About

The idea of creating an accessible publication about Aboriginal peoples first emerged in the mid-1990s. During this turbulent era in Québec, anti-Indigenous sentiment had reached unprecedented heights, particularly in the aftermath of the infamous Oka Crisis. Anger and frustration were pervasive in public discourse, providing fertile ground for the proliferation of numerous prejudices that took precedence over actual facts. As a proud Quebecer shaped by the Quiet Revolution, I was deeply troubled by the narratives surrounding First Nations and Inuit during this period and in the years that followed.

Revisiting untaught History

Just how much did we learn about the First Peoples in school? Until the 1970s, school textbooks in Québec painted a blatantly contemptuous picture of the Aboriginal nations that populated the Americas. And this wasn’t just high school textbooks; as early as grade 3, students were confronted with horrifying images depicting the fate of the Canadian Martyrs. While these negative depictions were eventually removed from school textbooks and curricula, unfortunately, so was virtually all mention of Aboriginal peoples after the British Conquest of 1760. Thus, until the curriculum reform in 2006, successive generations were left with a significant void in their understanding of the First Peoples and their history.

As Indigenous peoples vanished from the historical narrative, they also disappeared from the collective imagination of Quebecers. What transpired in Aboriginal reality between 1760 and today remained largely unknown. And without historical reference points, it’s impossible to grasp the current challenges faced by First Nations and Inuit.

The mythesetrealites.ca website, along with the printed publication, offers precisely these essential reference points for understanding the contemporary reality of Indigenous peoples. It also points to a future that is full of hope, as you’ll see—a future in which Québec can take pride in its relationships with Aboriginal peoples.

Turning everyday work into a meaningful contribution

During my 33 years as an education officer with the Commission des droits de la personne et des droits de la jeunesse du Québec (CDPDJ), combatting prejudices and preventing discrimination was at the heart of my work. In 1998, the CDPDJ entered into a cooperative agreement with the Institut Tshakapesh (formerly the Institut Culturel et Éducatif Montagnais) to implement a program to promote Aboriginal awareness in Québec schools. The publication Aboriginal Peoples: Fact and Fiction was created in support of this program, themed, “Under the Shaputuan: A meeting of Quebecers and Aboriginal Peoples”. Initially intended for teachers in schools visited by the program’s touring team, the publication quickly gained widespread success in various spheres across Québec. It has since become a valuable reference and educational tool for the wider public.

Pierre Lepage
Anthropologist and author
Aboriginal Peoples: Fact and Fiction

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At a time marked by an emerging movement of reconciliation between the past and present of Aboriginal peoples, Fact and Fiction seeks to break down the walls of prejudice and create a space for dialogue and openness and, in particular, for understanding this history that has played a fundamental role in the realities facing our peoples today in Québec and across North America. This publication focuses in large part on the legacy of our ancestors and on the many aspects of our traditional knowledge and know-how that western societies drew on in first settling and then developing our unceded ancestral lands. For more than twenty years, through its author and its experienced and committed collaborators, Fact and Fiction has sought to explain why and how to make a difference today in order to build bridges and put intolerance, ignorance, racism, discrimination and xenophobia behind us.

There is still much work to be done, but it is crucial and highly stimulating work, because we are building a better future through education and awareness. Fact and Fiction, a vital publication, indicates a way forward and proposes avenues for solutions, but it is not enough on its own. Those who read it must be inspired to engage, speak out and take concrete action.

Fact and Fiction will be useful in helping bring us closer together in schools and in political, legal, social and commercial institutions – everywhere the lives of our peoples intersect – as it has been doing for years already.  

We are grateful to everyone who has taken part in the writing and dissemination of this publication, which has become a reference and which sows a seed of hope and tolerance for humanity today.