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A review by thebookishfeminist
Swift Fox All Along by Rebecca Thomas
5.0
Swift Fox All Along is exactly the kind of story that children and their families need to read, no matter what community you come from. This is a story about complex identities, struggling to feel accepted or a sense of belonging, the effect of boarding schools and being separated from one’s culture, and the power of family and ceremony yo help us feel connected not only to our communities and families but also to ourselves.
The title itself is powerful: it tells us that our protagonist, Swift Fox, has been Swift Fox all along, even if it took her a little while to be introduced to the culture her Mi’kmaq father comes from. She has her complex identities within her and she can connect with those identities, cultures, and her family if she can be brave enough to put herself in a situation that makes her feel nervous and out of place. Her family gives her space and time to process all of the new people she’s meeting and experiences she’s encountering until Swift Fox is finally ready to participating in a smudging ceremony.
The whole book is just beautiful. The fact that there is smudging depicted here is also very important, since this particular element of some Indigenous cultures continues to be fetishized, commercialized, and commodified by non-Indigenous people. Rebecca Thomas gives us a glimpse of how sacred these ceremonies are and reminds each of us to remember where we came from, even if circumstances beyond our control or our ancestors’ control have made us feel removed from those identities.
The author’s note at the end of the book helped to round out just how meaningful Swift Fox All Along will be for Indigenous readers. I’d urge non-Indigenous readers to remember that, while we are welcome to enjoy and share and reflect on these stories, they are not written for us but for own-voices readers and families who are represented within them. If we have questions about any culturally specific traditions or customs, it is usually quite easy to do a little research so we can come into the book with a little more perspective and a more appropriate lens.
I think Rebecca Thomas has created a beautiful, poignant, powerful story that will resonate not just with the Mi’kmaq and other Native readers but also with non-Native readers who are lucky enough to get a glimpse into Swift Fox and her family’s life. I’m grateful to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book and am truly looking forward to adding this to my collection when it’s released.
The title itself is powerful: it tells us that our protagonist, Swift Fox, has been Swift Fox all along, even if it took her a little while to be introduced to the culture her Mi’kmaq father comes from. She has her complex identities within her and she can connect with those identities, cultures, and her family if she can be brave enough to put herself in a situation that makes her feel nervous and out of place. Her family gives her space and time to process all of the new people she’s meeting and experiences she’s encountering until Swift Fox is finally ready to participating in a smudging ceremony.
The whole book is just beautiful. The fact that there is smudging depicted here is also very important, since this particular element of some Indigenous cultures continues to be fetishized, commercialized, and commodified by non-Indigenous people. Rebecca Thomas gives us a glimpse of how sacred these ceremonies are and reminds each of us to remember where we came from, even if circumstances beyond our control or our ancestors’ control have made us feel removed from those identities.
The author’s note at the end of the book helped to round out just how meaningful Swift Fox All Along will be for Indigenous readers. I’d urge non-Indigenous readers to remember that, while we are welcome to enjoy and share and reflect on these stories, they are not written for us but for own-voices readers and families who are represented within them. If we have questions about any culturally specific traditions or customs, it is usually quite easy to do a little research so we can come into the book with a little more perspective and a more appropriate lens.
I think Rebecca Thomas has created a beautiful, poignant, powerful story that will resonate not just with the Mi’kmaq and other Native readers but also with non-Native readers who are lucky enough to get a glimpse into Swift Fox and her family’s life. I’m grateful to the publisher and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book and am truly looking forward to adding this to my collection when it’s released.