eBook
Available on Compatible NOOK devices, the free NOOK App and in My Digital Library.
Related collections and offers
Overview
Winner - PMC Indigenous Literature Award 2023
Three kohkums, a man named Crow, two best friends, and a drug dealer . . . twelve-year-old Hunter may be getting out of Red Rock sooner than he hoped.
For Hunter Frank, the summer of ’79 begins with his mother returning home only to collect the last two months’ welfare cheques, leaving her three “fucking half-breeds” to fend for themselves. When his older sister escapes their northern BC town and his brother goes to fight forest fires, Hunter is on his own, with occasional care coming from a trio of elders—his kohkums—and companionship from his two best friends.
It’s been a good summer for the young entrepreneur, but the cash in the purple Crown Royal bag hidden in his mattress still isn’t enough to fund his escape from his monstrous mother and the town of Red Rock. As the Labour Day weekend arrives, so does a new friend with old wisdom and a business opportunity that might be just a boy at the crossroads needs. My Indian Summer is the story of a journey to understanding that some villains are also victims, and that while reconciliation may not be possible, survival is.
Fall 2022 Young Adult Selection - Top Grade: Canlit for the Classroom
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781990160134 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Tidewater Press |
| Publication date: | 09/27/2022 |
| Sold by: | Barnes & Noble |
| Format: | eBook |
| File size: | 1 MB |
| Age Range: | 17 - 18 Years |
About the Author
Of Cree and Austrian descent, Joseph Kakwinokanasum grew up in the Peace region of northern BC, one of seven children raised by a single mother. A graduate of SFU's Writers Studio, his short story “Ray Says” was a finalist for CBC’s 2020 Nonfiction Prize. In 2022, he was selected by Darrel J. McLeod as one of the Writers Trust of Canada’s “Rising Stars.” He now lives and writes in BC’s Lower Mainland.
Loosely based on his own childhood, My Indian Summer is his first novel.
Read an Excerpt
Excerpt from My Indian Summer, Chapter Five
“Here you go, baby boy.” She smiled as she passed it to him. Hunter unscrewed the metal lid, stuffed in the bills and added the money from the Crown Royal bag, keeping a few coins.
“Nice work if you can get it,” said Crow.
“Never mind him, seedling,” said Maude. She pointed toward the fridge. “There's some butter, eggs and milk there.”
“Use the crate, and take some flour, too. Make some bannock, eh?” said Gladys.
Donna added, “Go out back to the garden. Pick some carrots and onions, and take some potatoes, too.”
Hunter picked up the crate of the empty bottles, packed the groceries on top and carried it all outside, moving past Crow and closing the door behind him.
“Your web, Grandmother Spider, widens,” said Crow as he heard Hunter descend the creaky stairs.
“He goes southwest, picking grain-fed rabbit,” said Maude.
“Real tasty, too.” Gladys nodded. “Yeah, not that skinny, piney thing you catch.”
“We pay him extra,” said Donna.
Crow's eyebrows raised with an expression of sudden understanding. “He's your rabbit connection!”
“Life's a circle, sapling,” said Donna.
“I figured I was buying the food for you three,” said Crow with a smile.
“Ho-leh! Does it look like we need the help?” Donna chided Crow, a smile on her soft face.
Maude shook her head, “His mother suffers. Struggles. White poison, eh,” she said. “You buy us groceries, and we pay it forward.” Gladys and Donna clapped.
“If we don't act like a community, we're nothing but the savages they say we are,” said Gladys. “We rise above, and when we do, we hit them with their own stick. We play by their laws, and we take our advantage just like anyone else would, and when we have an advantage, we share with our people. Help one another, you know.”
It wasn't a question, just a statement of truth. The Cree way. Crow nodded.
Gladys' voice was firm. “And our community is our advantage. In the white world, the Indian must be twice as capable to be considered half as good.”
“The Man will learn by example, just like that child. Just like you did, just like we did, sapling,” Gladys said.
