J. W. Dafoe Foundation

Donald B. Smith has won the 2022 John Wesley Dafoe Book Prize for Seen but Not Seen: Influential Canadians and the First Nations from the 1840s to Today published by the University of Toronto Press (UTP).

Donald B. Smith’s historical work is the unanimous choice of this year’s jury. Jury Chair Dr. Eugene Walz describes the winning book this way: “A sparkling capstone to a lifetime of impressive historical work, Donald B. Smith’s timely and accessible book Seen but Not Seen examines the views of sixteen Canadian influencers – from Sir John A. Macdonald, Duncan Campbell Scott, Crowfoot and Long Lance to Emily Carr, Pauline Johnson and Harold Cardinal – to reveal the range of attitudes about First Nations people in Canada.”

The Prize will be formally awarded at the J.W. Dafoe Foundation’s Book Prize Event this fall in Winnipeg. The J.W. Dafoe Foundation thanks this year’s dedicated jury members, Dr. Eugene Walz, Ms. Mary Agnes Welch, and Dr. Emőke Szathmáry, for their service to the J.W. Dafoe Foundation and their selection of Seen but Not Seen for the 2022 J.W. Dafoe Book Prize.

The J.W. Dafoe Book Prize memorializes John Wesley Dafoe, one of the most significant Canadian newspaper editors of the 20th century. During his tenure at the Manitoba Free Press, later renamed the Winnipeg Free Press, from 1901-1944, Dafoe was known for his advocacy of western development, free trade, national independence, and the British Commonwealth. The Prize is one of the richest book awards in Canada for excellence in non-fiction, with a focus on major subjects involving Canada, the West, and Canadians, as well as the Canadian nation in international affairs.

See the full release with details here.