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224 pages, Paperback
First published July 20, 2019
… the day they paddled toward their winter hunting grounds and were met by an enormous log jam blocking their progress. A nasty, rude logger informed them the land now belonged to Frank Ross. And though Manda tried to argue, he cut in to bark at them, He’s within his rights. Go home.But it wasn’t just the alcohol. When paired with a two-ton vehicle, the real damage would rear its ugly head. Railway and mill workers began roaring through town, drunk, and within a few short weeks, several of the village’s children and teens had been struck and killed by drivers who wouldn’t even bother to stop. This was the last straw for Almanda. She set out for Quebec City, insisting she would not stop until she’d spoken directly with Maurice Duplessis—Quebec’s premier.
… the day the railway came to town. Two railway employees knocked on Manda’s cabin door to inform her, The train will be coming right through here, Madame. ... We’re going to have to demolish your house. She refused their offer and said if they weren’t happy, they could “go around it.” So they did, building it a few metres from her door.
… the day a seaplane arrived to take the children to the new residential school. An RCMP sergeant approached and shouted out, All children between the ages of six and fifteen will attend school. Gather up your belongings, the planes will be leaving in an hour’s time.
… and the day Manda very nearly reached the end of her rope, opining, We began noticing phenomena that we had never experienced before in Pointe-Bleue. Men spent all day drinking, then beat their wives. Mothers drank too, even when pregnant, and fought amongst themselves. But she wisely deduced: Alcohol and violence were not the problem. They were the symptoms of the insidious sickness eating away at the Innu.