Crow thought of the old Native men in prison, the ones who showed him how to control the Black Wolf, how to nurture the White Wolf, how to smudge and pray. He thought of the nuns and the priest who tortured him. He breathed deeply.
“She's from your parts, the boy's mom. Her name is Margarette. You know her?” Gladys asked.
“I went to the Indian school with a girl with that name—younger than me. I heard she's a fighter? I ran into her once at the store. She looked familiar, but she didn't recognize me. It's probably best that way.” Crow bent down to kiss each kohkum on the cheek. “I moved here and into the forest to get away from my past.”
Table of Contents
Prologue: Love Will Keep Us Together 1Chapter One: Knock on Wood 5
Chapter Two: Too Much Heaven 23
Chapter Three: Don't It Make My Brown Eyes Blue 35
Chapter Four: Don't Stop 'til You Get Enough 65
Chapter Five: Money Money Money 77
Chapter Six: Hot Child in the City 93
Chapter Seven: The Gambler 107
Chapter Eight: Don't Bring Me Down 117
Chapter Nine: With a Little Luck 129
Chapter Ten: Mary Jane 169
Chapter Eleven: Bat Out of Hell 211
Epilogue: Love to Love You Baby 231
Acknowledgments 235
About the author 237
Reading Group Guide
Excerpt from My Indian Summer, Chapter Five
“Here you go, baby boy.” She smiled as she passed it to him. Hunter unscrewed the metal lid, stuffed in the bills and added the money from the Crown Royal bag, keeping a few coins.
“Nice work if you can get it,” said Crow.
“Never mind him, seedling,” said Maude. She pointed toward the fridge. “There's some butter, eggs and milk there.”
“Use the crate, and take some flour, too. Make some bannock, eh?” said Gladys.
Donna added, “Go out back to the garden. Pick some carrots and onions, and take some potatoes, too.”
Hunter picked up the crate of the empty bottles, packed the groceries on top and carried it all outside, moving past Crow and closing the door behind him.
“Your web, Grandmother Spider, widens,” said Crow as he heard Hunter descend the creaky stairs.
“He goes southwest, picking grain-fed rabbit,” said Maude.
“Real tasty, too.” Gladys nodded. “Yeah, not that skinny, piney thing you catch.”
“We pay him extra,” said Donna.
Crow's eyebrows raised with an expression of sudden understanding. “He's your rabbit connection!”
“Life's a circle, sapling,” said Donna.
“I figured I was buying the food for you three,” said Crow with a smile.
“Ho-leh! Does it look like we need the help?” Donna chided Crow, a smile on her soft face.
Maude shook her head, “His mother suffers. Struggles. White poison, eh,” she said. “You buy us groceries, and we pay it forward.” Gladys and Donna clapped.
“If we don't act like a community, we're nothing but the savages they say we are,” said Gladys. “We rise above, and when we do, we hit them with their own stick. We play by their laws, and we take our advantage just like anyone else would, and when we have an advantage, we share with our people. Help one another, you know.”
It wasn't a question, just a statement of truth. The Cree way. Crow nodded.
Gladys' voice was firm. “And our community is our advantage. In the white world, the Indian must be twice as capable to be considered half as good.”
“The Man will learn by example, just like that child. Just like you did, just like we did, sapling,” Gladys said.
Crow thought of the old Native men in prison, the ones who showed him how to control the Black Wolf, how to nurture the White Wolf, how to smudge and pray. He thought of the nuns and the priest who tortured him. He breathed deeply.
“She's from your parts, the boy's mom. Her name is Margarette. You know her?” Gladys asked.
“I went to the Indian school with a girl with that name—younger than me. I heard she's a fighter? I ran into her once at the store. She looked familiar, but she didn't recognize me. It's probably best that way.” Crow bent down to kiss each kohkum on the cheek. “I moved here and into the forest to get away from my past.”