Includes bibliographical references and index.

Acknowledgments -- Abbreviations -- Introduction: dreams, visions, and plans - 1. Self-government: the political environment - 2. The challenge of community healing - 3. Vision and illusion: health-care planning and community control - 4. Mental health: the failure of government practice - 5. Restoring justice: conflict with the law - 6. Visions of community healing - 7. The nature of change: cleaning the caribou -- Notes -- Bibliogrpahy -- Index.

"The book analyses key areas such as health care and the judicial and political system where Aboriginal peoples are engaged in practical everyday struggles to improve their communities. Central to these Aboriginal approaches to change is the need for holistic solutions to complex social problems. The search for these solutions is set against the broader political environment, which includes Euro-Canadian assumptions, government, policy, and post-colonial practices. The book also addresses the nature of applied social scientific research in Aboriginal communities and the need for collaborative, culturally appropriate research methods."--summary, p. i.