Wake The Stone Man (22 page)

I remembered how Nakina would sit at the kitchen table asking Mom a million questions about our family. She was searching my family for stories because the thread to hers was broken.

I had a small piece of Nakina's story. All I could do for now was hold it safe. I'd hold it safe until I could find more. I had a date. There were more records in the library archives. There might be a way to trace back to her family.

There were things I knew — that she was my friend and my sister and she was smart and funny and could be a real pain in the ass too. The fun we had at Loon Lake and how we used to read Leonard Cohen and write his poems on the board at school and how she wore pink lipstick and loved the Beatles. I'd remember that her Anishinaabe name was Waawaashkeshi. I'd remember the hard stuff too, about the residential school and abuse. The rape. What they did to her. That was her story too. I'd keep it safe.

I put the papers back in the box and walked across the kitchen. The screen door creaked when it opened. I walked behind the house out into the moonlit field.

I had my painting of Nakina at the Lorna Doone and the photos she took at Rocky Lake and the photo of us together in the rowboat at Loon Lake. I had a piece of her life and I would hold it safe. And I would keep looking for answers. Maybe someday I could get on a train heading north and take her home.

Nakina was right. You can always get home. The tracks run both ways.

author note

I grew up in Thunder Bay, in the shadow of the Sleeping Giant. In writing this novel I took elements of Thunder Bay combined with several other towns in Northern Ontario to create the fictional community of Fort McKay. Although I left Northern Ontario in my late teens, the fierce beauty of Lake Superior's north shore continues to haunt me.

Like Molly, I was a young girl who stood silently outside the fence of the residential school looking in. Over time I asked questions and came to learn that what I was witnessing represented one of the darkest chapters of Canadian history.

For over a century over 150,000 Aboriginal children were removed from their families and sent to residential schools. The result of the physical and emotional abuse suffered by so many continues to impact future generations. In 2008 Prime Minister Harper apologized on behalf of the Canadian government and asked the “forgiveness of the Aboriginal peoples of this country for failing them so profoundly.” Through the work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada the survivors of the residential school system have been given voice and a national journey of healing has begun.

acknowledgements

I would like to extend my deep gratitude to the visionaries who created the Beacon Award for Social Justice Literature. Thank you for your belief in the power of fiction to inspire and change the world. To the distinguished jury members who gave of their time and provided invaluable feedback, my humble thanks.

To Bev Rach for her confidence in the book, Chris Benjamin for giving me a stronger voice, Brenda Conroy for polishing my words and the whole fabulous Roseway team, my heartfelt thanks.

This is a novel about friendship and love. For bringing that into my life I am deeply grateful to my beloved family, and my beloved family of friends.

book club notes

1. As the novel opens Molly sees Nakina attempting to escape from the residential school. Why do you think Nakina was trying to escape when she did not know where home was, and punishment was certain if she were caught?

2. When Molly is out on the lake in her father's boat she looks back at the city and sees the invisible lines of class and race that separate the town. Do you think similar invisible lines of social distinction exist in your community?

3. The Sleeping Giant, or Stone Man plays a central role in the novel both as geographical landscape and mythological being. In legend the Sleeping Giant watched over and protected the Ojibwe people until he was turned to stone. What do you think is the significance of the title
Wake the Stone Man
?

4. Molly is witness to Nakina's attack but stays silent. Why do you think she didn't or couldn't tell the truth of what she saw?

5. Finding family is a major theme in the novel, central to both Molly and Nakina's journey. Do you think, in the end, they found family?

6. A strong friendship is forged between Molly and Nakina when they are in their teens. How do you think this bond endured through tragedy and years of separation?

7.
Wake the Stone Man
is set in the 1970s at a time when much of the truth of the horrific abuse in residential schools was hidden or denied. Since 2008 the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada has held hearings across Canada, giving voice to the survivors of the residential school system. Do you think the work of the TRC in bringing the truth to light will help the journey towards healing?

The Beacon Award
for Social Justice Literature

The Beacon Award for Social Justice Literature is a prize for an unpublished novel. Its purpose is to stimulate the creation, publication and dissemination of new works of fiction designed to ignite readers' passion for and understanding of social justice. The Beacon Award is appreciative of all its individual supporters and also thanks Hignell Book Printing and Michael Nuschke and Richard Nickerson of Assante Capital Management for their generous support.

Visit
beaconaward.ca
for more information