arts and Professional Studies. He has also been a claims advisor for Nin.Da.Waab.Jig., Walpole Island Heritage Center, Bkejwanong First Nations since 1992.
He has also been a claims advisor for Nin.Da.Waab.Jig., Walpole Island Heritage Center, Bkejwanong First Nations since 1992. In addition to over eighty articles, David has published Earth, Water, Air and Fire: Studies in Canadian Ethnohistory (editor) (1998) and Circles of Time: Aboriginal Land Rights and Resistance in Ontario (1999) as well as the co-edited Blockades and Resistance: Studies in Actions of Peace and the Temagami Blockades of 1988-89 (2003), Walking a Tightrope: Aboriginal People and their Representations (2005), The Long Journey of Canada’s Forgotten People: Métis Identities and Family Histories (2007), all with WLU Press. He is currently working on the Fourth Edition (with Olive Patricia Dickason), of Canada’s First Nations, (Oxford University Press), which will published late in 2008 as well as “No Place for Fairness: Stories and Reflections of Bear Island”, a book MSS on the Temagami Land rights issues.
Degrees
PhD, University of LancasterMA in History, McMaster University
BA (Honours) in History, Waterloo Lutheran University
Professional Leadership
Program Co-ordinator and Chair, Session, Algonquian Conference, York University, October 18th-20th, 2007.
Co-ordinator, International Environmental History Workshop on “The Empire of Nature and the Nature of Empires”, York University/Bkejwanong First Nations Partnership, to be held April 28th-30th, 2006. Submitted SSHRC Grant Application for Workshop on October 31st, 2005. The Dean’s Office of the Atkinson Faculty ($6,000) to hold this workshop and a book length publication with WLU Press which is currently in preparation.
Chair, Panel on Louise Erdrich’s Four Souls, Native American Literature Symposium, Minneapolis, Minnesota, April 8th, 2005
Chair, Session, Workshop on “Lines Drawn upon the Water”, Aboriginal People and the International Boundary through the Great Lakes Watershed, University of Western Ontario, February 12th, 2005
Chair of Session at the Midwest Association for Canadian Studies 12th Biennial Conference, Omaha, Nebraska, October 2, 2004
Co-ordinate Métis Symposium, The Métis: Canada’s Forgotten People, The Years of Achievement? School of Canadian Studies, Carleton University held at the Odawa Native Friendship Centre, March 19, 2003
Commentator, “Relics and Rituals: Cultural Encounters or Cultural Appropriation?” Second Annual Laurier Brantford Conference, "Grave Concerns: The Ethics of the Dead", Wilfrid Laurier University, Brantford Campus, November 30, 2001
Co-ordinator, Wanapitei Colloquium, 1999-2000.
Chair, Session on "Legendary Light in Mask and Doll", Twenty-Fourth Annual Colloquium on Modern Literature and Film, Morgantown, West Virginia University, September 17, 1999
Consultations
Advisory Board Member for the History of Canada On-Line Project, September, 2003 to present
North and South American Consultant Advisor to the Cassells Book Project on Nations world-wide, 2002-2005. Published in 2005 as Peoples, Nations and Cultures, An A-Z of the Peoples of the World Past and Present, General Editor Professor John Mackenzie, London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2005
Aboriginal Historical Consultant for TV Ontario on an hour long documentary on “Legend and Memory: Ontario First Nations”, aired March 29, 2002, Nominated for a Gemini Award, 2002
Aboriginal Consultant to the Organization for the Advancement of Aboriginal Peoples Health, Fall, 2000
Consultant on Land and Treaty Rights Issues and Historical research projects with First Nations in Ontario and Newfoundland, Bkejwanong First Nations, Mohawks of Akwesasne, Algonquins of Golden Lake, Thessalon First Nation, Union of Ontario Indians, Teme-Augama Anishnabai (Temagami First Nation), Wasauksing First Nation, Shawanaga First Nation, Sauguine Metis Council, Federation of Newfoundland Indians, 1992 to present.
Community Contributions
i) Internal: University level
Co-Chair, Aboriginal Council, July 1st, 2006 to March 2007.
