The books and digital media profiled in this issue of “Refracting History” will incite many readers to think differently about history. Some reposition historical narratives on the experiences of Indigenous peoples and other racialized communities in British Columbia or voices that share memories and reflections on the impact of residential schools, loss of land, and the revitalization of Indigenous cultures.
Spílәx . m: A Weaving of Recovery, Resilience, and Resurgence by Nicola I. Campbell (Winnipeg, MB: HighWater Press, 2021) $32
Nicola I. Campbell, likely best known for her bestselling children’s books including Shi-shietko, Shin-chi’s Canoe, and A Day with Yayah, has written an extraordinary memoir that combines poetry and prose with memories that speak about what it means to be an intergeneration survivor of residential schools. Nicola I. Campbell is Nłe kepmx (Nlaka’pamux), Sylix, and Métis, from British Columbia
This excerpt from her memoir is from the section called “Porcupine’s Song”:
What does it mean to have multiple generations of children taken away for part or all of their childhoods to Indian Residential School or into the foster care system? “Imagine a community without children.” Imagine an entire country where every single Indigenous baby and child is taken away from their family. Imagine a country where every single child is raised in an environment where love, patience, compassion, and affection do not exist. Imagine a
