Edward Ahenakew’s Representation of Plains Cree Culture:
Collaborations, Distractions, and Apprehensions

David R. Miller
Department of Indigenous Studies
First Nations University of Canada

8 April 2004

In assessing the authenticity of texts authored by non-western writers, the degree to which an author’s voice is recognized rests upon the contexts in which the writer produces his contributions. The Plains Cree writer and Anglican missionary priest Edward Ahenakew (1885-1961) wrote periodically about Cree culture and history, and is best known for the volume of his collected writings, Voices of the Plains Cree, which was published posthumously in 1973. However, two editors, Paul Wallace and Ruth Buck, each in their own way became his collaborators. By examining in detail the relationship of Edward Ahenakew with Paul Wallace, the degree to which this association resulted in the production and initial publication of Ahenakew’s writings about Plains Cree culture is revealed. Ahenakew’s authorship is unquestioned, but the text that survives in archives and publications is very different from text that left the hand of Ahenakew. A comparison of the two texts demonstrates the challenges Ahenakew faced as a writer and the nature of his dependence upon collaboration.