Encounter by Brittany Luby

Encounter tells the story of a meeting between two people from very different worlds long ago. The story begins on a morning in which the "sun rose to light all Creation." Creation includes seagull, mouse, mosquito, crab and other animals as well as two men, Fisher and Sailor.

Fisher awakes on the edge of the forest by the sea to the new day, gets into his canoe and paddles out into the ocean planning to let out his nets. Out on the ocean, Sailor awakes too, with plans to explore this new world. He lowers a boat and rows toward shore. Fisher sees Sailor and wonders if his eyes are playing tricks on him. Sailor realizes this unknown land is not new and empty.

Pulled by the tide, they land together on the beach. They greet one another in their own language but cannot understand what the other is saying. Sailor tries to explain his journey with a picture in the sand. When he becomes hungry, he eats one of his biscuits and offers it to Fisher. But Fisher would "rather chew wood". He in turn offers Sailor sunflower seeds. Sailor spits them out, thinking he "would rather eat pebbles".  But Fisher shows him how to open the seed's shells.

The two go swimming to cool off from the hot summer sun. They see beluga whales in the bay. As night approaches, each must return to their lives, and the two say goodbye, hopeful they can meet again.

Discussion

Encounter is a story about two people from different lands and cultures meeting for the first time and finding ways to build the beginnings of a friendship. As Luby whose heritage is from the Anishinabeg, explains in her historical note at the back, the story "is based on notes kept by Jacques Cartier, a real French explorer, on his first expedition to what is now known as North America. Cartier anchored his ship in what we now call Gaspe Bay, in 1534. While Mi'gmaq territory included this region, records suggest that they shared fishing grounds with Stadaconans in the sixteenth century. " For Luby, "imagining an open and friendly meeting between a French sailor and a Stadaconan fisher" was the vehicle for showing that people from very different cultures can find common ground.

This message is presented throughout the picture book through the various animals who watch the encounter. Although Fisher notes that he and Sailor do not sound the same, seagull observes that they both cast long shadows. The mosquito likes that they both taste delicious, crab notices that they both "found a shell to suit them" and beluga decides that they both together "make a strong pod". 

Sailor and Fisher's encounter was similar to that of Cartier's initial relationship with the Stadaconan fishers in 1534.It began as a mutually peaceful one. However Cartier took two Stadaconan men with him on the voyage back to France, returning them the following year. This was done against their will and was disrespectful and harmful to the Stadacona and their families. It was this arrogant sort of action that was to colour almost all future contact with Indigenous peoples in North America.

In her Author's Reflection, Luby writes, "By being a hand on Cartier's ship, Sailor helped to build a system that took resources from Indigenous peoples, like Fisher, and delivered them to Europeans." However, Sailor could not really have understood the effects of  his actions nor those of his country at the time. Luby and many others are looking at history through the modern lens of tolerance, openness and with a knowledge Europeans could not have had.  In the 1500's European explorers saw the world as something to be conquered. They had the mindset that their culture was superior. This would not be surprising since Indigenous cultures in North America were not as technologically advanced as Europeans and their cultures were so very different. They either did not recognize the harm they were doing or most likely were not concerned. Today most of us are no different: no matter how open and accepting we are towards another culture, we still hold the belief that whatever culture we live in is better than other cultures. Otherwise we would adopt those traditions and beliefs ourselves but we do not.

This doesn't take away from the wonderful message of Luby's picture book, that we should be open and respectful to cultures different from our own and that we act in ways that do not harm others. Her message is enhanced by the exquisite artwork of Michaela Goade. Rendered in watercolour, pen, ink and gouache, as well as digitally, the vibrant illustrations show the beauty of the land Sailor has "discovered" (and to him it was a discovery because it was something new and previously unknown) and the land that is Fisher's home.

Book Details:

Encounter by Brittany Luby
Toronto: Tundra Books      2019