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Battle of the Indigenous books

Concordians Gage K. Diabo, Heather White and Elma Moses took part in CBC Montreal’s Turtle Island Reads
December 22, 2016
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By Richard Burnett


Creating awareness of Indigenous life and writers in Canada is a common goal of Gage K. Diabo, BA (English) 16, and Heather White, BFA (theatre) 06, as well as Elma Moses, who teaches First Peoples Studies at Concordia.

Gage K. Diabo As a classically trained pianist and stage director, Gage K. Diabo has worked extensively in the local music and performing arts community. | Photo courtesy of Gage K. Diabo

All three took part in Turtle Island Reads at the Kahnawake Survival School in the Kahnawake First Nations reserve in Quebec this fall. The event was streamed live by the CBC and inspired by CBC’s Canada Reads.

“Events like Turtle Island Reads are important because they open up aspects of First Nations culture to folks who may not yet be aware of their presence,” says Diabo, an MA student in First Peoples’ Literatures in Concordia’s Department of English and co-host of the weekly radio show The Movie Den on K103.7FM in Kahnawake.

“Speaking just as a literature buff, there’s currently this massive and ever-growing pool of indigenous novels, poems and plays out there; the trick is finding out what they are and where to find them,” he says.

“Since these are, you know, ‘minority’ texts that can sometimes be geared more towards Native audiences than the non-Native mainstream, it’s often the case that these books don’t get the publicity or the scholarly attention they deserve. Turtle Island Reads, which I hope goes on to become an ongoing series, is one way of introducing these wonderful, important books to kids and adults, Native and non-Native.”

Diabo, Moses and White each championed a book at Turtle Island Reads, which was hosted by CBC’s Sonali Karnick, BA 00, and Waubgeshig Rice.

Diabo discussed the award-winning novel The Back of the Turtle by Thomas King; Moses discussed Nobody Cries at Bingo by Dawn Dumont; and Heather White, a high school teacher in Kahnawake who plays Caitlin in the hit APTN television show Mohawk Girls, discussed Indian Horse by Richard Wagamese.

The Back of the Turtle book cover
Nobody Cries at Bingo book cover
Indian Horse book cover

“I agreed to participate because [event partners] the Quebec Writers’ Federation and McGill University’s Institute for the Public Life of Arts and Ideas donated those three books to English high schools, and I believe these books should be included as part of the curriculum,” says Moses.

Personal choices

White, Diabo and Moses all chose books that are close to their hearts.

About Thomas King’s novel The Back of the Turtle, “The choice was an obvious one for me, because I’ve been in love with King’s writing for my whole adult life,” Diabo says. “I can’t get enough of his caustic humour, his anything-goes approach to mashing up bits of Native and non-Native culture, and his gift for tackling huge, daunting issues in a way that’s still digestible and entertaining.”

He adds: “Given that Turtle Island Reads was geared towards younger readers, I also think that The Back of the Turtle in particular is a perfect gateway into First Nations literature. It takes on a very current problem — damage to the environment — and turns it into a high-stakes, page-turning story that focuses on the quirks and vulnerabilities of a fun group of characters. It’s approachable in a way that only a storyteller like Thomas King could pull off.”

While Moses selected Nobody Cries at Bingo by Dawn Dumont. “In a way the book chose me,” she says.

“I wanted to read a woman’s book. This book tells the story of a young girl named Dawn and uses humour to talk about violence, drinking, bullying — also between Cree and non-Cree — and it talks about finding a boyfriend and possibly a husband on the rez, when most of the people there are your cousins.”

White told the CBC that she picked Richard Wagamese’s novel Indian Horse “because his story of residential school trauma and his use of storytelling as a path toward healing speak to me on a very personal level.”

She explains: “As a second-generation survivor of the residential school system, I’ve often wondered what do with the legacy that I’ve inherited. Yes, this history of educational failure and attempted cultural genocide happened to our people, but — what next? How do we move forward? And how can I make sense of what happened to my own dad, a pillar of strength in my life despite his experiences.”

For his part, Diabo — an aspiring novelist who wrote three unpublished novels by the age of 20 — is happy to be studying at Concordia. “Jumping into my undergrad at Concordia and getting my first real taste of big-city life was an important stepping-stone for me,” he says.

“At first, it was daunting to be attending classes in skyscrapers and walking among thousands of other students — whom, in a certain mindset, you might consider your competitors. You quickly realize, though, that the key to navigating such a great big world is to find — or, better yet, create — your own niche. Your niche is what gives university life a human face, one that seems less overwhelming,” says Diabo.

“For me, it was finding places like Concordia’s Aboriginal Student Resource Centre and the First Peoples Studies program that not only gave me a day-to-day outlet as a First Nations student, but also signaled to me that you can in fact enter into a big institution like the university and make it work to your own needs.”

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