Ways to Go: Rediscovering Travel as told through Two Himalaya Adventures – 1971 and 2023Edited by Bob Henderson and Torbjørn YdegaardPublished by Your Nickel’s Worth PublishingReview by Michelle Shaw$29.95 ISBN 9781778690549 In most mountaineering exploits that I’ve read or heard about, the point always seems to be about reaching the summit – and the blood, sweat and tears involved to get there. Ways to Go explores a completely different approach. How can we travel more intentionally and responsibly with less impact on the world around us? The book is shaped around a particular journey. In 1971, three Norwegian mountaineers – Arne Næss, Sigmund Kvaløy Setreng, and Nils Faarlund – embarked on an expedition to the Sherpa community of Beding, Nepal, located in the Rolwaling Valley near the sacred mountain of Tseringma. The men were scholars, philosophers and activists and their perspective was vastly different to most of the mountaineers of their day. They weren’t interested in simply forging ahead to reach the summit of a sacred mountain regardless of the wishes of the local community. They had a more focused, thoughtful approach – and they decided theirs would be an anti-expedition. Ways to Go explores the development of eco-mountaineering and…

We are the Stars: Colonizing and Decolonizing the Oceti Sakowin Literary Traditionby Sarah HernandezPublished by University of Regina PressReview by Shelley A. Leedahl$39.95 ISBN 9780889779181 In We are the Stars: Colonizing and Decolonizing the Oceti Sakowin Literary Tradition, American academic Sarah Hernandez (Sicangu Lakota) examines the colonial dismantling of Dakota, Nakota and Lakota intellectual traditions, including “star knowledge through oral storytelling.” She writes that when missionaries arrived in the early nineteenth century, the “linguistic [colonization]” began. Hernandez teaches Native American literature and is the director for the Institute for American Indian Research at the University of New Mexico. She states that “missionary translations of the Dakota language set a dangerous precedent that denigrated Oceti Sakowin star knowledge and supplanted [their] tribal land narratives with new settler-colonial land narratives that ensured that many of our people converted to Christianity and assimilated to the American nation.” Missionaries learned the Dakota language and printed bilingual Dakota-English newspapers which contained “misinterpretation[s] of Dakota origin narratives” and essentially “delegitimize[d] the Oceti Sakowin’s intellectual traditions”—and Christians replaced them with their own. These settler-colonials subsequently “stripped the Dakota nation of 35 million acres of land” and forced them onto a “ten-mile-wide reservation” in Minnesota. Hernandez frequently makes…

Courage and a Castle: A Tribute to a Remarkable Womanby W.J. KoczkaPublished by Wood Dragon BooksReview by Sally Meadows$24.99 ISBN 9781990863950 I can’t imagine a more meaningful tribute to a parent than chronicling their life story in a published book so that many can benefit from their wisdom and grace. Author W.J. Koczka does exactly that, with respect, gratitude, honour, humour, and above all, love, in her new book Courage and a Castle, a memoir of her years with her remarkable mother, Mary. Koczka does an admirable job detailing the resilience and steadfastness (“courage”) with which her mother navigated life’s many challenges. The “castle” referenced is none other than Saskatoon’s own Delta Bessborough, where Mary built her career, providing not only income and stability for her family, but also where her children learned about the value of hard work and the importance of being dedicated to whatever work is at hand. Courage and a Castle is also a story of Mary’s deep faith, rooted in a devastating event early in her marriage that changed the course of her life forever. Koczka lovingly shares how Mary navigated trials without complaint or lament, all while raising six children and working full time…

Walking Together: The Future of Indigenous Child Welfare on the PrairiesEdited by Jason Albert, Dorothy Badry, Don Fuchs, et al.Published by University of Regina PressReview by Toby A. Welch  $39.95 ISBN 9780889778900 This fascinating book touches on so many topics. Walking Together begins by diving into why it is such a struggle for so many families to access services for their children. We then get right into Bill C-92, the connection between FASD (Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder) and colonization, and the overrepresentation of Indigenous children in care. We learn about the importance of supporting Indigenous child welfare workers as well as how Indigenous people are making changes in the welfare systems for their children.  As I went through the chapters, I loved the constant reinforcement that one of the ways forward for Indigenous children is with culture and a sense of belonging through Indigenous stories and traditions. We need to remember the past while we look toward the future.  I value books that don’t steer away from tough issues. Life blows sometimes and reality can be harsh. So even though it was uncomfortable, I appreciated reading about topics such as the forced sterilization of Indigenous girls and women. As we dove into the…