Tangled webs of history : Indians and the law in Canada's Pacific Coast fisheries / Dianne Newell.

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Fishing rights are one of the major areas of dispute for aboriginals in Canada today. Dianne Newell explores this controversial issue and looks at the ways government regulatory policy and the law have affected Indian participation in the Pacific Coast fisheries.

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Beginning with a close look at aboriginal salmon fishing on Canada's Northwest Coast, Newell then divides his history into five distinct periods: the invention of the fishery (1871-88); the capturing of Indian labor (1889-1918); the boom years, the Depression, and WW II (1919-45); the postwar transformation of the fishing industry (1946-68); and the contemporary scene (1969-93). In 1871, when the first salmon cannery was opened on the Canadian Northwest Coast, sockeye was the dominant catch and gillnetting the dominant fishing technique. Indians were encouraged to carry on their traditional fisheries; they were in fact the backbone of the industry, the laborers in the salmon communities. By the 1880s, however, the fishing industry had passed into white hands and was controlled by the state. Early in the 20th century there was great growth in salmon canning. Purse seining and trolling became common fishing techniques, and more regulations were placed on Indian fishing. Changing technology, improvements in the fishing fleets, hydroelectric ventures, and depletion of the salmon stocks all helped to transform the fishing industry in the postwar period. Indian participation declined. Newell points out that "The central theme in the Indian agenda is a demand for a just accomodation ...." The study is carefully researched and written and the book contains well-made maps and appropriate photographs. Upper-division undergraduates and above. D. Jacobson; Michigan State University