Indigenous Stories of Resilience and Healing
Literature
Circles
EFP 11
This image is a depiction of the Cree
Creation Story: Turtle Island. It beautifully
illustrates the turtle sacrificing himself for
the preservation of all living things.
Artist:.Aaron Paquette
Big Idea
How do stories help us understand each
other and ourselves??
Essential
Questions
a.
Where do you see the
impact of colonization
on person and
community?
b.
How does the land and
sense of place affect the
actions and motivations
of the characters?
c.
How do life
experience’s shape
one’s identity?
•
Cowboy lore and First Nations mysticism in this
affecting novel about the healing effects of family.
In pursuit of a world-champion title, Joe Willie
Wolfchild suffers a horrific, career-ending accident
while riding a temperamental bull named C-4. His
supportive family, longtime rodeo people, whisk
him back to their ranch to recuperate. Far from the
laconic stereotype, this book is filled with his soaring
descriptions of the desert landscape, action-packed
rodeo scenes, and reverence for hearth and home
which will strike a chord with readers.
•
https://www.strongnations.com/DreamWheels
•
Notes: This is a dense book. If you like reading about
“the range” and horses, this is a great book.
Incredible imagery and writing. It is an adult book.
•
Triggers: sexual assault, suicidal thoughts 4.17/5
Goodreads
Split Tooth
•
From the internationally acclaimed Inuit throat singer who has dazzled
and enthralled the world with music it had never heard before, a fierce,
tender, heartbreaking story unlike anything you've ever read.
A girl grows up in Nunavut in the 1970s. She knows joy, and friendship,
and parents' love. She knows boredom, and listlessness, and bullying.
She knows the tedium of the everyday world, and the raw, amoral
power of the ice and sky, the seductive energy of the animal world. She
knows the ravages of alcohol, and violence at the hands of those she
should be able to trust. She sees the spirits that surround her, and the
immense power that dwarfs all of us.
Veering back and forth between the grittiest features of a small arctic
town, the electrifying proximity of the world of animals, and ravishing
world of myth, Tanya Tagaq explores a world where the distinctions
between good and evil, animal and human, victim and transgressor, real
and imagined lose their meaning, but the guiding power of love remains.
Haunting, brooding, exhilarating, and tender all at once, Tagaq moves
effortlessly between fiction and memoir, myth and reality, poetry and
prose, and conjures a world and a heroine readers will never forget.
•
Triggers: sexual abuse, substance abuse 3.92 Good Reads
Monkey Beach
•
Five hundred miles north of Vancouver is Kitamaat, an
Indian reservation in the homeland of the Haisla people.
Growing up a tough, wild tomboy, swimming, fighting,
and fishing in a remote village where the land slips into
the green ocean on the edge of the world, Lisamarie has
always been different.
•
Haunting, funny, and vividly poignant,
Monkey
Beach
gives full scope to Robinson's startling ability to
make bedfellows of comedy and the dark underside of
life. Informed as much by its lush living wilderness as by
the humanity of its colorful characters,
Monkey Beach
is a
profoundly moving story about childhood and the pain of
growing older--a multilayered tale of family grief and
redemption.
•
Triggers: sexual abuse, substance abuse, sexual assault,
suicide 4.05/5 GoodReads
Empire of the Wild
•
Broken-hearted Joan has been searching for her husband, Victor, for
almost a year--ever since he went missing on the night they had their
first serious argument. One terrible, hungover morning in a Walmart
parking lot in a little town near Georgian Bay, she is drawn to a revival
tent where the local Métis have been flocking to hear a charismatic
preacher named Eugene Wolff. By the time she staggers into the tent,
the service is over. But as she is about to leave, she hears an
unmistakable voice.
With only the help of Ajean, a foul-mouthed euchre shark with a
knowledge of the old ways, and her odd, Johnny-Cash-loving, 12-year-
old nephew Zeus, Joan has to find a way to remind the Reverend Wolff
of who he really is. If he really is Victor. Her life, and the life of everyone
she loves, depends upon it.
