My Indian Summer
A Novel
- Publisher
- Tidewater Press
- Publication date
- Sep 2022
- Subjects
- English Language Arts
- Themes
- childhood, coming of age, family, intergenerational roles, loss
- Grade Levels
- 11 to 12
-
Paperback / softback
- ISBN
- 9781990160127
- Publish Date
- Sep 2022
- List Price
- $22.95
-
eBook
- ISBN
- 9781990160134
- Publish Date
- Sep 2022
- List Price
- $13.95
Where to buy it
Descriptive Review
In My Indian Summer, we meet Hunter, a 12-year-old First Nations boy from a small northern BC town. Through Hunter’s eyes, we witness the cycle of intergenerational trauma within his family and uncover its deep roots in each character. Alongside Hunter’s journey, we are introduced to Crow, a residential school and prison survivor who embraces the cultural path that his grandparents taught him. We also meet Troy, a drug-dealing white man from Hunter’s town who returns each year to make big money that allows him to reinforce his place in the world of hustling. These two figures represent two possible paths before Hunter as he struggles to escape the violent, abusive environment he lives in. This unflinching coming-of-age story doesn’t offer easy answers, instead presenting Hunter’s truth and leaving readers to ponder the choices that lie ahead for him.
Cautions / Content Warnings: Use of strong language, and discusses abuse, neglect, violence, substance misuse, residential school experiences, generational trauma, and racism.
Other End Matter: None
Images: None
Contributor Affiliation: Joseph Kakwinokanasum (James Smith Cree First Nation)
Bibliography: No
Index: No
Evaluator: Jackie L., Educator & Indigenous Voice Consultant, Indigenous Books for Schools
About the author
Awards
- Winner, First Nation Communities READ - Young Adult/Adult Fiction
- Winner, PMC Indigenous Literature Award
- Joint winner, The Writers' Trust of Canada Rising Star
Contributor Notes
Of Cree and Austrian descent, Joseph Kakwinokanasum grew up in the Peace region of northern BC, one of seven children raised by a single mother. A graduate of SFU's Writers Studio, his short story “Ray Says” was a finalist for CBC’s 2020 Nonfiction Prize. In 2022, he was selected by Darrel J. McLeod as one of the Writers Trust of Canada’s “Rising Stars.” He now lives and writes in BC’s Lower Mainland.
Loosely based on his own childhood, My Indian Summer is his first novel.
Excerpt: My Indian Summer: A Novel (by Joseph Kakwinokanasum)
Excerpt from My Indian Summer, Chapter Five
“Here you go, baby boy.” She smiled as she passed it to him. Hunter unscrewed the metal lid, stuffed in the bills and added the money from the Crown Royal bag, keeping a few coins.
“Nice work if you can get it,” said Crow.
“Never mind him, seedling,” said Maude. She pointed toward the fridge. “There’s some butter, eggs and milk there.”
“Use the crate, and take some flour, too. Make some bannock, eh?” said Gladys.
Donna added, “Go out back to the garden. Pick some carrots and onions, and take some potatoes, too.”
Hunter picked up the crate of the empty bottles, packed the groceries on top and carried it all outside, moving past Crow and closing the door behind him.
“Your web, Grandmother Spider, widens,” said Crow as he heard Hunter descend the creaky stairs.
“He goes southwest, picking grain-fed rabbit,” said Maude.
“Real tasty, too.” Gladys nodded. “Yeah, not that skinny, piney thing you catch.”
“We pay him extra,” said Donna.
Crow’s eyebrows raised with an expression of sudden understanding. “He’s your rabbit connection!”
“Life’s a circle, sapling,” said Donna.
“I figured I was buying the food for you three,” said Crow with a smile.
“Ho-leh! Does it look like we need the help?” Donna chided Crow, a smile on her soft face.
Maude shook her head, “His mother suffers. Struggles. White poison, eh,” she said. “You buy us groceries, and we pay it forward.” Gladys and Donna clapped.
“If we don’t act like a community, we’re nothing but the savages they say we are,” said Gladys. “We rise above, and when we do, we hit them with their own stick. We play by their laws, and we take our advantage just like anyone else would, and when we have an advantage, we share with our people. Help one another, you know.”
It wasn’t a question, just a statement of truth. The Cree way. Crow nodded.
Gladys’ voice was firm. “And our community is our advantage. In the white world, the Indian must be twice as capable to be considered half as good.”
“The Man will learn by example, just like that child. Just like you did, just like we did, sapling,” Gladys said.
Crow thought of the old Native men in prison, the ones who showed him how to control the Black Wolf, how to nurture the White Wolf, how to smudge and pray. He thought of the nuns and the priest who tortured him. He breathed deeply.
“She’s from your parts, the boy’s mom. Her name is Margarette. You know her?” Gladys asked.
“I went to the Indian school with a girl with that name—younger than me. I heard she’s a fighter? I ran into her once at the store. She looked familiar, but she didn’t recognize me. It’s probably best that way.” Crow bent down to kiss each kohkum on the cheek. “I moved here and into the forest to get away from my past.”
Editorial Reviews
"Alternating in tone between bitter and humorous My Indian Summer is a multifaceted coming-of-age story . . . Family doesn’t always mean blood, and blood doesn’t always mean family – 12-year-old Hunter, who is desperate to follow his older sister out of the tiny British Columbia town of Red Rock and escape his abusive mother and elder brother, knows that better than most. By the end of Labour Day weekend, 1979, he’ll also learn that you can understand someone without forgiving them." Quill & Quire
"He breathes life into his characters at their first mention and draws you into the gossamer web of his vibrant storytelling, from which there is no escape other than to read a story through to its end." Darrel J. McLeod
"The first time I heard Joseph Kakwinokanasum read, I knew I was hearing the voice of a born storyteller . . . This is a story of intergenerational pain, brought on by details of the history we keep learning about – history that’s left such a terrible legacy. It’s a story that’s believable as being based in personal experience, as the author is from James Smith Cree Reserve, a place that was recently too prominent in Canadian news. But even more importantly, the novel is a story of resilience, and one that’s bound to linger in mind." Heidi Greco, The Miramichi Reader.
"With chapters that share titles with huge seventies radio hits by the likes of ABBA, Kenny Rogers, Nick Gilder, and Captain & Tennille, My Indian Summer appears to point readers in the direction of a wholly feel-good feast of nostalgia . . . In Kakwinokanasum’s story, though, there’s misery in copious amounts at home and danger on the streets; and the future is anything but bright. We may wish for the possibility of a pure, summery nostalgia for Hunter, the author’s immensely likeable and dogged protagonist. In the Sooke, BC resident’s tale unadulterated bliss isn’t altogether realistic." Brett Josef Grubisic, The BC Review.