Midnight Storm Moonless Sky

Finished August 30

Midnight Storm Moonless Sky: Indigenous Horror Stories by Alex Soop

This collection of stories by Blackfoot writer Alex Soop begins with his thoughts on what horror is, and a recognition of the indigenous culture of storytelling that he is drawing on. I liked the way he connected horror with everyday life. His tales draw on indigenous legends, indigenous reality, Canadian history, and common horror tropes to build stories that feel real, possible, and tied to their settings. Hauntings along the Highway of Tears, gatherings of ghosts that welcome a stranger, racism, bullying, gang mentality, residential schools, Wendigos and other paranormal creatures, despair, alcoholism, cursed objects, the foster system, and mental illness.

I found the stories captivating, but also thought-provoking. A great read. 

Moon of the Crusted Snow

Finished October 22

Moon of the Crusted Snow by Waubgeshig Rice

This is the first book in The Whitesky Saga, a post-apocalyptic series and is set in a small Anishinaabe community in Canada's north. It is approaching winter and the small community first experiences the loss of their internet service and then the loss of communications with the outside world. They don't know what is going on, what caused these outages, or how widespread the situation is. They learn a bit more when two members of the community who have been away at college manage to return, and by then, the leaders of the community have already begun plans to conserve what they have and to ensure everyone in the community is taken care of.

When new visitors arrive, the community has to decide how much to trust them, and how to include them in their plan. This novel takes place over that winter, and we see the situation as it affects children, elders, and those who didn't learn the skills of survival from the elders. We also see couples come together and couples come apart under the stress. Families take on new roles, and people spend their time in different ways, some adjusting better than others. 

This is an interesting tale, of a group of people that already have a strong sense of community, one that most communities today no longer have. It makes one start wondering how the rest of the world is dealing with similar issues and how one would respond in these circumstances.

The author is Anishinaabe himself and that brings authenticity to the book that affects how I read it. Scary, sad, and yet somehow hopeful. 

Raven Reads Winter 2023

 This is another book box I missed posting about. It has some great stuff. Besides the book Bad Cree by Jessica Johns, it has some herbal tea, Ginger Moon from rhtea, with flavours of raspberry leaf, mint, and ginger, a Just Breathe lip balm with hints of bergamot and musk, and some lavender lotion from Bison Star Naturals. 

21 Things You May Not Know about The Indian Act

Finished April 3
21 Things You May Not Know about The Indian Act: Helping Canadians Make Reconciliation with Indigenous Peoples a Reality by Bob Joseph

I took my time reading this as I wanted to think about some of the things outlined here more deeply. There are so many things to be ashamed of about this piece of legislation. It was a way that the government reneged on the nation to nation agreements that had been agreed upon in the treaties, and tried to separate the people from their culture. In spite of saying they wanted to have the native people adapt they constricted them from accessing the markets available to other Canadian, separated families, and tried to prevent people from talking amongst themselves.
Everything done under the Act was done against the indigenous people, not for them, and when others tried to speak out about the wrongs being done, they were silences as well.
I think all Canadians should read this and think about how they would feel if they were the ones subjected to this Act.

Roughneck

Finished April 8
Roughneck by Jeff Lemire

This graphic novel is set in a small town in northern Ontario. Derek Ouelette was a major league hockey player, of the type commonly described as a goon. He is back in his home town after causing an injury in a move driven by anger in a game. Derek drinks too much, and lives a bit rough, and doesn't have a lot of friends. He still tends to erupt in violence when he gets angry.
But when his younger sister Beth also returns to town, he must change to accommodate her needs. Beth has left an abusive boyfriend, one who is also in the drug trade.
As Beth struggles to get past her addiction and move on to a new life, Derek must also change. We learn about their parents, and the influence that those parents had on them, both good and bad. As they now realize that they don't know much about their mother's family, they are interested in discovering more about her native background, particularly Beth.
This is a story of finding the support and strength to start again, to learn from mistakes and become a better person.
Lemire's books are always drawn with skill, and this is no exception. I loved the illustrations and how they added to the characterization.

