Seeing Red - by Mark Cronlund Anderson & Carmen L Robertson (Paperback)

About the Book

The first book to examine the role of Canada's newspapers in perpetuating the myth of Native inferiority.

Book Synopsis

The first book to examine the role of Canada's newspapers in perpetuating the myth of Native inferiority. Seeing Red is a groundbreaking study of how Canadian English-language newspapers have portrayed Aboriginal peoples from 1869 to the present day. It assesses a wide range of publications on topics that include the sale of Rupert's Land, the signing of Treaty 3, the North-West Rebellion and Louis Riel, the death of Pauline Johnson, the outing of Grey Owl, the discussions surrounding Bill C-31, the "Bended Elbow" standoff at Kenora, Ontario, and the Oka Crisis. The authors uncover overwhelming evidence that the colonial imaginary not only thrives, but dominates depictions of Aboriginal peoples in mainstream newspapers. The colonial constructs ingrained in the news media perpetuate an imagined Native inferiority that contributes significantly to the marginalization of Indigenous people in Canada. That such imagery persists to this day suggests strongly that our country lives in denial, failing to live up to its cultural mosaic boosterism.

Review Quotes

"A powerful analysis of [how the] media, infused with government influence, has served as providing a negative curriculum regarding Indigenous peoples."--Michelle Good "CBC Books"

"Seeing Red is a groundbreaking study of how Canadian English-language have portrayed Aboriginal peoples from 1869 to the present day."

--Christine Mc Farlane "Windspeaker"

"Seeing Red is a remarkable contribution to this country's political and social history. It sets a new standard for archival research and critical thinking that hopefully will shake the Canadian media establishment."

--Niigaanwewidam James Sinclair, "Winnipeg Free Press"

Inasmuch as Canadians still believe that they have been less racist, less colonialist than their American neighbors, or that they are less racist than they used to be, Seeing Red ought to challenge their complacency.

--Mary-Ellen Kelm, Simon Fraser University "Americal Historical Review"

"A wonderfully dense and rich historical work that situates itself equally amongst journalism history, colonial histories in the Americas, and scholarship on representations of minorities and race in Canadian media.--Candis Callison "Canadian Literature"

"In this intensely provocative book, University of Regina professors Anderson and Robertson contend that newspapers have played a central role in the Canadian colonial project through their representation of Aboriginal peoples over the past 140 years."--Timothy Foran "Great Plains Quarterly"

"Mark Cronlund Anderson and Carmen L. Robertson provide a comprehensive and engaging study of the portrayal of Aboriginal peoples in English-language Canadian newspapers. The authors effectively demonstrate how a set of colonial ideas and assumptions about Aboriginal peoples formed, were quickly naturalized, and have continued to occupy a central place in mainstream Canadian newspapers."--Matthew H. Tegelberg "Canadian Journal of Communication"

"This book is hard to read. The negative and condescending view of the press is in your face throughout the pages, sparking a fire in the belly."--Joyce Atcheson "Wataway News Online"

"In this important, unique study of the imagery of Aboriginal peoples in Canadian newspapers, 1869-2009, Anderson and Robertson effectively argue that colonialism has always thrived in Canada's press, continuing to the present. Highly recommended."--B.F.R. Edwards, Laurentian University "CHOICE Magazine"