Truth Telling by Michelle Good
“To understand the brutal circumstances Indigenous Peoples of Turtle Island continue to endure, we must reach under the myth of Canadian History. We must embrace history in the way Indigenous Peoples experienced it as it truly unfolded. “
Did you know that over half the children in the child welfare system are Indigenous?
Did you know that the settlement awarded to Sizties Scoop survivors amounts to only 6.85$ a day? (For those in care for 10 years?
Did you know that in the 60s, Indigenous children who were taken from their homes were advertised in the papers for new, non-Indigenous families?
Did you know that Indian agents withheld food rations in order to sexually assault Indigenous women (& girls).
Did you know that there is only ONE First Nation in Canada “whose jurisdiction over child welfare is acknowledged at law”?
I knew some of this, I didn’t know most of it.
This may seem simple, or obvious, but one of the most striking moments of reading this book for me was Michelle Good referring to Indigenous Nations as “ancient civilizations.”
We study ancient civilizations and marvel at their developments and systems, we even wish we could go back and talk to them or ask them questions - yet we live on the same land with ancient civilizations and we systemically erase that same rich history, and we don’t hold the knowledge that survived with the same respect. (Of course I’m using ‘we’ here as a collective, or national ‘we’)
Knowledge doesn’t only become valuable when the knowledge holders are gone.
As someone who is terrible with dates but very interested in history, I appreciated Michelle Good’s writing style in Truth Telling. It is clear and focuses on impact, while also giving an effective and powerful overview of a nuanced and emotional reality. The year a specific treaty was signed or the date of a terrible update to the Indian Act may be difficult to remember, but the way these actions, choices, and injustices all work together is what paints a vivid picture of todays context.
I also really appreciated the chapter on Indigenous Literature. She highlights some of the key moments in the rise of Indigenous Literature in mainstream circles, the activism that was required, and I learned about some Indigenous owned publishers I will be doing more research into and supporting.
She doesn’t hold back and this book is small but mighty.
I would encourage everyone, especially Canadians, to pick this one up in honor of the National Day of Truth & Reconciliation.
If non-fiction isn't your style, Michelle Good is also the author of Five Little Indians, a novel that follows 5 different characters in their journey for belonging and healing after leaving residential school. It is based in the downtown Eastside of Vancouver and provides a deep understanding of some of the systemic and trauma-inflicted barriers faced by the Indigenous community.
“In my mind, reconciliation in its most fundamental form is very simple. It’s about restoring balance to the relationship between the Crown and Indigenous Nations.”
