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Fiction Native American & Aboriginal

In Our Own Aboriginal Voice 2

A collection of Indigenous authors & artists in Canada

edited by Michael Calvert

introduction by Edmund Metatawabin

Publisher
Rebel Mountain Press
Initial publish date
Dec 2019
Category
Native American & Aboriginal, Indigenous, Own Voices
  • Paperback / softback

    ISBN
    9780994730299
    Publish Date
    Dec 2019
    List Price
    $18.95

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Description

In Our Own Aboriginal Voice 2 is a powerful collection of short fiction, non-fiction, personal essay, poetry, and original Indigenous artwork by Indigenous authors and artists from across Canada. Featuring the work of established authors such as the late Connie Fife, and up-and-coming Aboriginal authors to watch out for (according to CBC Books) Joanne Arnott, Michelle Sylliboy, and Dennis Saddleman, as well as emerging writers from across Canada who shine a light on the lives of Indigenous Peoples living in Canada. The Indigenous selection committee was headed by author Richard Van Camp. Foreword by former Chief Edmund Metatawabin--appointed to the Order of Canada and author of Up Ghost River: A Chief's Journey Through the Turbulent Waters of Native History, a finalist for the 2014 Governor General's Award.

About the authors

Editor Michael Calvert's publishing credits include the anthology, In Our Own Aboriginal Voice volumes one and two, and Portal literary magazine. He is the editor of Kiskajeyi- I AM READY. A graduate of VIU's Creative Writing and Journalism program and SFU's Masters of Publishing, Michael lives in Nanaimo, B.C. and teaches at Vancouver Island University.

Michael Calvert's profile page

Dr. Edmund Metatawabin, is a former First Nations chief and writer, whose 2014 memoir Up Ghost River: A Chief's Journey Through the Turbulent Waters of Native History was a shortlisted nominee for the Governor General's Award for English-language non-fiction in 2014. Edmund received the Order of Canada in 2018. He resides in Fort Albany, Ont.

Edmund Metatawabin's profile page

Excerpt: In Our Own Aboriginal Voice 2: A collection of Indigenous authors & artists in Canada (edited by Michael Calvert; introduction by Edmund Metatawabin)

The Aboriginal Identity, by Jeremy Ratt

Being raised in alienation of your own culture is a very strange experience, to say the least, and the coming together of many individuals to celebrate their culture's history was something I could never feel truly ingrained with. There was a sense of dissociation throughout my childhood, where I found myself in a position that belonged to neither side, but somewhere in the middle. And with more and more birthday candles being placed on the cake, I developed an askew perspective of my own people and the people around my people.

New Ways, by Connie Fife

now as a grown woman
I have passed through the brief solitudes
brought on by the changing of another season

the slow movement of shifting colours
and the loping arrival of winter
your absence has been replaced
by the warmth of full bellied poems
who have slept nestled against my spine
their tongues peeling back on old skin

I am trying to find new ways to live
original means by which to feel alive
the breathing in and out of a
politic by which to free a heart
that the stars have already caught in their throats.

Editorial Reviews

"I pray that the artwork, the sharing of these stories brings healing to both the artists and those who engage with this collection. It contains a tsunami of pain but does not leave you there. There is medicine in these stories, stories that could only be told by those who lived to tell. Some still seek restitution, long for healing, and to bring home the bones of their ancestors. All are courageous in the telling."-Jónina Kirton, Métis/Icelandic poet, author of An Honest Woman

"These voices are precious and beautiful. Mahsi cho to each of them singing the world to a brighter place. Mahsi cho to their families. Mahsi cho to their ancestors and mahsi cho to a richer world because of their courage and bravery. I am grateful and humbled and inspired."-Richard van Camp, author ofMay We Have Enough to Share

"This ongoing commitment to further the remarkable growth of Indigenous literature can only be applauded."-Alan Twigg, author ofAboriginality: The Literary Origins of British Columbia, Vol. 2

"The poets and short-story writers who contributed here for our enjoyment leave us with the message that you are known; someone knows you exist. We carry the gift of life. We share in that experience with the spirits of nature. With their singing words, painting pictures in your heart, they insist that your life is acknowledged. Your experience is being recorded. Let's all make the most of it!"-Edmund Metatawabin, author of Up Ghost River

"The time for our own stories has arrived, our own written words, our own voices. It is through our stories that we discover our roots."-Terri Mack, founder Indigenous Strong Nations Bookstore, BC

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