A Metaphoric Mind

Dr. Joseph Couture (1930–2007), known affectionately as"Dr. Joe," stood at the centre of some of the greatestpolitical, social, and intellectual struggles of Aboriginal peoples incontemporary Canada. A respected thinker and writer, as well as agifted orator, he easily walked two paths, as a respected Elder andtraditional healer and as an educational psychologist, one of the firstAboriginal people in Canada to receive a PhD. His work challenged andtransformed long-held views of Canada's Indigenous peoples, and hisvision and leadership gave direction to many of the current fields ofAboriginal scholarship. His influence extended into numerousareas—education, addictions and mental health treatment,community development, restorative justice, and federal correctionalprogramming for Aboriginal peoples.

With a foreword by Lewis Cardinal, A MetaphoricMind brings together for the first time key works selected fromamong Dr. Joe's writings, published and unpublished. Spanningnearly thirty years, the essays invite us to share in histransformative legacy through a series of encounters, with Aboriginalspirituality and ancestral ways of knowing, with Elders and theirteachings, with education and its role in politicization,self-determination, and social change, and with the restorative processand the meaning of Native healing.