Tuesday, November 2, 2021

New Biographies

 

Call Me Indian: From the Trauma of Residential School to Becoming the NHL's First Treaty Indigenous Player by Fred Sasakamoose
“Fred Sasakamoose, torn from his home at the age of seven, endured the horrors of residential school for a decade before becoming one of 120 players in the most elite hockey league in the world. He has been heralded as the first Indigenous player with Treaty status in the NHL, making his official debut as a 1954 Chicago Black Hawks player on Hockey Night in Canada and teaching Foster Hewitt how to pronounce his name. Sasakamoose played against such legends as Gordie Howe, Jean Beliveau, and Maurice Richard. After twelve games, he returned home.” -Amazon

From the Ashes: My Story of Being Metis, Homeless, and Finding My Way by Jesse Thistle
“In this extraordinary and inspiring debut memoir, Jesse Thistle, once a high school dropout and now a rising Indigenous scholar, chronicles his life on the streets and how he overcame trauma and addiction to discover the truth about who he is.” -Amazon

"Indian" in the Cabinet: Speaking Truth to Power by Jody Wilson-Raybould
“This is the story of why Wilson-Raybould got into federal politics, her experience as an Indigenous leader sitting around the Cabinet table, her proudest achievements, the very public SNC-Lavalin affair, and how she got out and moved forward. Now sitting as an Independent Member in Parliament, Wilson-Raybould believes there is a better way to govern and a better way for politics—one that will make a better country for all.” -Amazon

In My Own Moccasins: A Memoir of Resilience by Helen Knott
“Helen Knott, a highly accomplished Indigenous woman, seems to have it all. But in her memoir, she offers a different perspective. In My Own Moccasins is an unflinching account of addiction, intergenerational trauma, and the wounds brought on by sexual violence. It is also the story of sisterhood, the power of ceremony, the love of family, and the possibility of redemption.” -Amazon

Permanent Astonishment: A Memoir by Tomson Highway
“Tomson Highway was born in a snowbank on an island in the sub-Arctic, the 11th of 12 children in a nomadic, caribou-hunting Cree family who traversed the tundra by dogsled and lived off the land. Highway animates the magical world of his northern childhood, paying tribute to a way of life that few have experienced and fewer still have chronicled. Infused with joy and outrageous humour, Highway offers insights, both hilarious and profound, into the Cree experience of culture, conquest and survival.” -Amazon