Purich Publishing was founded by Don Purich and Karen Bolstad in 1992. Together, they built an influential and enduring list of books in Indigenous studies and law, and about Western Canadian issues. On December 1, 2015, Purich Publishing’s list was acquired by UBC Press, whose existing strengths in the fields of Indigenous studies and law made it an ideal home for Purich.
UBC Press will continue to build on this significant legacy under a new imprint, Purich Books. We are moving forward with a clear purpose: to publish impassioned and experienced voices that will ignite understanding and champion change. Informed by substantive knowledge and written with the vigor of direct engagement, these are the books, the authors, and the ideas that readers will come to know as essential.
First Nations Wildfire Evacuations
A Guide for Communities and External Agencies
Based on the experiences of evacuees from seven First Nations communities, this book offers guidance to Indigenous communities and external agencies on how to successfully plan for and carry out wildfire evacuations.
- Copyright year: 2021
Getting Wise about Getting Old
Debunking Myths about Aging
By exploring the social issues of aging and debunking the common myths, Getting Wise about Getting Old paints a more accurate and nuanced portrait of old age in our society.
- Copyright year: 2020
The Shoe Boy
A Trapline Memoir
The Shoe Boy is an evocative exploration of Indigenous identity and connection to the land, expressed in guise of a unique coming-of-age memoir set on a trapline in northern Quebec.
- Copyright year: 2020
Knowing the Past, Facing the Future
Indigenous Education in Canada
Knowing the Past, Facing the Future offers a sweeping account of Indigenous education in Canada, from the first treaty promises and the failure of government-run schools to illuminating discussions of what needs to change now to work toward reconciliation.
- Copyright year: 2020
A World without Martha
A Memoir of Sisters, Disability, and Difference
A World without Martha is an unflinching yet compassionate memoir of how one sister’s institutionalization for intellectual disability in the 1960s affected the other, sending them both on separate but parallel journeys shaped initially by society’s inability to accept difference and later by changing attitudes towards disability, identity, and inclusion.
- Copyright year: 2019
From Where I Stand
Rebuilding Indigenous Nations for a Stronger Canada
Jody Wilson-Raybould outlines in impassioned, inspiring prose the actions that must be taken by governments, Indigenous Nations, and all Canadians to achieve true reconciliation in this country.
- Copyright year: 2019
Caring for the Low German Mennonites
How Religious Beliefs and Practices Influence Health Care
A meticulous account and vivid illustration of the influence of religious beliefs on health practices, this book is essential reading for health care practitioners and students working with religiously diverse populations in Canada.
- Copyright year: 2018
Aboriginal Peoples and the Law
A Critical Introduction
This introduction to contemporary Aboriginal law lays the groundwork for any assessment of Canada’s claim to be a just society for Indigenous peoples.
- Copyright year: 2018
By Law or In Justice
The Indian Specific Claims Commission and the Struggle for Indigenous Justice
This insider’s account of the work of the Indian Specific Claims Commission takes an unflinching look at the development and implementation of Indigenous claims policy from 1991 to 2009.
- Copyright year: 2018
Practising Community-Based Participatory Research
Stories of Engagement, Empowerment, and Mobilization
Researchers engaged in community-based participatory research share stories about their work with marginalized communities, offering insights and imparting valuable lessons that will inspire others doing research with an eye to social justice.
- Copyright year: 2018
A Healthy Society
How a Focus on Health can Revive Canadian Democracy
A doctor’s eye view of the determinants of health and frontline stories of patient experiences.
- Copyright year: 2012
Postcolonial Sovereignty?
The Nisga’a Final Agreement
An extensive examination of the significant Nisga’a Final Agreement and the effect on Aboriginal and government relations.
- Copyright year: 2012
Beyond Blood
Rethinking Indigenous Identity
Despite what the criteria of the Indian Act states regarding Aboriginal status, Palmater argues that blood should not determine belonging.
- Copyright year: 2011
Making a Living
Place, Food, and Economy in an Inuit Community
A social and cultural examination of Indigenous societies as they strive to retain the values rooted in life on the land while adjusting to the realities of life in settlements.
- Copyright year: 2010
Realizing the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples
Triumph, Hope, and Action
A multidisciplinary collection analyzing the development of the Declaration, the triumph of its adoption, and the hopes and actions for its implementation.
- Copyright year: 2010
The Duty to Consult
New Relationships with Aboriginal Peoples
What does the duty to consult actually mean, and when it is required? The policies and decisions made regarding this duty are concisely outlined, along with important questions that remain.
- Copyright year: 2009
Negotiating the Numbered Treaties
An Intellectual and Political History of Alexander Morris
The story of the prairie treaties and Alexander Morris, a man who embraced a larger concept of nationhood and the role of First Nations in the expansion of Canada.
- Copyright year: 2009
Indigenous Diplomacy and the Rights of Peoples
Achieving UN Recognition
With a focus on international law, Henderson analyzes what the UN Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples means for Indigenous peoples around the world and for Canada.
- Copyright year: 2008
For Future Generations
Reconciling Gitxsan and Canadian Law
Dawn Mills passionately shows how reconciliation can be achieved between Canada’s First Nations and the various levels of government.
- Copyright year: 2008
Moving Toward Justice
Legal Traditions and Aboriginal Justice
Exploring constitutional and administrative policy changes that underscore the urgent need for Aboriginal justice reform.
- Copyright year: 2008