On Being Here to Stay

"Michael Asch has written a brilliant account of Canada's relationship with Aboriginal peoples. Drawing from Aboriginal and Western political thought, he charts a clear and challenging course to a relationship based on mutual consent rather than the might of the settler majority. This is a must-read for Canadians - Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal - who wish to understand what went wrong with the relationship and how to set it right." -- Peter H. Russell, University Professor Emeritus, Department of Political Science, University of Toronto "On Being Here To Stay is an interesting, clear, heartfelt argument for re-establishing the relationship between the Aboriginal peoples of Canada and the Canadian state around recognizing and honouring the terms of the treaties that create the grounds on which non-native people may live here. This book reflects a lifetime of thought by a major scholar. It has voice. It has soul." -- Bruce G. Miller, Department of Anthropology, University of British Columbia "In this timely book, Michael Asch deftly untangles the legal morass that has clouded Indigenous-settler relationships and provides avenues of hope for the redress and rebalancing of current injustices and inequality. On Being Here to Stay will appeal to anyone interested in understanding and reconciling the relationships between Indigenous nations and settler society." -- Jane McMillan, Canada Research Chair for Indigenous Peoples and Sustainable Communities, Department of Anthropology, St Francis Xavier University

In On Being Here to Stay, Asch retells the story of Canada with a focus on the relationship between First Nations and settlers.

What, other than numbers and power, justifies Canada’s assertion of sovereignty and jurisdiction over the country’s vast territory? Why should Canada’s original inhabitants have to ask for rights to what was their land when non-Aboriginal people first arrived? The question lurks behind every court judgment on Indigenous rights, every demand that treaty obligations be fulfilled, and every land-claims negotiation.

Addressing these questions has occupied anthropologist Michael Asch for nearly thirty years. In On Being Here to Stay, Asch retells the story of Canada with a focus on the relationship between First Nations and settlers.

Asch proposes a way forward based on respecting the “spirit and intent” of treaties negotiated at the time of Confederation, through which, he argues, First Nations and settlers can establish an ethical way for both communities to be here to stay.