The Saskatchewan Secret

The Saskatchewan Secret: Folk Healers, Diviners, and Mystics of the Prairies
By Jacqueline Moore
Published by Benchmark Press
Review by Shanna Mann
$19.95 ISBN 978-0-9813243-2-6

It was inspiring to read about people with the intestinal fortitude to live unconventional lives. In our scientific, logical world that kind of nonconformity separates us from our fellow man at the same time as we learn the underlying truth– we are more inter-connected than we believe.

Jacqueline Moore wisely advises readers in the preface, “‘Reality’ is a curious word–it sounds undeniable, authoritative, scientific. But it’s a completely subjective concept… These individuals are truthfully depicting their version of reality; however, one’s personal version must not be — can not be — the whole, entire, and complete reality…I would ask that you simply accept that these are other good people’s real experiences; and that you keep an open mind.”

On one hand, many of the stories lined up with my personal beliefs, and perhaps I like the book simply because it makes me feel “right.” But on the other hand, when you read about faith healers invoking the Virgin Mary or Jesus and getting phenomenal results (an event which before reading this book I would have firmly and smugly attributed to group hysteria) and then turn the page and read about a medicine woman invoking spirit guides, boxers healing through touch, or a carpenter neutralizing earth energy, the similarities and coincidences suddenly become too numerous to ignore.

For provoking thought, this book is full of excellent material. What of the dowser who believes that cancer is caused be negative energy running under the places where we sleep? The plant-lady who speaks on behalf of those with no voices–plants. The medicine woman who sees little people– if they’re present in every culture in the world…maybe there is something to the stories. Above all the book forced me to examine the difference between faith, spirituality and religion, and what place these mysteries have in our lives. The boundaries are not where we thought they were, it seems.

Published in:  on 27 January 2010 at 12:20 pm Leave a Comment
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Who’s That Man?

“Who’s That Man?”
by Marny Duncan-Cary and illustrated by Megan Mansbridge
Published by Your Nickel’s Worth Publishing
Review by Karen Lawson
ISBN 978-1-894431-38-5 $24.95

Marny Duncan-Cary is a talented singer and songwriter from Lumsden, Saskatchewan. Her first book, “Linger”, was based on an emotional song that she wrote. Once again, Duncan-Cary has taken one of her songs and created a delightful children’s book, entitled “Who’s That Man?” Her story is based on a real event in the author’s own family history. When her grandfather returned home from fighting in World War II, he had never met his five year old son, Gerry, who was Duncan-Cary’s father.

The inspiration for her song and subsequent book happened after the events of 9-11. Duncan-Cary had never personally experienced the impact of war, and 9-11 triggered a new set of emotions and fears. When her father discussed with her how the impact of war had affected his own childhood and his family dynamics, she put pen to paper and created the song “Who’s that Man?”. It reveals the apprehension and uncertainty between father and son upon meeting for the first time.

This touching book comes complete with a special gift included – a DVD of her song which is tucked in the back cover. The words and musical score of “Who’s That Man?” are printed on the last pages of the book as an added bonus.

The pages are sprinkled with black and white photos of her father and grandfather taken from the family photo albums during the time that they were separate. These personal mementos add a realistic touch to the story. The illustrations are by talented artist, Megan Mansbridge. Mansbridge is not only a gifted artist but she is a personal friend of the author. Her bright and colourful pictures make the story come alive. She mixes simplicity with rich textures to create a three dimensional effect that seem to jump off the pages.

This personal story is a tribute to the many families that have been altered by war. Duncan-Cary leaves the reader with the message that although war is destructive and separates families, it cannot destroy the unconditional love and special bonds that exist between them.

Published in:  on 20 January 2010 at 1:11 pm Leave a Comment
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Gabriel’s Beach

“Gabriel’s Beach”
Written by Neal McLeod
Published by Hagios Press
Review by Shelley A. Leedahl
$17.95 ISBN 978-0-9783440-5-4

“With the stories and the strength of our ancestors, we can find our home in the river again.”

These are among the introductory words of Neal McLeod, a writer, visual artist, film-maker, comedian, and professor at Trent University in Peterborough, ON, and in his poetry collection “Gabriel’s Beach,” we find some of the stories and individuals this champion of Cree and Métis culture pays homage to.

The “Gabriel” of the title is the poet’s mosôm (grandfather), a respected soldier who fought at Juno Beach, “where thunder met\the water,” and one of the many ancestors from whom the poet draws strength during his own personal battles. McLeod thanks Gabriel for “teaching us that that fire of the beach helps us to survive and keeps us from surrender,” but admits that in his own life, he has been a “son of a lost river, unable to hold the fire of Gabriel’s beach.”

The book’s first section is a mostly serious tribute to Gabriel and others, and it relays some of the war horrors Gabriel and fellow soldiers experienced: “hunger made them crazy\stomachs empty\vessels without holding\they think wîhtikow thoughts\eat their own excrement”. McLeod delivers a sharp contrast between the battleground and the life Gabriel left in Canada, as we see in this contrast: mosôm Gab welded “metal from bulldozers\patched together\like rainbow nôhkom’s quilt”.

We also meet another side of the book’s hero. In “Mosôm Gabriel’s Fight,” one of the strongest pieces, Gabriel and another man spar in Debden, SK. McLeod writes of “the other guy”: “he was like a man\running for chief\with no close relatives”.

Ah, humour. McLeod’s at his best when he’s funny, and he often is. He introduces us to “Mosôm John R. McLeod,” who “always wore his pants up high” and whose “Indian Affairs heavy glasses\would today be strangely trendy,” and to “wîhtikôhkân,” who ran from the church when his prearranged wife-to-be “took down her veil” and he discovered “she was made poorly.” In the entertaining “Thank You Mr. Brad Pitt,” the actor’s saluted for getting the narrator’s lover “hot\like a Coleman stove\at a powwow.” McLeod writes that Pitt “butter[s] her bannock\bingo card ready.”

Special attention’s paid to grandmothers and other female elders who pass on the stories that “give our bodies shape\and guide the path of sound\like trees guiding the wind.” Of “Cîhcam,” the mother of Gabriel, the poet writes “her body was our blanket\gave us life and language\brought stars from the sky”.

McLeod’s stories include the legend of chief Digging Weasel, and Buffalo Child, who was sheltered by a buffalo that later turned to stone. We learn about the importance of names, dreams, and trees.

“Gabriel’s Beach” is a political book – there are poems about “Indian mafia\like the Taliban,” and McLeod shines a spotlight on racism in “Spring Time in Kinistino,” but its seriousness is balanced by poems including “Tribute to Bob Barker,” and “Casino Culture,” where “Vegas meets neechiness.”

McLeod claims that he does not “hold the fire of Gabriel’s beach with grace”. This book proves otherwise.

Published in:  on 13 January 2010 at 2:31 pm Leave a Comment
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