Purple Palette for Murder

Finished October 21
Purple Palette for Murder by R.J. Harlick

This novel is part of a series featuring Meg Harris, a woman dealing with her own significant issues as she also finds herself being drawn into troubling situations. This is the eighth book in the series, but the first that I've read. The books often take place in the further reaches of our country from Baffin Island to Haida Gwaii. This one takes place mostly in and around Yellowknife.
Meg's stepdaughter Teht'aa has recently got a job with the CBC in Yellowknife, which is also near the reserve that she grew up on as a Dene. Her father wasn't aware of her until fairly recently and has been enjoying the experience of having a daughter. Meg's husband Eric is and was recently elected Grand Chief of the Grand Council of First Nations. One of the reasons he is in Yellowknife was to meet with northern leaders. The other is to console his daughter after a recent romantic breakup.
As the book opens, Meg receives a call letting her know that Eric has been charged with murder, with the victim being Teht'aa's ex-boyfriend. The other bad news is that Teht'aa is in the hospital badly hurt after being beaten and left for dead.
As Meg puts aside her own issues and goes to Yellowknife to fight for her husband and stepdaughter, she finds assistance, both emotional and other from Teht'aa's great-uncle Joe. She can't understand why Eric seems not to want to fight harder for himself, as she knows that he would never do what he is accused of. As Meg pieces together the stories of various people who may be involved, she finds a piece of historic embroidery that may be the key to the truth.
I really enjoyed this book, and not just because of the embroidery! The characters are interesting and complex, and the way the indigenous characters are handled here felt good. I liked the immersion in the setting, and the stories around Meg. A very enjoyable read.

A Place Called Sorry

Finished April 19
A Place Called Sorry by Donna Milner

This novel takes place in the interior of B.C. in a small town called Sorry, with the majority of the story taking place in the 1930s. The story of the town's name is an interesting one, and speaks to the nature of the community.
Adeline (Addie) Beale lives with her parents and her grandfather Chauncey on a large ranch outside of town. Addie loves the ranch and pretty much lives outside, to the dismay of her mother, a woman who grew up in Vancouver and was educated as a nurse, but met Addie's father when he was getting his law degree, and married him. She misses the city, but she knows her husband's life is entwined with the ranch. When tragedy strikes the family, things change drastically.
Addie spends a lot of time with her grandfather, and he shares with her diaries that he kept as a teenager when he first arrived in B.C. with his father. As Addie gradually learns of her grandfather's past and its tragedies, she also finds a new friend in another outsider in their small town. Alan Baptiste is the son of Rose, the wife of the store owner in town Dirk VanderMeer. Alan's mother brought him with her when she married Dirk, afraid that if she left him on the reserve, he would end up in residential school. The two get along well, have similar interests, and both are picked on by the schoolteacher Mrs. Parsons, Alan for his race and Addie for her unconventionality.
When Alan's family also faces tragedy, he comes to work at the ranch and the two grow closer. But the town isn't done with them yet, and as the war begins, more challenges come into their lives.
This is a story of prejudice, of finding your own way in life, and of facing your past, even the parts you regret. It is also a story of our country's history, one that still affects us today.
Milner's writing, as always, brings it to life, making me care about these people and their lives.

Green River Falling

Finished November 8
Green River Falling by R.J. McMillen

I picked up this book after a friend recommended it. It is the third book in a series featuring Dan Connor. I haven't read the first two yet.
Here Dan is planning a much-deserved vacation with his partner Claire. He's taken his boat Dreamspeaker from its usual berth at Campbell River and is now in a small bay off Quadra Island. Claire is supposed to be joining him later that day and then they plan to go up the coast. When a boat comes into the bay toward him, he is surprised as only Claire knew where he was. The RCMP commander Markelson wants him to call him. It turns out there is a situation going on in the north part of the province where workers are being killed. Not only does Markelson want his insight as an undercover member of the team investigating, but his old friend Walker has also asked for his help in something that Markelson believes is related to the case.
Once Claire arrives, the two travel through the Inside Passage up to Prince Rupert, picking up Walker on the way. As they learn more about the circumstances of the victims, the nature of the crimes, and the way the investigators are thinking, Dan knows that he must meet the different players involved and not only get a feel for the personalities, but also bring a different perspectives to the case. While he worries about Claire's safety, and about bringing civilians like Walker into the investigation, he knows he needs them to get to the answers.
I liked the main character, and his partner Claire, and the inclusion of native legends and perspectives in a respectful way. The writing is very good and the plot is a good one. A series well worth reading.
Dan's investigation takes him not only up the Inside Passage and to Prince Rupert, but also to the Haida Gwaii and up Alice Arm. A great setting for a story.

