Last time, I wrote about three books by Indigenous writers (three prior, four before that), and today I’m writing about three more: a work of art and history, a memoir, and a novel.

Carey Newman and Kirstie Hudson’s Picking up the Pieces: Residential School Memories and the Making of the Witness Blanket (2019) is an oversized book with an abundance of glossy photographs and just enough text to illuminate the stories behind the blanket. On the reverse of the dust jacket cover, is a complete photograph of the witness blanket (also visible at witnessblanket.ca).

Newman’s a Kwakwaka’wakw and Coast Salish artist and Hudson’s a veteran CBC journalist. From an artist’s perspective the book is fascinating (when and how to incorporate burnt items from the residential school sites, when and how to include photographs reproduced on wood, for instance).

But the book also summarises beautifully the complex history of these political policies, through the stories of individual survivors and family members. The love notes exchanged between students (with codes like ITALY, I Truly Always Love You) and the photographs of hockey players on the open ice remind readers that these experiences are diverse and varied and all deserving of attention, alongside the persistent prejudice, and the genocidal systemic intent to assimilate.

If you’ve not learned about the residential school system, this could be an amazing introduction. (Orca Books)

Clayton Thomas-Müller’s Life in the City of Dirty Water (2021) gives family-reunion vibes. You can’t help but fall into the rhythm of this Cree author’s storytelling, the way that one memory leads to another.

It’s an easy and welcoming tone, the incidents of racism and opportunities limited by class and circumstance, counterpointing with elements of good fortune and comical anecdotes.

Because “anger is not enough if what you want is justice”: his mother often quoted Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, and Chief Dan George. As time passes, his personal awareness and understanding of his role in the community add an element of wisdom and instruction to his story.

“We do not believe in evil the way that Christians do. We know that darkness is not something that just inhabits the underworld. It lurks in all of us, and it is dangerous to nurture it. The most horrifying idea comes not from the darkness of the forest but from the darkness of our hearts.”

Even though they’re no longer new, both Life in the City of Dirty Water and this next book are consistently in demand at the public library; I watched for interest to trail off, but ultimately placed my own hold, and read them straight away because renewing wouldn’t likely be an option.

Okanagan writer Brian Thomas Isaac’s All the Quiet Places (2021) is a coming-of-age story, told via remembrance. There are some familiar themes, including the community’s struggle with inherited trauma from the residential school system: “You are wastin’ your breath if you think me or anybody else on the reserve would ever think of sending their kids to St. Mary’s. Somebody should go up there and burn that place to the ground.”

There are also descriptions of migrant agricultural work, and a romance that starts with house-cleaning, so some unexpected elements too. His plain speech plays defense to sentimentality: “It’s something when you wish you were born to different family.” But there are some poetic bits too: “Soapsuds hung down from her elbows like icicles dripping onto the floor. (Touchwood)

Next, I’ll write about three more books by Indigenous writers. Which of these appeals to you most, in your current reading mood?

NOTE: Whenever I post about Indigenous works, it’s quickly apparent how difficult it can be, especially for international readers, and for North American readers without ready access to a local independent bookseller who can access books from small and independent publishers, to access a book of interest. Of these three, only Clayton Thomas-Müller’s is from a mainstream publisher. If you’re interested in the others, both Strong Nations (shipping from “B.C.”) and Good Minds (shipping from “Ontario”) might be useful for your Indigenous reading generally, and I’ve linked to the indie publisher for each of the other two titles, both of which offer epubs (and there’s even an audiobook available for All the Quiet Places, via audible, but perhaps not internationally available).