Under one tent : a history of Bahá’ís in Northern Canada
- Author(s)
- Cole, Leslie
- Publisher
- Borealis Press
- Place
- Ottawa, Canada
- Year
- 2026
Description
Under One Tent: the history of Bahá’ís in Northern Canada by Leslie Cole is the story of the introduction and expansion of the Bahá’í Faith in Northern Canada (Yukon, Northwest Territories and later, Nunavut) focusing on the 1950s to 2000. This book describes the Yukon First Nations’ rapid acceptance of Bahá’u’lláh’s Revelation, recognizing in ‘Abdu’l Bahá’s teaching that all would be gathered under one tent an echo of their own traditions. These early Bahá’ís took on leadership and teaching roles across the North. More than 100 members of one extended family became Bahá’ís in the Yukon before 1970. This is also a story of Inuit believers who risked ostracism from their families and travelled thousands of kilometres to share their Faith with other Inuit. Based on more than five years of archival research and 30 interviews with retired pioneers and early believers, the author writes of Indigenous visions and dreams of ‘Abdu’l Bahá, pioneer memories of hardship and humour, and provides an analysis of the crises and victories faced by believers in the North through the 1970s-1990s. This book is important for both northern and southern Bahá’ís to learn from the history of the Faith in Northern Canada, and to offer encouragement and inspiration to growing Bahá’í communities