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🪶 Seven Fallen Feathers 🪶
I am speechless after reading this book. I won’t pretend that I haven’t been completely ignorant about a lot of the more recent history of First Nations people….but following a trip to Canada and being exposed to some of it via museums, I wanted to know more.
This book was recommended by the lovely booksellers at @ - after I asked if they knew of any interesting books by indigenous/First Nations authors from Canada. They said this was one of the best ones. And they were not lying. This book hurt to read, I had no idea about how awful and how recent some of the events it covers were. It was by no means a pleasurable read…but I am so glad to have read it.
Tanya Talaga predominantly focuses on the auspicious and unexplained deaths of seven indigenous high school students. All went missing. All were found too late, and all hundreds of kilometres from their families - sent to the closest “best” school to give them a chance at a better future. Talaga utilises these heartbreaking events to further explore wider problems including the impact of residential schools, the failures of the Canadian government, institutional and overt racism, lack of potable water, and minimal funding for schools and support for indigenous communities. These are important and historically overlooked issues, explored and presented in a blunt, unapologetic and revealing way. I think this is the most context I’ve ever received about historical and current events in relation to Canada’s First Nations.