Description
Telling It to the Judge: Taking Native History to Court is part biography and part courtroom drama as historian Arthur recounts his years as an expert witness in the effort to obtain constitutional recognition of Aboriginal and treaty rights. Arthur Ray's extensive knowledge in the history of the fur trade and Aboriginal 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. Arthur J. Ray is professor emeritus of history at the University of British Columbia.