ABSTRACT
The oral narratives of Canada’s First Peoples are a living legacy, one that has been transmitted through the generations to the present day. During colonial times, this oral culture came under attack, through a whole host of degrading measures, including the appropriation of aboriginal land, the loss of political autonomy, the criminalization of religious practices and rituals, and the taking control of Aboriginal education, mainly through the residential school system. The colonial narrative of the “vanishing Indian” has since been revealed to be false, and in fact First Peoples have regained a significant measure of cultural and political autonomy, leading to a renaissance in indigenous arts and belief systems. In the late twentieth century, an exciting new hybrid form of Aboriginal writing brought together the techniques of oral, performance based culture with innovative modes of indigenous literary expression. Going from strength to strength, Aboriginal literature is now one of the most vibrant and successful art forms in Canada.
