Misty Lake by Darrell Racine and Dale Lakevold is a poignant play that draws from real-life interviews with residential school survivors. The story centres on Patty, who comes to interview Mary, a residential school survivor. During the interview, Patty begins to uncover and confront her own life experiences and identity as a Métis woman. This narrative intertwines the personal and historical, highlighting the enduring impact of residential schools on Indigenous communities and individuals' lives.

Misty Lake delves into the process of healing from the pain of lost and damaged family relationships, particularly in the context of the residential school system. Through the interactions between Patty and Mary, the drama explores the long-lasting effects of these schools on Indigenous families and the journey towards reconciliation and understanding. Patty's discoveries about her own Métis heritage add depth to the theme of personal and collective healing.

Other End Matter: Interview excerpts
Images: None
Contributor Affiliation: Authors Darrell Racine (Metis) & Dale Lakevold
Bibliography: Yes
Index: No

Evaluator: Debra H., Elementary School Teacher, Indigenous Books for Schools

Darrell Racine is a playwright from Brandon, Manitoba. His play Owl Calling/IAP, co-written with Dale Lakevold, won Best Play in Theatre BC's National Playwriting Competition in 2022. His play Stretching Hide, also co-written with Dale Lakevold, won the same award in Theatre BC's playwriting competition in 2004. It was produced by Theatre Projects Manitoba in Winnipeg and published by Scirocco Drama in 2007. An excerpt from the play was anthologized by Portage & Main Press in 2013. One of Darrell's most recent plays (also with Dale Lakevold) is Franklin's Fate, a history play about Lady Jane Franklin's search for her husband Sir John Franklin's lost Arctic expedition. The story involves Alexander Isbister, a Manitoba Metis author and lawyer living in London at the time. Darrell is a Metis from the Turtle Mountains in Manitoba. He is a graduate of Oxford, Cambridge, Harvard, and Brandon University, and teaches in the Department of Native Studies at Brandon University.

Dale Lakevold is a playwright from Minnedosa, Manitoba. He has had some 50 professional and independent productions of his plays since 1996. His five plays with Darrell Racine form a continuing series that explores Indigenous culture and history in Canada. Their latest play She-She Quois Rattle tells the story of Canada's Sixties Scoop legacy in the lives of two survivors adopted as children into white families. His play The Speech Bill Pritchard Never Gave was produced at the 1919 Winnipeg General Strike Centenary Conference in Winnipeg in 2019. Dale was a finalist for the Harry S. Rintoul Award for Best New Manitoba Play at the 2018 Winnipeg Fringe Festival for his play Bill Pritchard's Address to the Jury. He teaches in the Department of English, Drama, and Creative Writing at Brandon University. He has Norwegian- and Hungarian-Canadian roots.

Darrell Racine's profile page

Dale Lakevold is a playwright from Minnedosa, Manitoba. He has had some 50 professional and independent productions of his plays since 1996. His five plays with Darrell Racine form a continuing series that explores Indigenous culture and history in Canada. Their latest play She-She Quois Rattle tells the story of Canada's Sixties Scoop legacy in the lives of two survivors adopted as children into white families. His play The Speech Bill Pritchard Never Gave was produced at the 1919 Winnipeg General Strike Centenary Conference in Winnipeg in 2019. Dale was a finalist for the Harry S. Rintoul Award for Best New Manitoba Play at the 2018 Winnipeg Fringe Festival for his play Bill Pritchard's Address to the Jury. He teaches in the Department of English, Drama, and Creative Writing at Brandon University. He has Norwegian- and Hungarian-Canadian roots.

Dale Lakevold's profile page