On The Trapline by David A. Robertson

A young boy travels north to visit his Moshom, or grandpa who is taking him to see his old trapline that his family had when he was a boy. Moshom hasn't been to his trapline since he was a child.

Moshom explains that a trapline is "where people hunt animals and live off the land." When their plane lands, they are met by Moshom's old friend. They greet each other in their native language of Swampy Cree. The boy notices that in the north there is a lot of space and the houses are far apart.

First they go to a small house by a large lake. This is where Moshom's family lived after they left the trapline. In the winter, everyone slept together in one room, next to the wood stove, to stay warm.

Moshom shows his grandson the broken down building where he went to school after his family left the trapline. At school all the students had to speak English. To speak their mother tongue, Cree, they would sneak into the bush.

At the river at the end of the highway, Moshom, his friend and his grandson take a motor boat out onto the river. The boy sees beaver dams, eagles on the wing and paintings on the rocks. Eventually they arrive at Moshom's trapline.

Moshom tells him that while on the trapline, his family slept in one large tent to keep warm. Everyone shared the work, even the youngest children had jobs to do. He also shows his grandson one of the places he used to set traps to catch muskrats. This animal provided his family with meat, and the pelts were sold to buy flour, sugar and tea. While fishing on the way back, Moshom tells his grandson they also fished on the trapline and everyone shared what they caught with others.

At a community feast later that night, Moshom, who is an Elder, blesses the meal. His grandson serves him first because as an elder, Moshom eats first. It is a delicious meal of bannock, vegetables, berries, wild meat and fish.

On the flight home, Moshom remembers and can see his trapline. So can his young grandson.

Discussion

In this touching story about a Cree grandfather and his grandson, Robertson weaves a story of remembering that incorporates many aspects of indigenous culture and values. On an obvious level, there is the inclusion in the storytelling of many Cree words on almost every page; kiwetinohk which means "north", wakomakanak which means "family" and kiskisiw which means "he remembers" are a few examples.  But On The Trapline also highlights many important features of Cree culture and life, as through Moshom. For example, Moshom tells his grandson how every person on the trapline worked together and had a job to do, even the young children. He also relates how food was shared with others, demonstrating the generosity that enabled indigenous communities to survive. At the community feast, the value of older Cree members is highlighted by the young boy first serving his grandfather, an Elder, demonstrating respect for his wisdom and knowledge.

On The Trapline is a remembering of a way of life that vanished when Moshom's family left the trapline and settled into a house in a community. David A. Robertson writes in his A Note from the Author, that his father lived on the trapline until he was nine years old. His family left the trapline at the time and moved to Norway House, situated on the banks of the Nelson River in Manitoba. His father accompanied his own father on the trapline on and off but eventually never returned after his teens. In 2018, David accompanied his father back to the land. For his father, it was the first time in seventy years and for the author the first time ever.  As Robertson writes in his note, "Reconciliation is more than just healing from trauma. It's connecting, or reconnecting with people, culture, language, community."

The illustrations for On The Trapline were rendered using an earthy pastel palette on paper and then composed digitally. These were created by Swampy Cree and Red River Metis author, illustrator and artist, Julie Flett. Her family have a history as trappers and traders as well as hunters and fishers. Her son and nieces are reclaiming their traditions and skills through the learning of their language, living off the land and beading.

On The Trapline provides an excellent and informative introduction to the Indigenous experience in the early 20th century.

Book Details:

On The Trapline by David A. Robertson
Tundra Books    2021

Stolen Words by Melanie Florence.

Stolen Words tells the story of a Cree grandfather whose culture and language was stolen from him as a result of his attending a residential school.

A young girl comes home from school, happy, carrying a dream catcher she has made. Walking with her beloved grandpa, she asks him how to say grandfather in Cree. But her grandfather doesn't remember. He tells her, "I lost my words a long time ago." Puzzled, his seven-year-old granddaughter asks him how this happened. He tells her how he and others were taken away from home, their way of life, and their mothers, "...to a school that was cold and lonely."  When they tried to use their words at the school, "...angry white faces raised their voices and their hands..." Grandfather and others were punished if they spoke their words - their own Cree language. Remembering brings tears and great sadness to her grandfather.

The next day, the young girl returns home, this time with his words. She tells him she has found his words, handing him a paperback book of the Cree language. As he looks through the book, his words come back, and so does his past. He is filled with joy. His granddaughter asks to learn his words too, and so begins, in some small but important way, the passing on a his heritage.

Discussion

Author Melanie Florence of Cree/Scottish heritage wrote this picture book in honour of her grandfather. Unlike the little girl in the story, Florence never had the chance to speak to her grandfather about his Cree heritage.For the author,  "...this story is about the healing relationship she wishes she had been able to have with him." 

Stolen Words gently introduces young readers to the residential school issue in a way that is easy to understand, simple text that presents the essence of what happened to young Indigenous children. Florence's text is given colour and emotion through the lovely, soft, warm illustrations by Quebec artist, Gabrielle Grimard. 

September 30 is Orange Shirt day, which is a day of remembrance and education about the Indian Residential school system and the impact it had on Indigenous children who were forcibly taken from their homes and placed in schools. These schools were designed to assimilate young Indigenous children into white European culture. Indigenous children were often completely separated from their families for long periods. The result was a loss of their mother language and the forgetting of a way of life. Afterwards, belonging to neither the white culture nor their own Indigenous culture, children who attended the residential schools grew into troubled adults, suffering from a deep sense of loss and profound alienation. As we now know, the impact of the residential school program has been ongoing and inter-generational.  Books like Stolen Words, are essential. They remind us to acknowledge the harm done by Canada's racist policies towards its First Nations, to work towards healing and to helping Indigenous peoples of Canada recover their culture and identity.

Book Details:

Stolen Words by Melanie Florence
Toronto: Second Story Press    2017