Young Adult Nonfiction Cultural Heritage
My Life in a Kwagu'l Big House
- Publisher
- Theytus Books
- Initial publish date
- May 2005
- Category
- Cultural Heritage, General (see also headings under Social Topics), Aboriginal & Indigenous
-
Paperback / softback
- ISBN
- 9781894778206
- Publish Date
- May 2005
- List Price
- $18.95
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Where to buy it
Recommended Age, Grade, and Reading Levels
- Age: 12 to 18
- Grade: 8 to 12
- Reading age: 12 to 18
Description
Honey Jacobson considered herself lucky to live in the last semi-traditional big house of the Kwagu'ł people: a four-storey house filled with a loving extended family of cousins, uncles, aunts and the patriarch and matriarch of the household, Grandpa Moses and Granny Axu. While new smaller houses were spreading throughout her community, Honey really knew only her relatives inside that Big House.
In the 1960s, Western culture captured the fancy of Honey's community and family, and its spell inevitably changed a Kwagu'ł family. This is Honey's story.
About the author
Diane Jacobson is a member of the 'Namgis First Nation. She has family ties to the Mamalilakala of Village Island, the Mowachaht of the west coast of Vancouver Island and the Kwagu'l. Diane lives in Alert Bay, British Columbia. My Life in a Kwagu'l Big House is Diane's first published work and her first book with Theytus.
Editorial Reviews
"My Life in a Kwagu'ł Big House travels in a young adult's memory. It is filled with love, joy, sadness and wisdom. Diane captures a nostalgic longing of the past, which leaves the reader with sweet sadness though yearning to know more about communal living with family and relatives."
Louise Halfe, author of <i>Sky Dancer</i>