Indian Horse

Finished April 26
Indian Horse by Richard Wagamese

This novel follows Saul Indian Horse, a man who has hit bottom in his life, and while at a native healing centre looks back on his life to see what brought him to where he is now.
He looks back at his early life on the land with his brother, parents, grandparents, and other family members, particularly when they camp on the remote island that is special to his family.
He tells of his experience being brought to residential school, and of the priest that introduced him to hockey. Saul gradually reveals his life, those that influenced it for good and bad, those that he still feels something for, and the things that matter most to him.
Saul has natural skills for many things, and he gradually comes to accept these for what they can do for him.
This is a story of the impact of residential schools, here fictional, but real for so many. This is a story that brings some of that impact to readers in a meaningful way. This book had me laughing, crying, and touched deeply. Wagamese is a master writer, and when telling stories like this you can see that clearly. An amazing read.
A colleague urged me to take this book off my shelf where it had been lingering and once I did, I had trouble putting it down. I urge every Canadian who hasn't already read this book to do so. Besides being winning the 2013 Canada Reads People's Choice, this book was also shortlisted for the IMPAC Dublin Literary Award, winner of the First Nations Community Read, and on the Globe and Mail top 100 list for 2012.

The Hill

Finished April 1
The Hill by Karen Bass

This teen novel takes us to northern Alberta. Jared was travelling from Edmonton to Yellowknife on a private plane to visit his father when the plane crashed in the wilderness. Kyle was camping nearby with his family and witnessed the crash, coming to see what help he could provide.
Jared is a privileged young man, with a sense of entitlement that has also brought him arrogance. He is determined to climb a nearby hill to look for better reception, despite Kyle's information that there are no cell towers in the area, and that the hill is something his people never climb. Kyle's reluctance is ignored by Jared and despite his misgivings, Kyle feels he must follow Jared up the hill as he doesn't believe Jared has the skills necessary to navigate in the wilderness.
When Jared finds that he still has no cell service, the teens return to the site of the crash, but the plane is no longer there, and first Kyle, then eventually Jared realizes that they have entered another more dangerous world via that hike to the top of the hill. The world they are no in has limited connections with the world they seek to return to, and the danger of something strong and determined now hunting them.
This is a story of two young men from different worlds. Jared is someone who has not often consider others' needs, feelings, or opinions; a young man who has been the leader of his group of friends partly due to his wealth and privilege. He is not a happy person, and is quick to feel resentment when not treated in the way he is used to. Kyle is a young man who has undergone loss and hardship, but has respect for his elders and their teachings. He has resentment towards people like Jared, and yet the groundedness to not leave Jared on his own. He has the self-knowledge and confidence to move forward despite his fears, using the things he has been taught and listening to his world and the guides provided. Both boys undergo change through this experience, and the things they learn will resonate with them.

The Thundermaker

Finished January 30
The Thundermaker written and illustrated by Alan Syliboy

This picture book draws on the indigenous Mi'kmaw petroglyph tradition. It tells the story of Little Thunder as he grows up with his mother Giju and his father Big Thunder, learning the traditions of his people, their relationship to animals, plants, and the larger world. Little Thunder gradually learns his craft from Big Thunder until he is ready to go to the sacred mountain and become the Thundermaker. There, he must complete a task that is important to his people, create Kluskap, the teacher, from a mound of clay by throwing thunderbolts in a very specific way.
This is a story drawing from legend and culture, but written for young children. It is a good addition to our country's works.

