Waubgeshig Rice shares journey to Moon of the Crusted Snow
By Kelly Anne Smith
NORTH BAY—”Oh, I hear you on the radio,” said a fan.
“Thanks for tuning in. I appreciate that,” said Waubgeshig Rice, the new host of CBC Up North Radio.
Rice is also an author, one that is settling into the comfy chair about to be a part of the conversation with fans from Nipissing First Nation, North Bay and surrounding areas. From the Bear Clan of Wasauksing First Nation, Rice is sharing his journey of writing his latest novel, the Moon of the Crusted Snow.
The reading was hosted by the Indigenous Advanced Education Skills Council (IAESC), an independent not-for-profit corporation created through provincial legislation, at its satellite office in North Bay. IAESC Chairwoman and executive director Laurie Robinson wanted to have an opportunity to celebrate Waubgeshig Rice.
“He’s an incredible literary role model for Indigenous people.”
Rice calls himself fortunate to be able to tell stories and have conversations based on his Anishinaabe background.
“With that, I like to carry myself as humbly and respectfully as I can when sharing other people’s stories.”
He talked about growing up in the 1980’s in a time when his community was reconnecting with its Anishinaabe heritage.
“For many decades, our community was struggling due to the legacies of colonialism—residential schools and day schools; and the more negative components of the Indian Act, like forbidding culture and language,” explains Rice. “For a long time, my community struggled with identity and trying to figure out what everyone’s roles were as an Anishinaabe people.”
The author says it was a good time to grow up as many people from his father’s generation reconnected with their ways.
At age 6, Rice was practising on the drum and learning songs. He received his first regalia and started dancing in powwows.
“It was part of a long healing journey which I think a lot of you are familiar with as are others are in Indigenous communities across the country. There is a lot to overcome since the brutalization of Indigenous culture in this country.”
As a child, the parents in Wasauksing First Nation advocated for children up to grade eight to be educated in the community at Ryerson Indian Day School, now called Wasauksing Kinomaugewgamik School.
“That curriculum development really relied on a lot of Anishinaabe elements. Part of that was having Elders come in to share stories with us,” recalls Rice. “We would be in class and learning language arts, math and science, but if an Elder happened to drop in, then we abandoned everything and then it was story time. It was especially awesome whenever math class rolled around. They would tell Nanabush stories or community history stories because shame was attached for a really long time. Those were stories that went unspoken.”
Stories have always been Rice’s favorite part of the learning experience in school; however, in English class, story time became an isolated, solitary experience with reading a book on your own and then having a teacher explain it. The stories heard were not the shared experience of those he heard growing up.
Story time for Rice meant sitting in a circle, being very engaged, being very inclusive, sharing together. So, there was a disconnect early on.
Popular Indigenous books were not shared at the high school level.
“I didn’t think Anishinaabe culture belonged in the book form. No one had shown that to me. In the 90s, there was Patricia Johnson, Lee Maracle, Thomas King and Wagamese but their books were not shared with us.”
He credits his Aunt Eileen Kelly, his first teacher, with exposing him to Indigenous books.
“I totally opened my eyes to this other world. For the first time, I saw my experiences in my culture written down in a book.”
Rice was inspired to write down his own experiences.
“It became a creative outlet as I passed the time in the bush in a little house on the rez.”
Hard work in English class set Rice on his career path. His first taste of journalism was with the Anishinabek News. Rice wrote about his experiences as an Anishinaabe youth living in Germany for a year as an exchange student. He became an ambassador for Indigenous People in Germany and in Canada.
Rice read from Moon of the Crusted Snow, explaining the story about a northern Anishinaabe community that endures a blackout, but because it is so far from the closest city, nobody knows what is really going on.
The novel was inspired by the Northeast blackout of 2003. Rice lived in Toronto but happened to be in Wasauksing First Nation that day visiting his brothers. They started to gather firewood and got the fishing gear together.
“I wasn’t scared because I knew it was a safer place to be. I was surrounded by people who know how to live off the land.”
A reader asked Rice if there were parts in his novel that the publishers didn’t get. He replied, noting that they have understanding of residential schools and displacement. It was the pacing of the literary thriller.
“I always wanted to have moments of context in there to explain why this community is a little bit detached from its culture or why it’s been displaced 100km north from where it originally was.”
Rice wanted chunks of historical context throughout.
“They wanted to pare them down a little bit for pacing reasons. I’d say we have to keep this in the novel because people are not going to understand the background of this community,” explains Rice. “Every single community has a history of being colonized. They have their own journey to where they are today. And it’s largely against their will. There is an education that has to happen, especially if you are writing fiction about a marginalized community.”
Rice says it’s not just about sharing with non-Indigenous people. It’s about Indigenous people, too, because not everybody is aware as a result of the education system.
“I can help share information, that’s what I do. I can help share stories. That’s a way to help others educate themselves.”