The sad truth is that though today is Canada’s First National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, there is still so much work to be done. To acknowledge the sins of the past is just a beginning.
This year, we learned about the hundreds of unmarked graves on the grounds of the Kamloops, British Columbia residential school. They were children. Children lost to their families and their communities. I can’t imagine the heartache each mother, father, sister, brother, grandparent, uncle, aunt, friend felt when their loved one didn’t come home. One has to wonder what the caretakers were thinking when they endorsed these policies.
Author Richard Wagamese
I studied Canadian history but didn’t know the truth so I’ve been busy trying to educate myself. Richard Wagamese’s novel, Keeper ‘N Me, opened my eyes. I met the author at Words on the Water, an annual book lovers’ event in Campbell River on Vancouver Island, British Columbia. His talk was so humble and warm, I went up to him afterwards to tell him how much I appreciated his speech. He was so gracious. I was sad to learn that he died not long afterwards. He died young but left a wonderful legacy. He gave more than he received.
I’ve also read the novel, Medicine Walk by Richard Wagamese. His novel, Indian Horse, was made into a feature film, which I saw twice. It’s a heartbreaking story of a young indigenous man with an incredible talent. The story shows his life in a residential school and his time as a promising hockey player on a Canadian team.
Author Robin Wall Kimmerer
I was blown away by the beautiful book, Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer. Author Elizabeth Gilbert calls this book, A hymn of love to the world. Kimmerer describes it as a book of Indigenous Wisdom, Scientific Knowledge, and the Teachings of Plants. As an avid gardener, I often marvel at what the plants in my garden teach me. Kimmerer takes that understanding to a higher level, using not only her cultural background, but also her training and work as a botanist.
Author Thomas King
And I just finished reading The Inconvenient Indian by Thomas King. An overview of the history of how indigenous people were treated in the United States and in Canada. The author uses his wit to tell the stories of all those broken treaties and promises. It’s a mind-boggling tale. It’s shocking, especially if you’ve been taught a history of your country that left out all these important truths. The sad truth is we’ve all been duped to believe one story of how our countries grew and developed. We weren’t told the nasty bits. How the people who were here before us were robbed of their rights and their land. This non-fiction book is a highly recommended read if you want to know the truth, the whole truth, which is the sad truth.
Author Bev Sellars
I’ve written about racism before in my post Black, White, and Brown. In that one, I mentioned the book, They Called Me Number One by Bev Sellars. Can you imagine someone taking away your name and giving you a number instead? It happened to this author in a residential school. She survived and wrote this tale. I met her when she was the writer-in-residence in Campbell River.
The Work Ahead
Though what I’ve written above is the sad truth of how uninformed I’ve been-we’ve all been-about the true history of Canada and the United States, I’m cheered that there is evidence of a growing dialogue between indigenous and non-indigenous people. We are finally opening our ears and our eyes and listening with our hearts to the stories that are coming out. The pain has been buried too long. There is much work to do ahead but on this National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, I’m hopeful this is a good beginning.
Lukia’s Family Saga
On another front, my work-in-progress, the third book of Lukia’s Family Saga, historicial fiction, is coming along. When I think of all that indigenous wisdom, I think of my own family’s farming wisdom. They also knew a lot about the land and how to make plants flourish. They brought that wisdom from Ukraine, known as the bread basket of Europe.
My current manuscript continues Dolly and Peter’s love story, which began in Lilacs in the Dust Bowl, my latest book. It’s also set on farmlands and in Winnipeg but also in the village of Stony Mountain, a federal penetentiary town in Manitoba.
The first book of this series, my award-winning Sunflowers Under Fire, was supposed to be enough. But readers wanted to know more, and so I kept going. It’s been a heartwarming ride.
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