Welcome to Litsy!

September 30th is the National Day for Truth and Reconciliation in Canada, a day which recognizes the atrocities and multigenerational effects of residential school, that the forceful assimilation of Indigenous communities is cultural genocide.
Today, I'll be starting this memoir about the Metis author's harrowing young life as an Indigenous person in Canada. 🧡

I maybe made a mistake in listening to the audio. Maria herself read it, but she has a very monotone voice. I thought that I was still able to focus in the first half or so of the book, but I did miss things as the book continued, and I suspect I missed more earlier in the book than I originally thought

https://youtu.be/7y5A_qYuCPA

#shortyseptember

#kenyanreadathon

Intro - My Alma Mater

Encountering a Revered Author

A Concise History of Wales by Geraint H. Jenkins

Storying Violence: Unravelling Colonial Narratives in the Stanley Trial by Gina Starblanket and Dallas Hunt

This isn‘t the sort of book you like but it‘s the sort of book you value. A startling memoir of Maria‘s life as a Métis woman in the 40s-70s, it was raw and emotional and difficult but ultimately, inspiring with the addition of a new afterward in 2019. An important read on my path to better understanding the Indigenous experience in Canada.

Audio 1/3 for #JoyousJanuary

Maria Campbell is a mixed race (Indigenous and European) born in Canada in 1940. Here, she chronicles her horrific coming of age experience in a matter of fact way. It‘s an extraordinary book and an emotionally tough read. I read this in concert with the Storykeepers podcast, and their conversation about it added so much richness to the book and my reading experience.

Just leaving this here.

"If the past 30 years have taught us anything, it is that there is a powerful, loud bunch of privileged white settlers who do not want to learn about us or from us... they are unaware and do not have to bother doing their research." -- Kateri Akowenzie-Damm (Anishinaabe)

https://www.theglobeandmail.com/opinion/the-cultural-appropriation-debate-is-ove...

I always approach memoirs with a touch of dread, because what if I dislike them and end up having to tell everyone I wasn't keen on someone's most personal reflections?

I'm marking HALFBREED as a pick because it's important. All colonial North Americans need to educate ourselves on Indigenous experiences, and I did learn a lot from Campbell's memoir--but I really I struggled with her "this happened, then this, then this" narrative structure.

It's miserable out today, so I'm doing some poorly-lit indoor reading instead of my preferred outdoor reading. Frickin temperature drop.

This afternoon's selections include historical romance, short SFF, and memoir. Cards on the table: I'm struggling with HALFBREED. I'll finish it because it's an important text, but I've been reading it for more than a week and I'll be glad to move along to something else.

I've got the time and the inclination for some outdoor reading this afternoon! Also in my catch-up stack are vintage X-FORCE and last week's episode of GEEK ACTUALLY.

I planned to read a nice chunk of Maria Campbell's HALF-BREED before the Canada Games closing ceremonies today, but the stadium made me empty my water bottle on the way in and the line for the fountain was loooooong. I got to my seat barely a minute before everything kicked off.

Tonight, then. #canada150