Welcome to Litsy!

This wasn‘t like anything else I‘ve ever read. I read the audiobook and recommend for the Cree spoken in it but will borrow a copy to browse the amazing art. This book has mythology, history, art, sex (a lot),culture and mind bending perspectives. Miss Chief is a shapeshifter, non-gendered, demi-god, lover, and heroine. It‘s the story of the beginning of existence to first contact with European settlers on turtle island. ⬇️

A hybrid queer fictional memoir / true history of North America—from creation of the universe to Canada‘s confederation in 1867—told from a Cree Indigenous worldview. Miss Chief is a supernatural, all-gender shapeshifter with a talent for lovemaking. The story is sexy, tongue-in-cheek, and eye-opening. The physical book is beautifully designed & full of Monkman‘s gorgeous artwork. The audiobook is read by Cree-speaker Gail Maurice. Both are 👌😍

Throughout this text, Cree words are printed in red (there‘s a glossary at the back) and there are references to the many notes in the appendix.

Our muscular bodies still entwined & radiating heat, I whispered to him that otôtêmihtowin* was not limited to human beings. “Do not take more than you need,” I said, kissing him tenderly. “Respect all creatures & also the land. Tell Your people.” He nodded, assuring me that he would, but I was not convinced he had understood, so I kept spreading the word in the way I knew best.

*respectful openness & acceptance of others; friendship, diplomacy

She inquired about my heels. I explained that my shoes were not like the shoes of human beings. They contained power, and to me felt like moccasins; besides, I liked the pink on the bottom, like the paw pads of my dear older brother Wîsahkêcâhk.

Shawn and I talked about some of the many GG award finalists (including the tagged novel):

https://youtu.be/IcC2susP_VA

Spicy textbook, resilient lament.
Not as knowledgeable as I should be, but I gather it is a blend of historical events, spiritual Cree beliefs about the nature of the world, connection to the land, a fierce counter to the tragic and biased perspectives that have dominated mainstream histories of Indigenous peoples of Turtle Island after first contact with white colonists, and an exploration of how art tries to communicate, 1/2