Telling it to the judge : taking native history to court / Arthur J. Ray ; foreword by Jean Teillet ; introduction by Peter W. Hutchins.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 245-251) and index.

"In 1973, the Supreme Court's historic Calder decision on the Nisga'a community's title suit in British Columbia launched the Native rights litigation era in Canada. Legal claims have raised questions with significant historical implications, such as, "What treaty rights have survived in various parts of Canada? What is the scope of Aboriginal title? Who are the Métis, where do they live, and what is the nature of their culture and their rights?"

Arthur Ray's extensive knowledge in the history of the fur trade and Native economic history brought him into the courts as an expert witness in the mid-1980s. For over twenty-five years he has been a part of landmark litigation concerning treaty rights, Aboriginal title, and Métis rights. In Telling It to the Judge, Ray recalls lengthy courtroom battles over lines of evidence, historical interpretation, and philosophies of history, reflecting on the problems inherent in teaching history in the adversarial courtroom setting."--Pub. desc.

1. Taking fur trade history to court -- 2. Roles and reversals of the historical researcher -- 3. Defending traditional fisheries and harvesting rights -- 4. Interpretation of a treaty : share or surrender? -- 5. Witnessing on behalf of a forgotten people -- 6. Defining Metis communities and customs -- 7. Defending the aboriginal right to hunt -- 8. "To educate the court" -- App. 1. Delgamuukw exhibit No. 964 : district Reports of Hudson's Bay Company Chief Trader William Brown -- App. 2. Transcript of my PowerPoint presentation in Samson, 3 October 2000