Seen but Not Seen

"Seen but Not Seen is a meticulously-researched and beautifully written documentary of the great contradiction of our national life."

-- Holly Doan * Blacklock's Reporter *
"The book is excellent, balanced and illuminating. While it is factually very rich, as well as researched and referenced, it is very readable and accessible." -- Chris Stoate * Oakville News *

"To see Indigenous peoples, we must also see ourselves. With this well-written, engrossing, and often sobering book, Smith helps us do some of that work, with all the responsibilities it implies."

-- Elaine Coburn * Literary Review of Canada *

"If more educators and politicians had historically approached this subject area with the same deference and respect, there may not have ever been a need for a century of periodic national commissions of inquiry into the sad state of relations between Canadians and First peoples."

-- Maurice Switzer * Anishinabek News *

"Seen But Not Seen is an eminent historian's portrait gallery: faces of the long century in which Canada was constituted, treaties made, the West settled, residential schools established, and Indigenous peoples shunted to the margins of public awareness."

-- Roger Epp, University of Alberta * Alberta Views *

"The culmination of Smith's illustrious career writing on Canadian history, Seen but Not Seen vivifies that history with lively biographies of the politicians who made Canadian Indian policies, First Nations activists, scholars, and supporters of Indian rights."

-- A. B. Kehoe, Marquette University * CHOICE *

"There is something here for everyone: specialists will find accounts of some ‘influencers’ who are little-known today, while readers new to the field will find a balanced telling of some important stories. At a time when emotions are running high and dubious claims are being made about Canadian history, Donald Smith is a voice of informed reason. Seen but Not Seen deserves to be widely read and deeply savoured."

-- Kerry Abel, Carleton University * Prairie History *

"Donald B. Smith, emeritus professor of history at the University of Calgary, provides fascinating biographical portraits of sixteen non-Indigenous individuals from different professions and examines how each influenced Canadian perceptions of Indigenous peoples. Well known as the author of previous biographies of Mississauga Chief Peter Jones and the mysterious Buffalo Child Long Lance, Smith draws on knowledge gained in a half-century of archival research and field work to provide readers of Seen but Not Seen with the reasons for Ottawa’s many failures in regard to Indigenous peoples. Although geared for Canadian scholars, historians of Native Americans in the United States will find Smith’s excellent work quite illuminating, as much has parallels south of the international boundary line."

-- Laurence M. Hauptman, State University of New York * American Indian Culture & Research Journal *

"While most studies in the field evaluate Indigenous policy through laws and the communities impacted by them, Smith focuses on the lawmakers and activists themselves. Shifting the focus from the nation state, governmental departments, and police bureaus to individuals may inspire new conversations around settler accountability for historic wrongdoings."

-- Emma Scott and Brittany Luby * Canadian Historical Review *

"Seen but Not Seen represents an outstanding culmination of a lifetime of work of one of the first Canadian historians to enter the field of Indigenous history."

-- Kevin Brushett * Ontario History *

"Seen but Not Seen: Influential Canadians and the First Nations from the 1840s toToday offers readers unparalleled expertise on Canadian indigeneity across two centuries."

-- Jan Noel, University of Toronto * Ethnohistory *

"With Seen but Not Seen, Smith has taken a voluminous amount of research and distilled it into a readable, balanced account that’s packed with fascinating detail. His evident passion for the topic shines through."

* Canada’s History

• Winner of 2022 J.W. Dafoe Book Prize 2022 (Canada)
• Short-listed for Wilson Institute for Canadian History Book Award 2022 (Canada)