''All Our Relations: Finding the Path Forward'' is a 2018 book by

Anishinaabe The Anishinaabe (alternatively spelled Anishinabe, Anicinape, Nishnaabe, Neshnabé, Anishinaabeg, Anishinabek, Aanishnaabe) are a group of culturally related Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous peoples in the Great Lakes region of C ...

journalist

Tanya Talaga Tanya Talaga (b. 1970) is a Canadian journalist and author of Anishinaabe and Polish descent. She worked as a journalist at the ''Toronto Star'' for over twenty years, covering health, education, local issues, and investigations. She is also the ...

about the colonisation of

Indigenous peoples in Canada Indigenous peoples in Canada (also known as Aboriginals) are the Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous peoples within the boundaries of Canada. They comprise the First Nations in Canada, First Nations, Inuit, and Métis#Métis people in ...

and internationally.

Publication

''All Our Relations'' is written by journalist and author Tanya Talaga who has written for ''The Toronto Star'' and the ''

Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of more than 6 million in 2024, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it fall ...

.'' It follows Talaga's first book '' Seven Fallen Feathers.'' ''All Our Relations: Finding the Path Forward'' was also the title of a

Massey Lecture The Massey Lectures is an annual five-part series of lectures given in Canada by distinguished writers, thinkers, and scholars who explore important ideas and issues of contemporary interest. Created in 1961 in honour of Vincent Massey, a former ...

delivered by Talaga. The book has five chapters.

Synopsis

Building on work already shared in the author's 2017 book '' Seven Fallen Feathers'', ''All Our Relations'' documents the oppression of Indigenous people in Canada, as well as those in

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

the US The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, and Scandinavia. It notes the same pattern of colonisers separating Indigenous people from their traditional ways of living, their land, and their languages as part under the label of "civilizing" or "saving" them. It cites examples of the

Sixties Scoop The Sixties Scoop (), also known as The Scoop, was a period in which a series of policies were enacted in Canada that enabled child welfare authorities to take, or "scoop up," Indigenous children from their families and communities for placement ...

in Canada and the extermination of Indigenous peoples in Brazil as part of an endeavour to produce rubber in the 1950s. The book deals with the prevalence of suicide amongst Indigenous youth in Canada since the establishment of the

residential school system The Canadian Indian residential school system was a network of boarding schools for Indigenous peoples. The network was funded by the Canadian government's Department of Indian Affairs and administered by various Christian churches. The scho ...

in Canada and attributing the suicide prevalence to the

cultural genocide Cultural genocide or culturicide is a concept first described by Polish lawyer Raphael Lemkin in 1944, in the same book that coined the term ''genocide''. The destruction of culture was a central component in Lemkin's formulation of genocide ...

. The book also documents efforts to prevent suicide in

Nunavut Nunavut is the largest and northernmost Provinces and territories of Canada#Territories, territory of Canada. It was separated officially from the Northwest Territories on April 1, 1999, via the ''Nunavut Act'' and the Nunavut Land Claims Agr ...

, Seabird Island, and

Greenland Greenland is an autonomous territory in the Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark. It is by far the largest geographically of three constituent parts of the kingdom; the other two are metropolitan Denmark and the Faroe Islands. Citizens of Greenlan ...

Critical reception

Kamal Al-Solaylee Kamal Al-Solaylee (born 1964) is a Canadian journalist, who published his debut book, ''Intolerable: A Memoir of Extremes'', in 2012. He is currently director of the School of Journalism, Writing, and Media at Canada's University of British Colum ...

, writing in ''

Quill & Quire ''Quill & Quire'' is a Canadian magazine about the book and publishing industry. The magazine was launched in 1935 and has an average circulation of 5,000 copies per issue, with a publisher-claimed readership of 25,000. ''Quill & Quire'' reviews ...

'' praised Talaga for her ability to connect present and past events, demonstrating how Indigenous children today are living with the legacy of Canada's colonial history. ''

CBC Books CBC Arts () is the division of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation that creates and curates written articles, short documentaries, non-fiction series and interactive projects that represent the excellence of Canada's diverse artistic communitie ...

'' identified ''All Our Relations'' as one of the best Canadian nonfiction books of 2018. It was one of five books shortlisted for the British Academy’s Nayef Al-Rodhan Prize for Global Cultural Understanding. Politician and journalist Marci Ien described the book as her all time favourite.

References

{{Authority Control 2018 non-fiction books English-language non-fiction books Non-fiction books about racism Non-fiction books about genocide House of Anansi Press books Books by Tanya Talaga Massey Lectures books Canadian history books History books about Canada History books about Brazil History books about the United States