•
Triggers: sex, addictions, violence 3.75/5 on Goodreads
Ragged Company
•
Four chronically homeless people–Amelia One Sky, Timber, Double Dick and
Digger–seek refuge in a warm movie theatre when a severe Arctic Front
descends on the city. During what is supposed to be a one-time event, this
temporary refuge transfixes them. They fall in love with this new world, and
once the weather clears, continue their trips to the cinema. On one of these
outings they meet Granite, a jaded and lonely journalist who has turned his
back on writing “the same story over and over again” in favour of the
escapist qualities of film, and an unlikely friendship is struck.
A found cigarette package (contents: some unsmoked cigarettes, three $20
bills, and a lottery ticket) changes the fortune of this struggling set. The
ragged company discovers they have won $13.5 million, but none of them can
claim the money for lack proper identification. Enlisting the help of Granite,
their lives, and fortunes, become forever changed.
Ragged Company
is a journey into both the future and the past. Richard
Wagamese deftly explores the nature of the comforts these friends find in
their ideas of “home,” as he reconnects them to their histories.
•
Triggers: suicide, sex work, addictions 4.36/5 Goodreads
Five Little Indians
•
Taken from their families when they are very small and sent to a
remote, church-run residential school, Kenny, Lucy, Clara, Howie
and Maisie are barely out of childhood when they are finally
released after years of detention.
Alone and without any skills, support or families, the teens find
their way to the seedy and foreign world of Downtown Eastside
Vancouver, where they cling together, striving to find a place of
safety and belonging in a world that doesn’t want them. The
paths of the five friends cross and crisscross over the decades as
they struggle to overcome, or at least forget, the trauma they
endured during their years at the Mission.
•
With compassion and insight,
Five Little Indians
chronicles the
desperate quest of these residential school survivors to come to
terms with their past and, ultimately, find a way forward.
•
Triggers: suicide, sexual and physical violence, drug and alcohol
use 4.48 Goodreads
This collection showcases powerful Indigenous narratives that delve into themes of sacrifice, healing, cultural identity, and the impact of colonization. Through stories like the Cree Creation Story and novels such as "Monkey Beach" and "Split Tooth," readers are taken on a journey exploring the complexities of life experiences, connections to the land, and the interplay between tradition and modernity. These tales offer a glimpse into the rich tapestry of Indigenous cultures and the enduring strength found in storytelling.
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Presentation Transcript
Literature Circles EFP 11 This image is a depiction of the Cree Creation Story: Turtle Island. It beautifully illustrates the turtle sacrificing himself for the preservation of all living things. Artist: Aaron Paquette.
Big Idea How do stories help us understand each other and ourselves??
Essential Questions a.Where do you see the impact of colonization on person and community? b.How does the land and sense of place affect the actions and motivations of the characters? c.How do life experience s shape one s identity?
