Jacques Maurais is a graduate of Laval and Cambridge universities. He worked as a terminologist at the Office de la langue francaise while lecturing at Universite du Quebec a Trois-Rivieres. Since 1980 he has been with the Conseil de la langue francaise, where he has edited La norme linguistique (in conjunction with Edith Bedard), La crise des langues, Politique et amenagement linguistiques and Langues et societes en contact (in conjunction with Pierre Martel).

William F. Mackey: Preface to the English Edition
1. Jacques Maurais: The Situation of Aboriginal Languages in the Americas
2. Louis-Jacques Dorais: The Aboriginal Languages of Quebec, Past and Present
3. Francois Trudel: Aboriginal Language Policies of the Canadian and Quebec Governments
4. Lynn Drapeau: The State of the Art in Linguistic Research, Standardisation and Modernisation in Quebec Aboriginal Languages
5. Ronald Lowe: Grammatical Sketches
6. The Future of Aboriginal Languages
A The Future of Algonquin
Molly Kistabish
B The Future of Atikamekw
Marthe Coocoo
C The Future of the Cree Language
James Babbish
D Is There a Future for the Huron Language?
Linda Sioui
E The Future of Inuktitut
Taamusi Qumaq
F Will the Micmac Language Survive?
Romeo Labillois
G The Future of Mohawk
Myra Cree
H The Future of the Montagnais Language
Marcelline Picard-Canape
I The Current State and the Future of the Naskapi Language
Agnes Mackenzie and Bill Jancewitz
7. Lynn Drapeau and Jean-Claude Corbeil: The Aboriginal Languages in the Perspective of Language Planning