The Education of Augie Merasty

Finished July 31
The Education of Augie Merasty: a Residential School Memoir by Joseph Auguste Merasty with David Carpenter

This short memoir offers a first-hand account of the residential school experience. Merasty wrote this at the age of 86, looking back on his experience as well as others he was close to, but who are no longer around to tell their own stories. He helped many of those others with their testimony for the Working Group on Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the Exploratory Dialogues, which was the first stage of the Commission.
Merasty attended St. Therese Residential School in Sturgeon Lake, Saskatchewan from 1935 to 1944. His experiences, while awful, were not the worst of residential school abuse. He did have contact with his family, and they even attended some school functions, which many students did not have.
Merasty wrote a letter to the University of Saskatchewan asking for help in writing this memoir and was connected with Carpenter. It took several years before the project came to completion, partly due to David's other commitments, and partly to Merasty's availability.
Merasty own personality shows strongly, with his strong sense of self, and a great sense of humour.
An important story in our country's history.

Keeper'n Me

Finished January 11
Keeper'n Me by Richard Wagamese

This novel was one of Wagamese's earlier novels, about a young man, Garnet Raven, who was removed from his native family when he was very young, and taken into foster care. Garnet was shunted around from one foster home to another, and grew up without any connection to his culture. In his twenties he made a connection with a black man and was welcomed into his family in a way he'd never been welcomed into any foster home and began adjusting his identity around black culture. But a misstep in judgment landed him in jail, and it was there his birth family found him.
Upon his release he made his way to the small northern community his family now lived in, and began to get to know his siblings, his mother and his roots as an Anishanabe.
An older man in the community, Keeper, took on teaching him about his culture in a very thoughtful way, and Garnet describes his assimilation of his native culture, his re-connection to the community, and his relationship with Keeper. Interspersed with Garnet's story is commentary from Keeper, about his views of Garnet's assimilation.
This is a book of what it means to belong, about taking the time to listen to your heart and learn what it is trying to tell you. It is a book of family, of culture, and of being human. It is serious and full of humour, just like life. A great read.

A Man Came Out of a Door in the Mountain

Finished May 17
A Man Came Out of a Door in the Mountain by Adrianne Harun

This is a novel with layers, more complex than it seems at first.Set in a small town along Highway 17 in northern B.C. this novel is drawn partly from the disappearance of women, many of them native along this highway, a tragedy that has led to this highway being dubbed the Highway of Tears.
The novel is set around a group of young people. Leo Kreutzer is the only son of a mixed race marriage. His mother is native and his father white. Leo's mother has big plans for him, wanting him to become a mining engineer and thus Leo is taking a distance course in physics this summer, a course Leo is struggling with. His father is away working in a northern camp. Leo's uncle Lud also lives with them as he is dying from cancer. Lud is an old soul, a man attached to his landscape, a man in touch with the old legends, a man who seems to see and know things beyond the visible. Leo is driven to record his uncle's knowledge while he still can.
Leo's best friend is Bryan. Bryan and his sister Ursie live alone since their mother died and also have a mix of white and native blood. Their father is also away working in a camp, and recently his letters have grown more sparse. Their aunt, Madeline, is their closest family member and she has helped Ursie get a chambermaid job at the motel where she also works.
Another friend is Tessa. Tessa and her siblings were taken into a series of foster homes when she was eleven, none better than the home they'd been taken from. After two years Tessa and her older sister came back, but Tessa was changed. Leo has always had feelings for Tessa, but while close, the relationship has never progressed into true boyfriend/girlfriend status.
Jackie is full native, a strong girl, tough and tough-looking, she works at a nearby logging camp's dining hall. She has earned a reputation of not being one to take any crap from anyone, be it men making sexual suggestions to her or her friends, or those commenting on her ethnicity.
Also in town is Flacker, a man running a small empire of alcohol and drug supply. His closest allies are the two Nagle brothers, local bad boys who work for him and deal his products. He also has an addicted girlfriend Cassie, who lives with him along with her two young children. These children are one of Bryan's soft spots and he tries to smuggle them food.
There are many transients moving along this highway and a couple have come along this summer making contact with these five teens. Hana Swan arrived at the camp where Jackie works and befriended her, but she seems a dangerous girl to Leo, encouraging risky behaviour.
Kevin Seven is a magician, specializing in card tricks, who has taken a room at the motel where Ursie works and who starts to have an influence on her.
As a fire starts near the town and everyone plans for the worst, things seem to get more intense, and the five teens find themselves drawn into danger and risky situations.
The story of these people is woven through with the legends, the philosophy of the unseen, and the terrible truth of the highway. An amazing read.

