Battle of the Indigenous books

“I agreed to participate because [event partners] the Quebec Writers’ Federation and McGill University’s Institute for the Public Life of Arts and Ideas donated those three books to English high schools, and I believe these books should be included as part of the curriculum,” says Moses.

Personal choices

White, Diabo and Moses all chose books that are close to their hearts.

About Thomas King’s novel The Back of the Turtle, “The choice was an obvious one for me, because I’ve been in love with King’s writing for my whole adult life,” Diabo says. “I can’t get enough of his caustic humour, his anything-goes approach to mashing up bits of Native and non-Native culture, and his gift for tackling huge, daunting issues in a way that’s still digestible and entertaining.”

He adds: “Given that Turtle Island Reads was geared towards younger readers, I also think that The Back of the Turtle in particular is a perfect gateway into First Nations literature. It takes on a very current problem — damage to the environment — and turns it into a high-stakes, page-turning story that focuses on the quirks and vulnerabilities of a fun group of characters. It’s approachable in a way that only a storyteller like Thomas King could pull off.”

While Moses selected Nobody Cries at Bingo by Dawn Dumont. “In a way the book chose me,” she says.

“I wanted to read a woman’s book. This book tells the story of a young girl named Dawn and uses humour to talk about violence, drinking, bullying — also between Cree and non-Cree — and it talks about finding a boyfriend and possibly a husband on the rez, when most of the people there are your cousins.”

White told the CBC that she picked Richard Wagamese’s novel Indian Horse “because his story of residential school trauma and his use of storytelling as a path toward healing speak to me on a very personal level.”

She explains: “As a second-generation survivor of the residential school system, I’ve often wondered what do with the legacy that I’ve inherited. Yes, this history of educational failure and attempted cultural genocide happened to our people, but — what next? How do we move forward? And how can I make sense of what happened to my own dad, a pillar of strength in my life despite his experiences.”

For his part, Diabo — an aspiring novelist who wrote three unpublished novels by the age of 20 — is happy to be studying at Concordia. “Jumping into my undergrad at Concordia and getting my first real taste of big-city life was an important stepping-stone for me,” he says.

“At first, it was daunting to be attending classes in skyscrapers and walking among thousands of other students — whom, in a certain mindset, you might consider your competitors. You quickly realize, though, that the key to navigating such a great big world is to find — or, better yet, create — your own niche. Your niche is what gives university life a human face, one that seems less overwhelming,” says Diabo.

“For me, it was finding places like Concordia’s Aboriginal Student Resource Centre and the First Peoples Studies program that not only gave me a day-to-day outlet as a First Nations student, but also signaled to me that you can in fact enter into a big institution like the university and make it work to your own needs.”

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