Book review: Red Wolf reconnects

Dance tells the story of Red Wolf, a five-year-old boy who is removed from his family at the age of five to attend residential school. A young wolf pup named Crooked Ear, also affected by the increasing presence of non-native settlers, becomes orphaned when his family is shot and killed for their bounties.

The realities faced by both the young boy and the wolf are paralleled. At times they help one another to survive and cope with the tremendous losses that they have to endure. As Red Wolf, who was renamed “George” by the Christian school, grows in years, he struggles with the fact that his school experience has prepared him for a life that he cannot live because of his heritage. What the school taught confuses him and he is not sure which path he is meant to follow — Christian or Anishinaabe.

Unable to forge his way as an Indian in non-native society, he returns to his reserve. There, Red Wolf learns that his grandmother, a medicine woman, is living on the land in their traditional ways. He begins to reconcile his confusion with the decision to find and reconnect with her.

While the topic is a difficult one, it covers the realities faced by First Nations in the late 1800’s in a realistic and broad-minded manner. The book is easy to read and would be suitable for both young adult and adult readers.

“Red Wolf” by Jennifer Dance. Dundurn Press. Paperback. 256 pages. ISBN 978-1-4597-0810-5. Copyright Jennifer Dance, 2014.

– Reviewed by Laura Dokis