Ride, Gabe, RideWritten by Wilfred Burton, Illustrated by Lucille ScottPublished by Your Nickel’s Worth PublishingReview by Shelley A. Leedahl$14.95 ISBN 9-781988-783680 Got to love it when a writer takes a compelling historical event and transforms it into an illustrated children’s book that will both educate and entertain young readers. That’s exactly what award-winning Saskatchewan Métis author and storyteller Wilfred Burton has done– along with illustrator, Lucille Scott – in Ride, Gabe, Ride, a new softcover published by Your Nickel’s Worth Publishing that tells the story of legendary Métis leader Gabriel Dumont and a particularly amazing buffalo hunt. The tale begins with a brief biography, explaining that Dumont (b. 1837) “fought for Métis rights in two resistances,” and “could negotiate in seven languages, was a superb buffalo hunter, and even performed with Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show.” The anecdote that inspired this book is based on “an incredible hunting story” Dumont relayed to Archie Brown, who wrote about it in his 1927 memoir. There’s much to recommend in this rhyming adaptation. Firstly, there’s adventure: Dumont and “the people of Bois de Fleche” prepare for the dangerous hunt – a blessing from “the black-robed priest” is included – and with horses and…

Road Allowance Kitten by Wilfred Burton, Illustrated by Christina Johns, Translated by Norman Fleury Published by Gabriel Dumont Institute Review by Shelley A. Leedahl $15.00 ISBN 978-1-926795-72-0 This bilingual (English and Michif) children’s picture book – with the green-and-yellow-eyed, plot-important kitten on the cover – gently tells a true and unpleasant story in prairie history: the poverty, hardship and displacement of the Road Allowance Métis. Like it sounds – and as explained in the back-notes – a road allowance is “a strip of [government-owned] land adjoining a parcel of surveyed land … set aside in case roads will be built in the future.” One need not know the historical truth to appreciate this well-delivered story about family and friendship, sharing, and both the joys and hardships of living a basic lifestyle, but it bears a reminder. After the 1885 Resistance, numerous Métis displaced from their traditional homes and land used scrap materials to build new, often uninsulated and tar paper-roofed shacks on road allowances. They worked for local farmers (ie: clearing fields of rocks and trees), and picked Seneca root and berries, grew gardens, trapped and hunted (though a 1939 law made year-round and unlicensed trapping and hunting illegal, and…

Relatives With Roots: A Story About Métis Women’s Connection to the Land by Leah Marie Dorion translated by Rita Flamand Published by The Gabriel Dumont Institute Review by Jessica Bickford 978-1-926795-00-3 Leah Dorion has given her all to Relatives With Roots, being the writer, illustrator, and also lending her voice to the English audio narration. Rita Flamand, a Métis elder, provides Michif-Cree translations and narrates the Michif audio track which is fascinating to listen to, as I have rarely heard the Métis language spoken. This is a lovely story about a Grandmother and her Granddaughter leaving their bush camp to go out and pick medicine, all while learning about Métis traditions. It focuses on the harmony that exists in Métis tradition between people and the earth, specifically how respect must be given to our “relatives with roots”. It includes a couple of little stories about Wisakechak (the Cree trickster) that help to further the ancestral teachings that this book is based on. The story of Relatives With Roots is both educational and endearing, but for me, the best part was the illustrations. This is the most beautiful picture book I have ever seen. Dorion’s paintings are alive with colour, authenticity,…