BOOKS
COVER
Chief's
House Torched in Kanesatake
BIOGRAPHY
A
Christmas Story: Sharon Greyeyes' Original Bannock Shop
BOOKS
Carr's
Native Experience Reprinted
Telling
It Like It Is
BUSINESS
Diamond
Search Leads to Conflict-of-Interest Probe
ENVIRONMENT
Blueberry
River First Nations Launches $7.5 Million Lawsuit Against Gas Development
HUMOUR
Bee
in the Bonnet: Ten, Happy, New, Years
Bee
in the Bonnet: Point the Arrow
POLITICS
Wounded
Leaders, Wounded Nations
Ottawa
Announces New Fast Track for Residential School Survivors
The
2004 National Aboriginal Achievement Awards (NAAA)
The
Truth About Stories: A Native Narrative
By Thomas King
Reviewed by
Chiara Snow
In his latest book, Canada's award winning author, Thomas King, tells
it like it is - although often between the lines. Entitled The Truth
About Stories, this collection of five narratives also comprised the
2003 Massey Lectures, a program aired by the CBC.
Each story, written in a style that can be warm yet acerbic, begins with a traditional Native approach:
"There is a story I know. It's about the earth and how it floats in space on the back of a turtle. I've heard this story many times, and each time someone tells the story, it changes."
Following this introduction, the accounts are King's very personal insights on what life as a Native means culturally, socially, politically, economically and religiously. Chapters include titles such as You're Not the Indian I Had in Mind and What Is It About Us That You Don't Like. The answer to the latter title, in part, reads:
"Maybe the answer to the question is simply that you don't think we deserve the things we have. You don't think we've worked for them. You don't think we've earned them. You think that all we did was to sign our names to some prehistoric treaty…"
Don't be fooled by King's light and airy writing style - these are serious stories with serious points. Written for an audience that's ready to hear the truth (Indians. You can't live with them. You can't shoot them.); King tackles issues that challenge Natives on a daily basis. Perhaps he hopes to bring readers to an understanding; and perhaps that understanding will bring positive changes.
Thomas King is Professor of English at the University of Guelph. He has
been nominated for the Governor General's Award and the Common Wealth
Writers Prize. Thomas King's father was Cherokee, his mother is Greek,
and he is the first Massey lecturer of Native descent.
Click here to read the First Nations
Drum interview with Thomas King. For more information on King's audio
readings visit the CBC Massey
Lectures web page.