The Inconvenient Indian

Finished January 2
The Inconvenient Indian: a curious account of native people in North America by Thomas King

I had to take a break from reading this book at one point because I was getting too angry at the way natives have been treated. There are elements here from King`s Massey lectures, The Truth about Stories, but he has taken things further and given more examples.
King is careful to indicate in his introduction that this isn`t a history, although it contains many references to historical facts. He includes personal anecdotes, but not footnotes and references. As he says, it isn`t an academic work. But it is full of real accounts, of references to real treaties, real laws, and real legal decisions. It is full of passion, humour, and insight.
This account of how native peoples have been treated in the United States and Canada, will make you squirm and generally be uncomfortable, but that`s okay, because that is how we should feel. The real question is, will it make any difference.
I`ve loved King`s writing from my first taste of it, and continue to be astonished by his work.
This is an amazing book that will leave you feeling strongly and add to your knowledge of our continent`s sad history. Highly recommended.

New Under the Sun

Finished January 29
New Under the Sun by Kevin Major
I have to confess that this book didn't capture me. In fact, I had to force myself to finish it. As I told some colleagues at work, if it had been a library book I would have returned it, but since I bought it I felt compelled to complete it.
I did like it better near the end, but never loved it.
We have Shannon, a Newfoundland native who left as soon as she could and hasn't been back for 20 years. Shannon has made a career with Parks Canada and is back to write a proposal to add native elements to three Parks Canada sites in Newfoundland and Labrador. She makes contact with her aunt Bertha, and has a visit from her sister and a university friend from Norway. Shannon doesn't seem to know where she is going, she isn't entirely comfortable with any of her visitors or her family beyond Bertha. Will she stay in Newfoundland or not? We aren't sure. Shannon also has a unhappy romantic history, never having found someone she really wants to be with long-term. Will things change now?
There are two (maybe three?) other story lines. One is the diary of a British man in the mid-1800s, fascinated by the Beothuk and particularly by Shanawdithit. He tries to draw as much information out of her as he can about her people, but never really treats her as she would wish. Although I have to say, he isn't that familiar with white women either, so perhaps he really doesn't know what to do with her other than mine her for information.
The other stories are fiction (a novel and short story) about early natives and an early encounter between Basque fishermen and natives. The novel I really didn't like all that much and at first I wasn't clear about it's place in the book. Since it took up more of the story as the book went on, that made it drag a bit for me.
I think that I found the book too slow for my mood, and not satisfying by the end.
I shall pass it off to a Newfie friend and hope she enjoys it more.

Fall From Grace

Finished January 15
Fall From Grace by Wayne Arthurson
This is a mystery novel set in Edmonton with a very different main character. Leo Desroches is a journalist working for an Edmonton newspaper. He was hired during a newspaper strike. Leo has a gambling problem, one that cost him his wife and kids, and a lot more. At one time he was living on the streets of Edmonton. This is his second chance.
When he gets offered the opportunity to see the body when covering a story on the murder of a young native prostitute, he includes the information gained in his story. That leads to a much bigger story, one that involves the police and stretches years into the past. Leo hangs on despite real danger, and finds a way to the truth.
Leo is an interesting character, growing up on military bases with a French-Canadian and a Cree mother and no knowledge of French or Cree. His father was a distant present and he doesn't have fond recollections of his childhood. Leo still struggles with the urge to take risks that led him to gamble, and not always successfully. Leo is also assigned to be the paper's native issues reporter going forward and he's a bit ambivalent about this role, as he hasn't really had any contact with the native side of his family. He is a very complex character, struggling with life, and trying to do better.
The story around the murdered native prostitute and the lack of action by police is one common in Canada until recently. This apathy around disappearing native women is a story that will only be getting bigger in the next few years as police across the country face up to the change they need to make to their culture to serve their community better than they have in this area.
With both these issues present in the book, this is a strong new presence in mystery books.