Aboriginal Caucus, York University, 2005 to Present
ii) Internal: Faculty Level Committees
Academic Petitions and Appeals Committee, Atkinson Faculty, 2004 to 2007
Merit Pay Committee, Atkinson Faculty, 2005-2006
Indigenous Studies Graduate Program Proposal Committee
iii) Internal: School/Department level
Curriculum Committee, SAL, 2004-2006
Canadian Studies Co-ordinator, 2005 to Present
Chair, Search Committee, Modern European History, 2005-2006
Member, Search Committee, Applied Media and Cultural Studies, 2005-2006
Public History Program Development, Special Committee, 2006-7.
iv) External/community service
Member, Native Canadian Centre of Toronto; Advisory Board, Toronto Native Community History Project, 1997 to Present
The Champlain Society
Member of Council, 1979-2000
Chair, Special Events Committee, 1996-2000
Co-ordinator, The Champlain Society Symposia,
Documenting Aboriginal History in Ontario, Bkejwanong, Walpole Island First Nation, September 23, 1994
"Aboriginal and Non-Aboriginal Histories: Parallel Paths and Convergences?", University of Toronto, May 16, 1998
Member, Publications Committee, 1999-2000
Friends of the Archives of Ontario, 1998-1999
Founding Member and Secretary of the Steering Committee
Co-Editor of The Friends Newsletter, Heritage/Legacy, 1998 to 2000
First Vice-President, Board of the Friends of the Archives of Ontario
Acting Secretary, 1999
Recording Secretary, 1999-2000
Advisor on Land and Treaty Rights and Governance issues, various First Nations and other Aboriginal organizations in Ontario and Newfoundland, 1992 to Present:
Mohawks of Akwesasne
Algonquins of Golden Lake
Thessalon First Nation
Union of Ontario Indians
Teme-Augama Anishnabai (Temagami First Nation)
Wasauksing (Parry Island) First Nation
Shawanaga First Nation
Sauguine Metis Council
Nin.Da.Waab.Jig, (Walpole Island Heritage Centre) Walpole Island First Nation Federation of Newfoundland Indians (Historical Expert on the Status litigation case)
Research Interests
Awards
Current Research Projects
-
Project Type:
Funded
Funders:
Junior Faculty Fund (York University)
-
Project Type:
Funded
Funders:
Minor Research Grant
-
Project Type:
Funded
Funders:
Strategic Research - SSHRC
All Publications
'A Brief History of the Denial of Indigenous Rights in Canada.' A History of Human Rights in Canada. Ed. Janet Miron. Toronto: Scholarly Publishing, 2009. 99-115.
''We are sorry'.' Canada’s First Nations, A History of Founding Peoples from Earliest Times. 4th Ed. Oxford University Press, 2009. 427-57.
with Olive Patricia Dickason. 'Epilogue.' Canada’s First Nations, A History of Founding Peoples from Earliest Times. 4th Ed. Oxford University Press, 2009. 458-62.
with Ute Lischke. 'Introduction to Sacred Landscapes.' Sacred Landscapes. Ed. Rick Riewe and Jill Oakes. Winnipeg: Aboriginal Issues Press, 2009. vii-viii.
'The truth about stories is that’s all we are”: Thomas King’s Storytelling and Humour as Healing.' Sacred Landscapes. Ed. Rick Riewe and Jill Oakes. Winnipeg: Aboriginal Issues Press, 2009. 65-73.
'Métis Identities in Louise Erdrich’s The Painted Drum (2004).' Sacred Landscapes. Ed. Rick Riewe and Jill Oakes. Winnipeg: Aboriginal Issues Press, 2009. 155-69.
'Plenty of Food and No Government Agents': Perspectives on the Spirit World, Death and Dying in Louise Erdrich’s Writings.' Studies in the Literary Achievement of Louise Erdrich, Native American Writer: Fifteen Critical Essays. Ed. Brajesh Sawhney. UK: The Edwin Mellen Press, 2008. 95-114.
''A Singular Joy', The Memorable Mindscape of Kit Tatro.' Studies in the Literary Achievement of Louise Erdrich, Native American Writer: Fifteen Critical Essays. Ed. Brajesh Sawhney. UK: The Edwin Mellen Press, March 2008. 256-60.
''Those freebooters would shoot me like a dog': American Terrorists and Homeland Security in the Journals of Ezhaaswe (William A. Elias (1856-1929)).' Lines Drawn upon the Water, First Nations and the Great Lakes Borders and Borderlands. Ed. Karl S. Hele. Waterloo: WLU Press, 2008. 115-29.
''Canada, Indian policies'; 'Canoes'; 'Erdrich, Louise (Turtle Mountain Chippewa)'; 'Hudson's Bay Company'.' Encyclopedia of American Indian History. ABC Clio, 2007.
with Ute Lischke. ''Preface', and 'We are still here: Introduction'.' The Long Journey of Canada’s Forgotten People: Metis Identities and Family Histories. Waterloo: WLU Press, 2007. 1-9.
