Cuthand book seeks to educate and entertain

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The truth about Tapwe is that it seeks to both provoke and entertain.

Tapwe is the Cree word for truth.

Tapwe is also a book comprised of selected columns by writer and film-maker Doug Cuthand.

Cuthand said he put the book together because people told him he should write a book.

Cuthand has worked as a columnist since 1991, writing for the Saskatoon Star-Phoenix, the Regina Leader-Post and the Winnipeg Free Press. It was from these columns that Cuthand drew the content of Tawpe.

Cuthand has a reputation for bringing depth to First Nations issues and reminding people that Native communities are not homogeneous, or completely united on how to deal with issues that face the community.

The following is a passage from Tapwe:

The other day, I received a call from an eastern reporter who told me that Ovide Mercredi was proposing a training centre for non-violent protest, and 'How was it going over in Saskatchewan?'

I said that was the first I had heard of it, and it was probably not a burning issue out here. He sounded genuinely confused and couldn't see why it wasn't the centre of our attention.

He hung up and continued his search for someone who would give him the comment he wanted.

For all I know, he's still looking.

Cuthand is 59 and he and his wife Pauline have three children, age 17, 19 and 21. He is originally from Little Pine First Nation but he grew up in the Lac La Ronge area.

Cuthand said he had more than 600 columns to choose from when putting the book together. The work of sorting through them all was taken up by his assistant, Christine Fiddler, an honours graduate in English from the University of Saskatchewan and a member of the Waterhen First Nation.

He tried to choose columns that are national in interest and about issues that are not dated.

The book is divided into chapters dedicated to topics such as the economy, the justice system, race relations, Native veterans and the relationship between men and women.

Cuthand also included a chapter devoted to his fictional character, Abe Original.

Abe is Cuthand's alter ego and he raises many issues in a context that Cuthand would normally stay away from.

"If you get people laughing with you then they can look at an issue ... and it's not like beating them over the head with rhetoric like some people do," he said.

In addition to his new role as book author, Cuthand is also a noted filmmaker. His production company Blue Hill Productions has won too many awards to mention. His productions have aired on APTN, SCN and the CBC.

He is currently working a documentary for APTN called Wheels of Thunder, which is about chuckwagon racing featuring Indian and Metis drivers. It is due to air in November.

He is also working on a show for Saskatchewan's centennial called For the Love of the Land, which focuses on Native musicians, artists and writers and how the land inspires them. It is due to air on SCN in December.

For more information about Doug Cuthand, visit his Web site at www. dougcuthand.com.