Maps and Dreams Indians and the British Columbia Frontier

Maps and Dreams is an account of Hugh Brody's eighteen-month journey living with and studying the Beaver Indians, a small group of Athabascan forest hunters in the Canadian sub-Arctic region of northeastern British Columbia. The book resulted from Brody's work on a research team studying the potential effects of the proposed Alaska Highway natural gas pipeline on the native economy and lifestyle. The narrative alternates between fascinating descriptions of the Indians' daily life, including moose hunts, beaver trapping, and their dreams of hunting trails, and a perceptive commentary that retraces the history of the ever-expanding white frontier. The central theme is the collision between two realities: the 'rapacious dreams and plans of the white man' (represented by corporate energy speculation and boomtowns) and the Indian maps, which were created to demonstrate the long-established and viable hunting and trapping economy of a people intent on maintaining their traditional way of life.

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