'A Long Journey: Spirit Memory and Métis Identities.' The Long Journey of Canada’s Forgotten People: Metis Identities and Family Histories. Waterloo: WLU Press, 2007. 21-37.
'The Mi’kmaq Nation of Newfoundland and Section 35 of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms.' Aboriginal Connections to Race, Environment and Traditions. Ed. Rick Riewe and Jill Oakes. Winnipeg: Aboriginal Issues Press, 2006. 27-35.
'Following Up on Delgamuukw: Mi'kmaq Oral Traditions and Nicolas Denys (1598-1688).' Aboriginal Connections to Race, Environment and Traditions. Ed. Rick Riewe and Jill Oakes. Winnipeg: Aboriginal Issues Press, 2006. 47-56.
'Nature in the Life and Autobiographical Writings of Louise Erdrich.' Aboriginal Connections to Race, Environment and Traditions. Ed. Rick Riewe and Jill Oakes. Winnipeg: Aboriginal Issues Press, 2006. 71-79.
with Ute Lischke. 'DEFA Indian Films.' Encyclopedia of German-American Relations. Ed. Thomas Adam. ABC Clio, 2005.
'Hiding in Plane View: Aboriginal Identities and a Fur Trade Company Family through Seven Generations.' Hidden in Plain Sight, Contributions of Aboriginal Peoples to Canadian Identity and Culture. Ed. David R. Newhouse, Cora J. Voyageur and Dan Beavon. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2005. 295-308.
'Canada’s Constitution and Metis Family History.' Historic Saugeen and Its Metis People. Southampton: Sauguine Metis Council, 2005. 23-39.
'HBC (Here Before the Company): The Saguingue Metis Community, Family History and Metis Trade and Trading.' Historic Saugeen and Its Metis People. Southampton: Sauguine Metis Council, 2005. 11-16.
'The Significance of Metis Family History in Canada’s History.' Historic Saugeen and Its Metis People. Southampton: Sauguine Metis Council, 2005. 40-44.
'Storytelling and Transformative Spaces in Louise Erdrich’s The Blue Jay’s Dance, The Birchbark House, and The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse.' Interdisciplinary and Cross-Cultural Narratives in North America. Ed. Mark Anderson and Irene Blayer. New York: Peter Lang, 2005. 73-88.
''Preface', and 'Introduction'.' Walking a Tightrope: Aboriginal People and their Representations. Ed. David McNab and Ute Lischke. Waterloo: WLU Press, 2005. xvii-xix; 1-18.
with Ute Lischke. 'Show me the money: Representations of Aboriginal People in East German Indian Films in the late Twentieth Century.' Walking a Tightrope: Aboriginal People and their Representations. Ed. David McNab and Ute Lischke. Waterloo: WLU Press, 2005. 287-308
'Borders of Water and Fire: Islands as Sacred Places and as Meeting Grounds.' Aboriginal Cultural Landscapes. Ed. Jill Oakes and Rick Riewe. Winnipeg: Aboriginal Issues Press, 2004. 35-46
''A Lurid Dash of Colour': Powassan’s Drum and Canada’s Mission, the Reverend William and Duncan Campbell Scott.' Aboriginal Cultural Landscapes. Ed. Jill Oakes and Rick Riewe. Winnipeg: Aboriginal Issues Press, 2004. 258-71.
'Of Bears and Birds: The Concept of History in Erdrich’s Autobiographical Writings.' Approaches to Teaching the Works of Louise Erdrich. New York: Modern Language Association, 2004. 32-41.
with Ute Lischke and Bruce W. Hodgins. 'Preface.' Blockades and Resistance: Studies in Actions of Peace and the Temagami Blockades of 1988-89. Ed. David McNab, Bruce W. Hodgins and Ute Lischke. Waterloo: WLU Press, 2003. ix-xi.
with Ute Lischke. 'Actions of Peace: Introduction.' Blockades and Resistance: Studies in Actions of Peace and the Temagami Blockades of 1988-89. Ed. David McNab, Bruce W. Hodgins and Ute Lischke. Waterloo: WLU Press, 2003. 1-9.
'Remembering an Intellectual Wilderness: A Captivity Narrative at Queen's Park in 1988-89.' Blockades and Resistance: Studies in Actions of Peace and the Temagami Blockades of 1988-89. Ed. David McNab, Bruce W. Hodgins and Ute Lischke. Waterloo: WLU Press, 2003. 31-53.
