Book
Mamaskatch : a Cree coming of age / Darrel J. McLeod.
The fractured narrative of Mamaskatch mirrors Bertha's attempts to reckon with the trauma and abuse she faced in her own life, and captures an intensely moving portrait of a family of strong personalities, deep ties and the shared history that both binds and haunts them.
Record details
- ISBN: 9781771622004 (hardcover)
- Physical Description: 228 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm
- Publisher: Madeira Park, BC : Douglas & McIntyre, [2018]
- Copyright: ©2018
Content descriptions
| Formatted Contents Note: | Spirals -- Hail Mary, full of grace -- Macimanitowi : devils -- One little Indian boy -- Be careful Little Eyes -- Madonna of the Athabasca -- Flying around the maypole -- Prince Charming -- Long as I can see the light -- Indian princesses -- Eddies of the Makhabn -- Pihpikisis : the sparrow hawk -- The eviction -- Code 99 -- L'Echappatoire -- Mistikosow : the Frenchman -- Beyond the Athabasca. |
Search for related items by subject
| Subject: | McLeod, Darrel J. McLeod, Darrel J. > Family. Cree peoples > Biography. Indigenous men > Canada > Identity. Smith (Alta.) > Biography. |
| Genre: | Autobiographies. |
| Topic Heading: | SOGI |
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- Booklist Reviews : Booklist Reviews 2019 February #2
Manifest destiny (the Westward ho! mentality) laid waste the lives of First Nations people, decimating their culture by killing off bison, bringing pestilence, and sending their children to missionary schools. McLeod's story is a close-up of the continuing effects of manifest destiny. McLeod's mother and aunts were just a few of the many who were rounded up to learn the ways and religion of the white man. Rampant abuse in these schools is well documented, and McLeod's mother was preyed upon by a priest. As an adult, she settled down and raised a family. While he grew up poor in Alberta, Canada, McLeod knew he was loved, but after his father died, his mother took up with different men and started drinking and disappearing. The downward spiral shattered the family, and McLeod had nowhere to turn when he was sexually abused by a brother-in-law. This abuse created further turmoil for a young man who felt increasingly attracted to men. The tug between following Christianity and Native ways increased his struggle. Readers will appreciate McLeod's hard-won peace. Copyright 2019 Booklist Reviews. - Kirkus Reviews : Kirkus Reviews 2019 April #2
In his debut, the winner of the 2018 Governor General's Literary Award for Nonfiction, McLeod recounts his childhood and coming-of-age in Treaty Eight Cree territory in Northern Alberta. Told predominantly in English, with a smattering of French and infused with important moments of untranslated Cree language, the fragmented and seemingly dissonant episodic chapters contain elements that are present in many Native/First Nations memoirs: alcohol, drugs, domestic violence, abuse, racism, religious intolerance, and poverty. However, these details don't exist to pleasure the white gaze or to satisfy any savior complex. These aspects, delineated in the segmented narratives, reflect candid truths and the brokenness that occurs in a life surrounded by settler colonialism and fueled by historical trauma. They also serve as an acknowledgment, which is the first step to healing. Whether retelling his mother's stories, such as her escape from residential school, or recounting the grooming and abuse he experienced from his brother-in-law, his search for intimacy, or his desire for reconnection to Cree tradition, the author ably conveys all of the devastating guilt, shame , remorse, and emptiness that he has experienced. Still, it's clear that McLeod isn't "looking for pity." As the title of the opening chapter, "Spirals," suggestsâand just as his mother did in her own "magical way"âthe author shares his stories in a spiral, revisiting "each theme several times over, providing a bit more information with each pass," until it "wash[es] away the heaviness." Readers able to "just sit back and listen without interrupting" (a lesson young Darrel learned from hearing his mother's stories) will share in the secret knowledge that coming-of-age has little to do with losing one's innocence and everything to do with maintaining one's hope. Lyrically written and linked by family, compassion, forgiveness, and hope, Mamaskatch sings out as a modern-day celebration of healing. Copyright Kirkus 2019 Kirkus/BPI Communications. All rights reserved. - Library Journal Reviews : LJ Reviews 2019 May
In his first book, McLeod writes about life with a fractured family and surviving a tumultuous childhood. The memoir begins with the story of McLeod's mother, Bertha, who, along with several female relatives, was sent to a Catholic residential school from which they eventually escaped. Bertha raised her children Catholic alongside a strong respect for Cree traditions. As a result of Bertha's alcoholism, McLeod spent time living with an extended family, ultimately returning home to his mother. The author struggles to keep up with schoolwork while caring for younger siblings and suffering abuse, physical and sexual, from his brother-in-law. This is not your ordinary coming-of-age story; it's a multilayered account of a boy growing into manhood questioning his own gender identity while also confronting racism and bullying.
Copyright 2019 Library Journal.VERDICT This poignant memoir presents a story about growing up surrounded by difficulties and also a window into the world of the Cree.âJacqueline Parascandola, Univ. of Pennsylvania
