The red man's on the warpath : the image of the "Indian" and the Second World War

Summary: "During the Second World War, thousands of First Nations people joined in the national crusade to defend freedom and democracy. High rates of Native enlistment and public demonstrations of patriotism encouraged Canadians to re-examine the roles and status of First Nations people in Canadian society. The Red Man's on the Warpath explores how wartime symbolism and imagery propelled these issues onto the national agenda." "For most English Canadians, the word "Indian" conjured up a complex framework of visual imagery, stereotypes, and assumptions that enabled them to explain the place of First Nations people in the national story. Sheffield examines how First Nations people were discussed in both the administrative realm - that is, by members of the Indian Affairs Branch and other federal departments - and the public realm, where images of the "Indian" were constructed and transformed by editorials, news stories, motion pictures, radio broadcasts, and literary pieces. The book draws upon a remarkable array of sources to track English Canadians' perceptions of First Nations people before, during, and immediately after the Second World War."--Jacket.