''Time is a Fish': The Spirit of Nanapush and the Power of Transformation in the Stories of Louise Erdrich.' (Ad)dressing Our Words: Aboriginal Perspectives on Aboriginal Literature. Ed. Armand Garnet Ruffo. Penticton, B.C.:Theytus Press, 2001. 181-204.
with Bruce Hodgins and S. Dale Standen. ''Black with Canoes': Aboriginal Resistance and the Canoe: Diplomacy, Trade and Warfare in the Meeting Grounds of Northeastern North America, 1600-1820.' Technology, Disease and Colonial Conquests, Sixteenth to Eighteenth Centuries. Essays Reappraising the Guns and Germs Theories. Ed. George Raudzens. Amsterdam: Brill International, 2001. 237-92.
''The land was to remain ours': The St. Anne Island Treaty of 1796 and Aboriginal Title and Rights in the Twenty-first Century.' Native American Speakers of the Eastern Woodlands: Selected Speeches and Critical Analyses. Ed. Barbara Alice Mann. New York: Greenwood Press, 2001. 229-50.
'The Spirit of Delgamuukw and Aboriginal Oral Traditions in Ontario.' Beyond the Nass Valley: National Implications of the Supreme Court’s Delgamuukw Decision. Ed. Owen Lippert. Vancouver: The Fraser Institute, 2000. 273-83.
''Introduction', and 'Retrospect'.' Earth, Water, Air and Fire: Studies in Canadian Ethnohistory. Ed. Nin.Da.Waab.Jig. Waterloo: WLU Press, 1998. 1-6; 325-327.
''Water is Her Lifeblood': The Waters of Bkejwanong and the Treaty-Making Process.' Earth, Water, Air and Fire: Studies in Canadian Ethnohistory. Ed. Nin.Da.Waab.Jig. Waterloo: WLU Press, 1998. 35-63.
'Making a Circle of Time: The Treaty-Making Process and Aboriginal Land Rights in Ontario.' Co-existence? Studies in Ontario-First Nation Relations, Peterborough: Frost Centre for Canadian Heritage and Development Studies. Trent University, 1992. 27-49.
'Aboriginal Land Claims in Ontario.' Aboriginal Land Claims in Canada, A Regional Perspective. Ed. Kenneth Coates, Toronto: Copp Clark Pitman, 1992. 73-100.
''Principally Rocks and Burnt Lands' Crown Reserves and the Tragedy of the Sturgeon Lake First Nation.' Aboriginal Resource Use in Canada. Ed. Kerry Abel and Jean Friesen. Winnipeg: University of Manitoba Press, 1991. 157-172.
''Chief Ponekeosh' (?-1891).' Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Vol. XII. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1990. 854-855.
'Nicolas Chatelain (c.1795-1892).' Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Vol. XII. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1990. 187-188.
'The Lac la Croix Indian Band Land Claim to Sturgeon Lake Indian Reserve #24C in Quetico Provincial Park.' Historical Research Report Series, Report No. 2, Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources. Toronto: Queen's Printer for Ontario, 1986. 21.
'George Martin (1767-1853).' Dictionary of Canadian Biography. Vol. VIII. Toronto: University of Toronto Press 1985. 619-21.
'The Administration of Treaty #3: The Location of the Boundaries of Treaty #3 Indian Reserves in Ontario, 1873-1915.' As Long as the Sun Shines and Water Flows, A Reader in Canadian Native Studies. Vancouver: UBC Press, 1983. 145-57.
No Place for Fairness: Indigenous Land Rights and Policy in the Bear Island Case and Beyond. Montreal and Kingston: McGill-Queens University Press, 2009.
with Olive Patricia Dickason. Canada’s First Nations, A History of Founding Peoples from Earliest Times. 4th Ed. Toronto: Oxford University Press, 2009.
The Long Journey of Canada’s Forgotten People: Studies in Métis History and Identities. Ed. David McNab and Ute Lischke. Waterloo: WLU Press, 2007.
Walking a Tightrope: Aboriginal People and their Representations. Ed. David McNab and Ute Lischke. Waterloo: WLU Press, 2005.
Blockades and Resistance: Studies in Actions of Peace and the Temagami Blockades of 1988-89. Ed. David McNab, Bruce W. Hodgins and Ute Lischke. Waterloo: WLU Press, 2003.
Circles of Time: Aboriginal Land Rights and Resistance in Ontario. Waterloo: WLU Press, 1999.
Earth, Water, Air and Fire: Studies in Canadian Ethnohistory. Ed. David McNab. Waterloo: WLU Press, 1998.
Satisfying Hunger: The Many Lives of St. Bartholomew. Ed. David McNab. Toronto, Ontario: St. Bartholomew's Church, 1998.