Incidents in the Life of Markus Paul

Finished January 15
Incidents in the Life of Markus Paul by David Adams Richards
Wow, can Richards ever write. This book moves back and forth between events in 1985 and 2006/7. In 1985 Markus Paul was a young man, living with his grandfather on the reserve. His grandfather Amos Paul was chief and Markus Paul was in love with a young woman Sky who lived nearby with her grandmother and younger brother, Little Joe.
When a young native man, Hector, is killed in what seems at first to be an accident his first day on the job loading ships rumours start, and soon fingers at pointed at another young white man, Roger Savage, who was waiting for a chance to work that day. This novel follows the search for what really happened to Hector, and what a number of people do as a result of his death. One of these is Amos, a careful man with a good heart. Another is Isaac, a middle-aged man who seemed destined to be chief one day. Another is Joel, Hector's older brother, who has often been in trouble with the law before. And we also have Roger himself, and a young reporter Max Doran, who is excited about the assignment to cover this story, but not experienced enough to see the pitfalls.
This is a book about how small actions have great outcomes, and these actions are laid out one by one before us, gradually revealing the truth and the politics, prejudice and beliefs that led to each action.
Years later Markus Paul is an RCMP officer still searching for the truth about what happened back in 1985, still haunted by it. When he finally discovers the truth, it is surprising and yet one can see how it all seemed inevitable. Richards is an author that seems to see into characters and show the complexities of them. A novel that will haunt you.

The Find

Finished October 2
The Find by Kathy Page
One of the main characters, Anna Silowski, is a middle-aged paleontologist working as a curator in a museum. Taking a day with some colleagues for an impromptu prospecting trip, Anna discovers a partially exposed fossilized skeleton. An incident later in the day with one of her colleagues creates a division between them and leads to an ongoing struggle between the two regarding the dig project. Anna's choices in life have largely been influenced by her fear of what life has in store for her, specifically the fear that she might have a hereditary disease. It has influenced her personal relationships and is a secret she has kept from everyone except her immediate family. She worries that her actions are symptoms of the disease and wants to confide in someone to help her watch for trouble.
Scott Macleod is a young man who has struggled with his identity as the son of a native woman and white man. He also struggles with his relationship with his father, an alcoholic, where he acts as a caretaker of his father's life, putting his own life on hold.
When the two come together, Anna latches on to Scott to be her watcher, and asks him to assist the dig. He is the only one there without a background in paleontology and that fact creates rumours. The dysfunctional relationship between the two leaders of the dig and their behaviour adds to the tension. When the local natives launch a claim, Scott finds himself taking on another role, one that he never imagined.
The issues around identity, and how others see is comes up several times here. This is an interesting story with the relationships taking precedence to the plot.

Canadian Fiction

Finished May 6
Motorcycles and Sweetgrass by Drew Hayden Taylor
This book reads like a traditional storyteller, with a wonderful flow to it. We see things from a variety of points of view, which only enhances the storyteller effect.
The tale takes place (mostly) in Otter Lake an Anishnawbe reservation community. The chief is in the final stages of negotiation to buy additional land for the reservation. Her constituents all have ideas about what to do with the property. Add to this that she is a single mother of a young teen boy. Add to this that her mother, matriarch in the community, is on her deathbed. Add to this the arrival of a mysterious stranger. And boy do you have a story.
I loved the quirkiness of some things, like the raccoons. The chief's brother Wayne is another example. There is just so much here to love. I think this will be one of my favourites for the year.