Seven Fallen Feathers is a book that ALL Canadians need to read. The book tells the story of seven students who moved to Thunder Bay to attend high school and died. It also describes the impacts and experiences of systemic impacts of colonialism, residential schools and generational trauma.
Here are excerpts of a slide deck with the information that was discussed at an office book club that I lead. it has details about the seven students, the communities that they came from and the generational impacts of residential schools.
Seven Fallen Feathers remembers these seven students who were loved, had much potential and had travelled up to 500 km away from their families just to attend secondary school which was not available in their own communities. Some of these communities were only accessible by flight or winter roads. Imagine the culture shock to move away from your families to board with other people, not having ever seen a street light or been to a city. Rest In Peace:
- Kyle Morrisseau
- Jordan Wabasse
- Curran Strang
- Jethro Anderson
- Robyn Harper
- Reggie Bushie
- Paul Panacheese
It is important to know you province and country, I challenge you to learn about First Nations communities in Ontario:
Did you know that there are 133 First Nations Communities in Ontario?
Did you know that there are 630 First Nations Communities in Canada?
It is important to learn more about the communities in Canada. Here are a couple slides to share the beauty of Mishkeegogamang First Nation.
As part of our learning, we also learned more about the legacy of generational trauma from Indian residential schools.
Did you know?
- An estimated 150, 000 children attended residential schools
- 6000 children are estimated to have died
- 130 schools were across Canada from 1831 to 1997
- The Mohawk Institute in Brantford was open in 1831
- The Gordon residential school was the last one to close in 1996
You can take a virtual tour of the Mohawk Institute for a donation to the Save the Evidence campaign. It is a heartbreaking walk through the building with stories told by survivors. I am thankful that my children have spent time learning at the Woodland Cultural Centre on school trips as this did not happen when I was in elementary or secondary school.
Tanya’s book also shares the resilience of communities that had already lost so much, coming together to search for the students, to support each other through the inquest and celebrates the art of Norval Morrisseau, Christian Morrisseau (see the book cover) and Kyle Morrisseau. It is a great reminder to check out the beautiful art.
I have read Seven Fallen Feathers twice. As we read the news of the discovery of bodies on the grounds of residential schools across Canada, I think of what I have learned from Seven Fallen Feathers. It is so important to listen and learn so if you have not read this book, I would recommend it. It is a difficult read but readers have the privilege of putting it down, taking a break unlike these students and their families who cannot take a break.
Have you read Seven Fallen Feathers? If so, what are your take aways?
What books have you learned from?
While the CBC studio was devoid of book loving spectators, it was full of discussion, passion, strong personalities… and 5 great books! Canada Reads is a wonderful event that is part game show and part literary event which gets Canadians reading and supports Canadian authors. Does the best book win? Well, it depends who you ask, but in the end, all the books win with exposure, discussion and media attention which is focusing on some of the struggles Canada is facing in 2020.
Despite the raging controversy, American Dirt is a difficult book to put down. It starts with unbelievable violence that leaves Lydia and her son with one option, to take their chances on La Bestia (riding the rails) to escape the cartel which is searching for them. The violence truly takes your breath away and leaves the reader feeling anxious and distraught as they race to the end, hoping for a positive outcome!
This mystery begins when a woman is frantically, handed a baby in a train station. When she looks up she sees the woman, dead on the track. Was it postpartum depression or was there a sinister plot? This novel will keep readers second guessing what is happening almost until the end.
I begrudgingly finished the final book in this trilogy. I love to read along and discuss books with the kids and started this series when my son read The Scythe for a grade 7 project.
Who doesn’t love a great Rick Mercer rant? The are are fun to watch and fun to read! The rants are short, sarcastic and funny. Written for him to orate in 90 seconds they are each 2-3 pages long and many focus on politics.
Radicalized was my last Canada Reads book and it was not an easy book for me to finish (or start, if I am honest) but it certainly was thought provoking. It seemed prescient in a time when the world is struggling with homelessness, COVID19, cancer, racism and the disparity between the rich and the poor.
After reading The Scythe along with my son who was reading this with his class, I kept going with the series. I enjoyed the characters and the story helped me ponder a society where people can be fixed to the point of immortality. Of course, the world can only support so many individuals so the solution is to glean!
Flowers for Algernon is a thought-provoking story of Algernon (a mouse) and Charlie Gordon (a man with intellectual disabilities) who both experience increases in their intelligence following experimental surgeries. The character of Charlie is so vividly described as he learns about himself, reflects on past experiences, writes case notes and struggles to learn how to interact and live in his world with his new abilities to think and learn.
As everyone knows, I am a HUGE fan and supporter of Canada Reads. Each year the CBC chooses 5 defenders who each choose a book to debate in the gameshow/literary prize program which I look forward to. Canada Reads inspires Canadians to celebrate Canadian authors and the debates keep readers tuning in for the four day book showdown. Each year, I challenge myself to read all 5 books and in doing so, am often delighted by books that I might not have usually picked up. Sadly, the 2020 Canada Reads has been postpone due to COVID19. The March dates have passed and it will now be in July. I will miss being in the studio audience for the finale but am looking forward to the debates!
The Scythe is a YA book that my son’s class was reading. It is an interesting concept… people can be fixed and live on forever by healing and resetting their ages. The population can’t be too large so scythes are responsible for “gleaning” individuals based on statistics from mortal times.
Before We Were Yours is a devastating story of adoption gone wrong, in the 1930s to 1950s, when children were removed (read stolen, kidnapped, unlawfully signed away) from their poor parents and adopted by rich families. The fictional story was based on historic situations stemming from the Memphis Tennessee Children’s Home and their wicked director, Georgia Tann, who profited from these adoptions. Children were not only kidnapped but were abused and even disappeared forever from these homes.
This book was a very interesting examination of the importance of proactive screening. It suggests that it would be advantageous to find cancer at an early stage rather than trying to cure cancer at later stages with such a great cost to healthy cells, finances and wellbeing. It examined individual cases (including the author’s spouse who sadly passed away from the same disease she studied and treated) and made me think of Atul Gawande’s Being Mortal.
The life of Mata Hari continues to be surrounded by mystery and intrigue. The Spy was an interesting account of her life, known as a double agent and accused of sharing secrets between the German and the French during the war. She was a dancer and an admitted prostitute who supported herself through the men she spent time with.
Did you know that there was a tsunami in Canada? It is hard to believe that a tsunami in Newfoundland is a piece of history that most Canadians are not aware of. The Wake describes the terrible tsunami, which was the aftermath of an earthquake, and then reaches far beyond that fateful day. The book begins when 28 individuals, many of who were children, were swept to sea along with houses, wharves, boats and the livelihoods of a community. The fishing industry was decimated.
With the thought of protecting our environment, in January, I read a library copy of 101 Ways to go Zero Waste. Although full of good ideas, this book was really a review of similar zero waste books and reinforced what our family is already doing to save the environment.
A Year of Books 