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Book Review: Firewater How Alcohol is Killing My People (and Yours) by Harold R. Johnson University of Regina 180 pages Trade Paper Firewater is a tough read. What Harold Johnson writes is the hard truth about the devastating impact alcohol has had on our Indigenous peoples. Johnson, from the Montreal Lake Cree Nation, was a prosecuting attorney. He writes about tribal traditions, spirituality, and modern medical research to take on the stereotype of "lazy drunken Indian."...
Most Canadians have heard of Wab Kinew either from his reporting on CBC, as host of the 8th Fire documentary series or his involvement with the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. However, reading Wab's memoir, you will discover the key to his success as a communicator, educator, and now politician. The Reason You Walk is an interesting read. It provoked many emotions like anger, sadness and happiness. This book involved hope, healing, and forgiveness. It is a poignant story...
By James R. Coggins Moody Publishers Paperback If you like mysteries and suspense thrillers, you'll love Who's Grace? by James G. Coggins. It's a fast paced murder mystery with a twist. John Smyth, a magazine editor witnesses a murder through the window of his jet as it descends for a landing in Winnipeg, Canada. Neither the city police nor the RCMP (Mounties) believe him until a woman's unidentified body is found in nearby woods two weeks later. The only clue to who she is...
David Alexander Robertson Illustrated by Scott B. Henderson Highwater Press, Paper, 30 pages Ever since Tina Fontaine's brutally murdered body was pulled from the Red River in Winnipeg, the cry for all the missing and murdered Indigenous women has become louder and louder. And it should. Finally, the Canadian government is paying serious attention to these thousands of families who have lost loved ones and friends. One such story that got some attention back in the 1970s was...
by Jane Kirkpatrick Revell, Baker Publishing Group Softcover 320 pages This is the story of three women-Letitia, a freed slave, Nancy, who leaves the life she loves to follow her husband to the West Coast, and Betsy, a Kalapuya Indian, the last remnant of the proud tribe in the Willamette Valley. I like this book because it tells the incredible story of these three women who went through life on a treacherous west-bound journey by wagon train. This is based on a true story....
The Peppertree Press Trade Paper 213 pages by K.B. Schaller Cherokee/Seminole National Best Books Award-winning author K.B. Schaller has compiled an extensive collection of biographies of more than 100 Native American women who have accomplished much and thus changed the world by changing their world. 100+ Native American Women Who Changed the World is well-researched. As LaDonna Harris, Comanche, founder and president of Americans for Indian Opportunity says that this book...
I'm not really sure how we first came in contact with Adrian G. Torres. But almost from the first letter that Indian Life received, we knew that this prisoner was different. You see, Adrian, while a prisoner in a correctional institution, has found a way to thrive through writing. The author has a ministry through his website Friends of Adrian.com, where he writes a regular blog. Several of his blogs have appeared in Indian Life under the title "The Zoo Cage Prophet," a name...
by Shamin Brown Goldrock Press ISBN 978-1-927410-17-2 Paper 65 pages $19.95 Shamin Brown was a straight A high school student and excelled in athletics. By the following year, she was an addict who was broken in body and spirit. This book is the Shamin's story of the first five years of her recovery. She does this in a journal format with entries written over this five-year period. I found it sometimes painfully hard and heartbreaking to read but it made me understand what...
Gold Rock Press This is a very different book not only because it's for kids but because it's been put together with the help of kids. It's about a boy named John who has a birthday. It seems as if everyone has forgotten his birthday-family, friends, and his teacher. Or did they? Samuel Parmar is a Grade 3 teacher Jack River School in Norway House, Manitoba. His kids were the inspiration for his book because they told him about their birthdays. The bonus is that Mr. Parmar's...
by Deborah Ellis 253 pages, Hardcover $15.95 Groundwood Books / House of Anansi Looks Like Daylight is a very interesting book because it gives readers a glimpse into the world of First Nations young people. The author interviewed youth in Canada and the United States between the ages of 11 and 18 and asked for their perspective and thoughts regarding how they see the world. The stories range from heartbreak to hope for the future. Here's an excerpt: "My mother says there is...
Growing Up North By Morris Bradburn iUniverse 2011 170 pages Hardcover Here is an exciting account of Morris Bradburn growing up in the isolated community of Oxford House, Manitoba. Bradburn writes that everyone spoke Cree. Here’s some of what makes this book exciting. “I had nearly aborted my attempted dive when I remembered the laughter of the big boys when I’d suggested that I could dive from the rocks like them. I decided I was going to do this and surprise those big b...
WestBow Paper 147 pages ISBN: 978-1-4627-1648 This is the personal story of Darlene McKenna. Because of what the author went through, this was not easy to read but it was the truth. As Traci Carmichael writes: “McKenna…does not sugar coat the truth and she brings a vivid imagery to her writing that places you in her life.” At first, she believed in Satan’s lies (the bad guy). Life was not easy due to choices Darlene made. When she chose to follow Jesus, life was not on easy...
By Roxanna Green with Jerry B. Jenkins Worthy Publishing Paper 256 pages This is a true story that will warm your heart. You may remember the tragic shooting last year in Tucson, Arizona, that took the lives of seven people including a little girl named Christina-Taylor Green. This book is about Christina who was shot and killed on that tragic day as told by her mother with the help of New York Times bestselling author Jerry Jenkins. Christina's life was full of activities...