Gin Das Winan Documenting Aboriginal History in Ontario. Ed. David McNab and S. Dale Standen. Toronto: The Champlain Society, 1996.
'The Significance of Place and Indigenous Knowledge in Louise Erdrich’s Books and Islands in Ojibwe Country (2003).' European Journal of American Culture 25.3 (2006): 205-19.
with Ute Lischke. 'Storytelling and cultural identity: Louise Erdrich’s exploration of the German/American connection in The Master Butchers Singing Club.' European Journal of American Culture 25.3 (2006): 189-203.
'Sovereignty, Treaties, and Trade in the Bkejwanong Territory.' Journal of Aboriginal Economic Development (Fall 2003).
'The Perfect Disguise: Frank Speck's Pilgrimage to Ktaqamkuk-the Place of Fog-in 1914.' The American Review of Canadian Studies, (Spring-Summer 2001): 85-104.
'Of Beads and a Crystal Vase, Michael Dorris’ The Broken Cord and Cloud Chamber.' West Virginia University, Philological Papers 47 (2000): 109-119.
'Indigenous Voices, Indigenous Histories Part IV - Gathering Gum from the Silver Pine: A Cree Woman’s Dream and the Battle of Belly River Crossing of October, 1870.' Saskatchewan History 52.2 (Fall 2000): 15-27.
'The Mi'kmaq of Ktaqamkuk, Sylvester Joe and William Epps Cormack: Some Uses of Exploration Literature as History and as Propaganda.' West Virginia University, Philological Papers 44 (1999): 58-64.
'Who is on trial? Teme-Augama Anishnabai Land Rights and George Ironside, Junior: Re-considering Oral Tradition.' The Canadian Journal of Native Studies 18. 1 (1998): 117-34.
''The Promise That He Gave To My Grand Father was Very Sweet': The Gun Shot Treaty of 1792 at the Bay of Quinte.' The Canadian Journal of Native Studies 16.2 (1996): 293-314.
'Treaties and an Official Use of History.' The Canadian Journal of Native Studies XIII.1 (1993): 139-43.
'Making a Circle of Time: The Treaty-Making Process and "The Professionalization of Historical Research in the Ontario Department of Crown Lands and its Successors".' The Public Historian 8.4 (Fall 1986): 27-45.
'Some Reflections on the Life and Hard Times of an Indian Land Claims Researcher.' The Canadian Journal of Native Studies 6.1 (1986): 129-39.
'Metis Participation in the Treaty-Making Process in Ontario: A Reconnaissance.' Native Studies Review 1.2 (1985): 57-79.
'The Walpole Island Indian Band and the Continuity of Indian Claims: An Historical Perspective.' Nin.Da.Waab.Jig., Occasional Papers (1985): 29.
'Hearty Co-operation and Efficient Aid.' The Canadian Journal of Native Studies III.1 (1983): 131-149.
'Herman Merivale and Colonial Office Indian Policy in the Mid-Nineteenth Century.' The Canadian Journal of Native Studies 1.2 (1981). 277-93.
'The Colonial Office and the Prairies in the Mid-Nineteenth Century.' Prairie Forum 3.1 (Fall 1978): 21-38.
'Herman Merivale and the Native Question, 1837-1861.' Albion 9.4 (Winter 1977): 359-384.
with Ute Lischke. 'Petition from the Backwoods.' The Beaver 308.1 (Summer 1977): 52-57.
'Peter McArthur and Canadian Nationalism.' Ontario History LXIV.1 (March 1972): 1-10.
with Paul-Emile McNab. 'Are We Sorry?: Some Reflections on Canadian Indigenous Policies in the early 21st Century.' Proceedings of the Aboriginal Policy and Research Conference. Ottawa. 2010.
with Paul-Emile McNab. 'HISTORICAL REPORT ON THE METIS OF SAUGEEN AND INVERHURON AND INVERHURON PROVINCIAL PARK.' Friends of Inverhuron. January 20th, 2009.
Ipperwash Inquiry on the Natural Resource Regulatory Regime. Toronto, Ontario. March 15th, 2005.
''Back to a Time when only the Stones Howled': Louise Erdrich as an International Writer.' Proceedings of the Sixth Annual Red River Conference on World Literature and Film-On-Line. North Dakota State University, Fargo, North Dakota. 27-30 April, 2003.
'The Spirit of the Canadas: The Kennedys, A Fur Trade Company Family through Seven Generations.' Aboriginal People and The Fur Trade, Proceedings of the Eighth North American Fur Trade Conference. Ed. Louise Johnston. Akwesasne, Akwesasne Council. 2001. 114-121.
