Rare Intellect

Page 29

Yvette Nolan

-Artistic Director, Native Earth Performing Arts

Recommends:

The Last Crossing

By Guy Vanderhaeghe

McClelland & Stewart-2003

Full of cowboys and the occasional Indian, Guy Vanderhaeghe's The Last Crossing is part historical novel, part mystery. The Last Crossing chronicles the journey of Charles and

Addington Gaunt who enlist a Blackfoot/Scottish guide named Jerry Potts to help search for their brother Simon who has disappeared into the wild, wild West. Anything by this Saskatchewan writer is great reading. The Last Crossing speaks to the conflicts that arise when a bunch of people try to carve out lives in new territory.

Chester Knight

-Singer/ Songwriter

Recommends:

All my Relations:

An Anthology of Contemporary Canadian Native Literature

Edited by Thomas King

McClelland and Stewart-1990

This book is a collection of literary works by individual Canadian authors who are Aboriginal by ancestry. This book is made up of short stories, excerpts from novels and a scene from The Rez Sisters. The central focus of this book is the quality and knowledge the authors have to enhance a renewed sense of identity and pride among Aboriginal people. The authors are willing to share their personal experiences and community stories from different regions in Canada. Each author expresses their distinctive identity in multi-cultural Canada through their work. It is interesting how some of the authors' styles is familiar with my style in songwriting. For example, Shirley Bruised Head, Bruce King and J.B. Joe make use of elements from oral literature and traditional culture. Shirley Bruised Head's short story combines contemporary and traditional worlds, allowing for both to exist at the same time. The literature in this book is also good because it promotes public awareness of Aboriginal identity.