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review
Lindy
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Pickpick

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 👌😍

blurb
Lindy
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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.

quote
Lindy
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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

quote
Lindy
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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.

Suet624 Love this! 1mo
Lindy @Suet624 In the past, I had felt a twinge of annoyance at Monkman‘s depiction of his alter ego, Miss Chief, specifically because of her high heels. So I was pleased and satisfied to encounter this explanation. 😊 1mo
22 likes2 comments
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Lindy
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Shawn and I talked about some of the many GG award finalists (including the tagged novel):

https://youtu.be/IcC2susP_VA

21 likes1 stack add
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Citra182
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I‘m about half way through this book and it is amazing. This book is really designed to connect with the readers and weaves in historical facts in a way that really does make an impact. I HIGHLY recommend reading this one, Litsy!

review
Schwifty
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Pickpick

This was a great follow up read for the last book I reviewed here about “le grand dérangement.” It certainly helped fill in more blanks for me regarding family lore. It turns out that Acadians were shipped not only to other British colonies, but to Britain itself with many migrating to find lost family members in other colonies, migrating to France and then migrating out again as part of some ill-fated colonial endeavor…

Schwifty …often to the Caribbean, French Guiana, the Falklands and even internal agricultural colonies in Poitou (mainland France). Most migrated again after these failures reorganized into bigger contingents and shipped off to Louisiana. It seems that the Acadians were one of those diasporas that refused to assimilate wherever they ended up and time and time again sought to reconstitute their lost communities in new settings. 4mo
4 likes1 comment
review
Schwifty
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Pickpick

As a descendant of the Acadians myself, I waited far too long to learn about this pivotal event in history. When I was small, my Cajun family had always told me about how we as a French offshoot came to be in Louisiana, the expulsion from Canada, “le grand dérangement,” but it was so distant in collective memory, it was a sort of legend and was in a tl;dr format. I hadn‘t thought much about it, but I finally decided I‘d like to know the details.

Schwifty At any rate, this book is amazing in detail and analysis and presents some historiography of the event as well. So through this book, I‘ve been able to better appreciate what my elders were trying to get at when I was a kid and connect a few dots. I‘ll actually be visiting Nova Scotia in September and will get to see some of the places where Acadians had originally settled and where the British subsequently carried out their ethnic cleansing. 4mo
2 likes1 comment
review
Robotswithpersonality
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Pickpick

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

Robotswithpersonality 2/2 even if others may not be primed to see the truths shown. As told by a mythical figure who champions queer, polyamorous love, freedom of gender expression, and compassion, sharing and teaching, often shown through sex. There's a lot of fun and tenderness to the intimacies recounted but heads up that the art is full frontal and like the text, occasionally explicit.
Bonus: Cree language glossary in the back!
5mo
11 likes1 comment
blurb
LiseWorks
Memoirs | Brian Mulroney
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Our 18th Prime Minister passed away yesterday. He was known for making the free trade agreement with the US. He had a good friendship with a lot of foreign leaders, including President Ronald Reagan.