Patti LaBoucane-Benson recommends Treaty Elders of Saskatchewan
June is Indigenous Book Club Month. CBC Books will publish a recommendation each day from an Indigenous writer for a book written by another Indigenous author.
Patti LaBoucane-Benson recommends Treaty Elders of Saskatchewan.
"I had the great honour of working with the late Dr. Harold Cardinal for five years; he was one of my heroes, my mentor and my friend. I'm still so grateful that he thought I was worth teaching. Our project began shortly after he finished this book — and his accounts of the rich, deeply philosophical discussions he and his team had with the Elders influenced how I imagined my own PhD work. It wasn't until Harold had passed, however, that I carefully studied this book. Although it has been very helpful in my work, at its core are instructions for being a good human — a guide to seeking miyo-pimatisiwin (the good, healthy life) — and the cornerstones to truth and reconciliation. I can still hear Harold speaking in every paragraph and I go back to it at the beginning of every new project. I hope every service provider, researcher and seeker of the truth takes the time to read this important book."
Dr. Patti LaBoucane-Benson is a Métis-Ukrainian who grew up on Treaty Six Territory. LaBoucane-Benson has worked for Native Counselling Services of Alberta for 22 years. Based on her PhD research, her first novel, The Outside Circle, is a work of creative nonfiction about healing and reconciliation for an inner-city Indigenous family.