A Way of Life That Does Not Exist: Canada and the Extinguishment of the Innu

Based on extensive historical research and fieldwork in Labrador over many years, A Way of Life that Does not Exist brings to light the scale of the tragedies that have overtaken the Innu, giving rise to international human rights concerns.

Colin Samson looks in detail at Innu relations with the Canadian state, developers, explorers, missionaries, educators, health-care professionals, and the justice system. Although the Innu have lost land and lives in the attempts to assimilate them, Samson demonstrates that many have also resisted the official state policy of ‘extinguishment’ through both political channels and by maintaining a resilient belief in their distinctiveness and their attachment to the land.

Colin Samson is a Professor of Sociology and the Director of American Studies at the University of Essex in Colchester, England. A Way of Life That Does Not Exist received the Pierre Savard Award by the International Council for Canadian Studies in 2006.