Biography & Autobiography Cultural Heritage
Walk With My Shadow
- Publisher
- Breakwater Books Ltd.
- Initial publish date
- Oct 2012
- Category
- Cultural Heritage, General, General
- Recommended Age
- 13
- Recommended Grade
- 8
-
Paperback / softback
- ISBN
- 9781771030007
- Publish Date
- Oct 2012
- List Price
- $19.95
Classroom Resources
Where to buy it
Description
Meet George Gregoire, an Innu man who was born in the Labrador bush in the middle of the last century, yet mustered enough education to write his memoirs. In the authentic voice of a storyteller George invites the reader to see Innu society and culture from the inside. He shares stories from his earliest childhood memories and the wondrous life of a hunter. George also became a husband and father and the story of his adult life is a mirror through which the images of a once independent people, under siege from the encroachment of a powerful and indifferent Canadian society, are tragically reflected. This is also a story of resistance and resilience, of a personal life and death struggle with alcoholism, as well as the desperate, brazen and occasionally triumphant struggles of a people to reclaim their culture and regain control over their lives and their homeland
About the author
George Gregoire (Shuash Kanikuen) was born in 1946 in the Meshikamau area of Nitassinan, the Innu homeland that covers much of the Quebec/Labrador peninsula. He has served as addictions program director, Band Manager, Band Councilor, land rights negotiator, interpreter, actor and now works for the Healing lodge in Natuashish, organizing sweats and providing support for inmates at the Correctional Centre in Happy Valley, Labrador. He is married to Charlotte (Shanut) Gregoire and has 7 children and 17 grandchildren.
Awards
- Short-listed, Heritage and History Award
Librarian Reviews
Walk With My Shadow: The Life of an Innu Man
George Gregoire, whose Innu name is Shuash, shares both the events and the emotions of his life story. He has witnessed a time when significant cultural, social, and political changes have impacted the traditional Innu way of life. Here he describes in detail hunting and living in traditional Innu ways. Modern issues, from the destruction of traditional hunting grounds to substance abuse to the challenges of leadership, have touched his life as well. Sensitively and collaboratively edited with Camille Fouillard, Shuash’s perspective as an Innu man and as an Aboriginal writer are strongly present throughout this book. A helpful glossary of Innu words is included at the end of the book.Source: The Association of Book Publishers of BC. Canadian Aboriginal Books for Schools. 2013-2014.
