Letter to the Editor: Thumbs down to ‘Orenda’

Joseph Boyden’s novel, The Orenda, is a prime example of the need for Indigenous editors.

It is lauded as a historically accurate depiction of a time regarding First Nations and European contact. But, anyone coming from a “knowing” position (having escaped the Christian invasion of the soul) can easily see how one-sidedly European this author’s perspective is.  For any critic, or the author himself, to claim the young female narrator and her Anishinaabe mentor as “spiritually gifted” is ridiculing the depth and significance of my spirituality as an indigenous person. This declaration clearly indicates there is no understanding of that spirituality and supports the profound intergenerational impact of the residential school system that eradicated our traditional belief systems.  How terribly sad that yet again, the indigenous people of this land are being stereotyped by, this time, their own Jesuit-educated writer who, by his own Métis hand, brings his  Native ancestors and their descendants back into the spectrum of racist stereotypes. It is already so very difficult being indigenous in this country, but more so when we are betrayed by misguided public voices.  If Boyden depended less on the Jesuits’ often exaggerated historical accounts, he may have written a much different book which, in turn, would have made a much deeper, culturally accurate impression upon both worlds. Let us lay our tobacco down for our ancestors and pray that one day, they will finally be understood –– by firstly our own and then – by misinformed others.