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A review by jenny_librarian
Fire Song by Adam Garnet Jones
4.0
4.5 ⭐️
Trigger warnings: homophobia, mentions of abuse, suicide, violence
This is as heart-breaking as it’s resilient. I haven’t seen the movie it’s based on, but I’m sure I would need a whole box of tissues if I watched it.
I don’t know why, but I always thought Indigenous people would be more accepting of LGBT+ people. Might be because they tecognise two-spirited as a valid gender. How wrong I was.
I’m not saying this is a representation of all Indigenous peoples, because it’s not. It’s a small picture of a single Anishinaabe reservation, where some follow their ancestral culture while others have turned their back on it.
And that’s where the whole power of this story lies. Reading it, I recognized all the problems that Indigenous peoples have been calling out for decades: drugs and alcohol, rampant abuse, rape, suicide, deceased and disappeared women. All in rates much higher than any other communities in Canada.
The heart breaking part is knowing this is real. This is an ongoing problem that Indigenous peoples face constantly. The resilience comes from Shane’s refusal to accept it. Even when he gives up, he doesn’t. Not really. And it doesn’t change everything, but it makes things a little better. And a little can go a long way.
Trigger warnings: homophobia, mentions of abuse, suicide, violence
This is as heart-breaking as it’s resilient. I haven’t seen the movie it’s based on, but I’m sure I would need a whole box of tissues if I watched it.
I don’t know why, but I always thought Indigenous people would be more accepting of LGBT+ people. Might be because they tecognise two-spirited as a valid gender. How wrong I was.
I’m not saying this is a representation of all Indigenous peoples, because it’s not. It’s a small picture of a single Anishinaabe reservation, where some follow their ancestral culture while others have turned their back on it.
And that’s where the whole power of this story lies. Reading it, I recognized all the problems that Indigenous peoples have been calling out for decades: drugs and alcohol, rampant abuse, rape, suicide, deceased and disappeared women. All in rates much higher than any other communities in Canada.
The heart breaking part is knowing this is real. This is an ongoing problem that Indigenous peoples face constantly. The resilience comes from Shane’s refusal to accept it. Even when he gives up, he doesn’t. Not really. And it doesn’t change everything, but it makes things a little better. And a little can go a long way.