\s mYevtew ELECTRONIC ADDITION - University of British Columbia

BOOKS IN REVIEWMETIS HEARTBEATRICE CULLETON, April Raintree. Pemmican,$9.95·BEATRICE CULLETON, Spirit of the White Bison.Pemmican, $6.95.PERHAPS THE MOST pernicious and destructiveweapon the colonializers andimperialists had was the policy of "TabulaRasa." Existing indigenous culturewas at best ignored, at worst activelydestroyed. The children of the "conquered"were educated to believe theirforemothers and forefathers were ignorantsavages and that everything goodhappened only because of the dominantand dominating ideology. In Canadachildren were physically removed fromtheir families and put in residentialschools where they were given the mostminimal of educations. Oh, they weretaught their catechism, but grew upknowing there was no chance for themto be priests, nuns, ministers, teachers, oranything other than the most poorly paidof manual labourers. The residentialschools were abominations; child abusewas common, punishments often vergedon the very borders of insane, and childrenwere forced to do much of thejanitorial and custodial work. The foodwas even worse than that served in Britishboarding schools, even though theadministrators of these schools couldpresent receipts from dairies, butchers,and bakeries "proving" they had boughtthe finest quality. Perhaps they did, but ofall the friends I have who attended residentialschool, nobody ever remembersgetting any of this fine food.One of my dear friends, so close for solong we call each other "cousin," madethe mistake of speaking her native language.After all, she was only five andhad no idea what was going on! All sheknew was she had been bodily carriedfrom her weeping mother, put in a floatplane with a dozen or so other kids, andflown to a residential school. She askedwhat was happening. She asked whereshe was. She was overheard and takento the office of the principal where shewas sternly warned, in a language shedid not understand, then taken back intothe hallway and left. More confused thanever, she repeated her question. And wasagain overheard. Again taken into theoffice and this time she was yelled at andher hand slapped. She had never beenhit in her life, and still had no idea whatwas happening. Back in the hall, weeping,she again asked other, older kidswhat was going on. where she was, whypeople were being so mean.This time she got taken to the gymand was made to kneel across a broomstick until hours later her legs werenumb and she was unable to stand orwalk. This terrified little girl grew up tobecome a woman who remembers practicallynothing of her years in "rezzy."Her adult life has been hell. She laughsand says that alongside the night on thebroom stick, anything is easy. "I'm nothere for a long time, anyway," she tellsme, "I'm just here for a good time."And she drinks. Heavily. Often.The residential schools are gone, forthe most part. What we have, instead,are foster homes. Every year or so anothernative kid finds a way to end thehell that is supposed to be "life." Lastyear a young boy hanged himself and thecountry recoiled with shock, a lot ofsmall-1 liberals loudly demanded "somebody"should do "something," and mostof Canadian society claimed to be unawarethings like that could happen.Native groups have long insisted communication,publication and educationare loaded against them. They have alsoinsisted the truth can't be fully or properlytold unless native writers are givenpublication and distribution WITHOUTbeing edited to death by Anglo academics164