Cowboy lore and First Nations mysticism in this affecting novel about the healing effects of family. In pursuit of a world-champion title, Joe Willie Wolfchild suffers a horrific, career-ending accident while riding a temperamental bull named C-4. His supportive family, longtime rodeo people, whisk him back to their ranch to recuperate. Far from the laconic stereotype, this book is filled with his soaring descriptions of the desert landscape, action-packed rodeo scenes, and reverence for hearth and home which will strike a chord with readers. https://www.strongnations.com/DreamWheels Notes: This is a dense book. If you like reading about the range and horses, this is a great book. Incredible imagery and writing. It is an adult book. Triggers: sexual assault, suicidal thoughts 4.17/5 Goodreads
Split Tooth From the internationally acclaimed Inuit throat singer who has dazzled and enthralled the world with music it had never heard before, a fierce, tender, heartbreaking story unlike anything you've ever read. A girl grows up in Nunavut in the 1970s. She knows joy, and friendship, and parents' love. She knows boredom, and listlessness, and bullying. She knows the tedium of the everyday world, and the raw, amoral power of the ice and sky, the seductive energy of the animal world. She knows the ravages of alcohol, and violence at the hands of those she should be able to trust. She sees the spirits that surround her, and the immense power that dwarfs all of us. Veering back and forth between the grittiest features of a small arctic town, the electrifying proximity of the world of animals, and ravishing world of myth, Tanya Tagaq explores a world where the distinctions between good and evil, animal and human, victim and transgressor, real and imagined lose their meaning, but the guiding power of love remains. Haunting, brooding, exhilarating, and tender all at once, Tagaq moves effortlessly between fiction and memoir, myth and reality, poetry and prose, and conjures a world and a heroine readers will never forget. Triggers: sexual abuse, substance abuse 3.92 Good Reads
Monkey Beach Five hundred miles north of Vancouver is Kitamaat, an Indian reservation in the homeland of the Haisla people. Growing up a tough, wild tomboy, swimming, fighting, and fishing in a remote village where the land slips into the green ocean on the edge of the world, Lisamarie has always been different. Haunting, funny, and vividly poignant, Monkey Beachgives full scope to Robinson's startling ability to make bedfellows of comedy and the dark underside of life. Informed as much by its lush living wilderness as by the humanity of its colorful characters, Monkey Beachis a profoundly moving story about childhood and the pain of growing older--a multilayered tale of family grief and redemption. Triggers: sexual abuse, substance abuse, sexual assault, suicide 4.05/5 GoodReads
Empire of the Wild Broken-hearted Joan has been searching for her husband, Victor, for almost a year--ever since he went missing on the night they had their first serious argument. One terrible, hungover morning in a Walmart parking lot in a little town near Georgian Bay, she is drawn to a revival tent where the local M tis have been flocking to hear a charismatic preacher named Eugene Wolff. By the time she staggers into the tent, the service is over. But as she is about to leave, she hears an unmistakable voice. With only the help of Ajean, a foul-mouthed euchre shark with a knowledge of the old ways, and her odd, Johnny-Cash-loving, 12-year- old nephew Zeus, Joan has to find a way to remind the Reverend Wolff of who he really is. If he really is Victor. Her life, and the life of everyone she loves, depends upon it. Triggers: sex, addictions, violence 3.75/5 on Goodreads
Ragged Company Four chronically homeless people Amelia One Sky, Timber, Double Dick and Digger seek refuge in a warm movie theatre when a severe Arctic Front descends on the city. During what is supposed to be a one-time event, this temporary refuge transfixes them. They fall in love with this new world, and once the weather clears, continue their trips to the cinema. On one of these outings they meet Granite, a jaded and lonely journalist who has turned his back on writing the same story over and over again in favour of the escapist qualities of film, and an unlikely friendship is struck. A found cigarette package (contents: some unsmoked cigarettes, three $20 bills, and a lottery ticket) changes the fortune of this struggling set. The ragged company discovers they have won $13.5 million, but none of them can claim the money for lack proper identification. Enlisting the help of Granite, their lives, and fortunes, become forever changed. Ragged Company is a journey into both the future and the past. Richard Wagamese deftly explores the nature of the comforts these friends find in their ideas of home, as he reconnects them to their histories. Triggers: suicide, sex work, addictions 4.36/5 Goodreads
Five Little Indians Taken from their families when they are very small and sent to a remote, church-run residential school, Kenny, Lucy, Clara, Howie and Maisie are barely out of childhood when they are finally released after years of detention. Alone and without any skills, support or families, the teens find their way to the seedy and foreign world of Downtown Eastside Vancouver, where they cling together, striving to find a place of safety and belonging in a world that doesn t want them. The paths of the five friends cross and crisscross over the decades as they struggle to overcome, or at least forget, the trauma they endured during their years at the Mission. With compassion and insight, Five Little Indians chronicles the desperate quest of these residential school survivors to come to terms with their past and, ultimately, find a way forward. Triggers: suicide, sexual and physical violence, drug and alcohol use 4.48 Goodreads
