Our Story: Aboriginal Voices on Canada's Past

by Thomas King (Contributor)

A collection of original stories written by some of the country’s most celebrated Aboriginal writers, and inspired by pivotal events in the country’s history.

Inspired by history, Our Story is a beautifully illustrated collection of original stories from some of Canada’s most celebrated Aboriginal writers.

Asked to explore seminal moments in Canadian history from an Aboriginal perspective, these ten acclaimed authors have travelled through our country’s past to discover the moments that shaped our nation and its people.

Drawing on their skills as gifted storytellers and the unique perspectives their heritage affords, the contributors to this collection offer wonderfully imaginative accounts of what it’s like to participate in history. From a tale of Viking raiders to a story set during the Oka crisis, the authors tackle a wide range of issues and events, taking us into the unknown, while also bringing the familiar into sharper focus.

Our Story brings together an impressive array of voices — Inuk, Cherokee, Ojibway, Cree, and Salish to name just a few — from across the country and across the spectrum of First Nations. These are the novelists, playwrights, journalists, activists, and artists whose work is both Aboriginal and uniquely Canadian.

Brought together to explore and articulate their peoples’ experience of our country’s shared history, these authors’ grace, insight, and humour help all Canadians understand the forces and experiences that have made us who we are.

Maria Campbell • Tantoo Cardinal • Tomson Highway • Drew Hayden Taylor • Basil Johnston • Thomas King • Brian Maracle • Lee Maracle • Jovette Marchessault • Rachel Qitsualik

Genres: Indigenous, History, Nonfiction, Canada, Short Stories, Anthologies, Historical

256 pages, Paperback

First published October 19, 2004

About the author

Thomas King was born in 1943 in Sacramento, California and is of Greek and German descent. He obtained his PhD from the University of Utah in 1986. He is known for works in which he addresses the marginalization of American Indians, delineates "pan-Indian" concerns and histories, and attempts to abolish common stereotypes about Native Americans. He taught Native American Studies at the University of Lethbridge in Alberta, Canada, and at the University of Minnesota. He is currently a Professor of English at the University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada. King has become one of the foremost writers of fiction about Canada's Native people.

Reviews

[Dana Burgess · Rating 5 out of 5]

The stories contained in this book really did open my eyes to the history and culture of the Native people in Canada. Some I enjoyed more than others, of course but all were entertaining and educational. As much as I enjoyed the stories, I also enjoyed the contributor's notes. It was interesting to see why each author chose the subject he/she did. Sometimes we forget that Native Canadians have a history that extends before the beginning of the European Canadian history. As such, those were the stories I enjoyed the most. 'Our Story' should be required in all Canadian history classes.

[Lyf · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some absolutely beautiful, touching and inspired short stories.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some of these stories are absolute gems. I enjoyed the collection's range of styles and approaches, although that range means that some of the more sophisticated narratives are fairly hard to teach to first-year undergraduates, as I just did in a co-taught course. If I teach this text again, I may save several of the stories for higher level students.

[Lucinda · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a really great collection of short stories, arranged to tell the stories of canadian/ aboriginal history from an aboriginal perspective. The authors are from different first nations/ aboriginal backgrounds and they take different approaches to their subject matter. And this is what makes the volume so wonderful - one author tells the story of the Inuit and Tulit people encountering Vikings, another tells a story of a boy's experience of Native Canadians gaining the right to vote, finally, in 1960. While I didn't get as drawn into some stories as others they all strongly evoke a sense of the distinctness of the aboriginal experience and perspective of their history in relation to the narratives of Canada about which most of us have been educated. I am not sure if this telling is meant to displace or unsettle those narratives, or simply broaden the horizon of Canadian history, but I definitely appreciate the need for a greater sense of Canada and the people who have lived in this landscape than is offered in middle school canadian history, or those government sponsored heritage commercials.
Highly recommend!

[Danielle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this collection of stories. I think there were a couple I didn't care for due to writing style. But overall I learned a lot, as each story lead me to reading more about a time in indigenous history that I wasn't familiar with.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really excellent read. Real Canadian Indigenous issues shared through masterful storytelling.

[Layla · Rating 5 out of 5]

This collection of short stories was was beautiful and haunting. Although the book is relatively short, around 250 pages, it took me some time to finish. Each story left me with thoughts and questions of my own I needed to sit with. And I am excited to explore the other literary works by several of the authors.

[Jessie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Often with books with multiple stories I rate each story and tally up the rating but this book is getting a solid 3 stars. I liked it. I felt like it was very well put together, the authors are all very talented writers/storytellers and I loved their stories on Canada's history. It was very eye opening and if anything this book as encouraged me even more to look for Indigenous authors! Overall some of these stories were better then others and the last two stories had to be my favourite.

[Veronica · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent collection of short stories reflecting on aboriginal voices from the mythology of how the earth began to the conflict in Oka. Arranged in chronological order and written by an exclusive group of native writers. A must read.

[Scott Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

I find the work of Aboriginal writers enjoyably challenging, both thematically and structurally. They find fascinating ways to use English that are fresh and unique. I wish this book could have included more stories or that there were a follow-up volume.

[B.E. McLaughlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I purchased this book to help with an Aboriginal Canadian history class I was in, and the storys that were placed within told of heartbreak, desire, loss, faith, broken dreams, and alcoholism. The Native soul speaks through this book.

[Vionna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everybody should read these stories to learn more about our aboriginals history. Their voices tug at our heart strings and their words are unforgettable.

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent collection of stories. Brian Maracle's The First Words stands out, and so do Basil Johnston's The Wampam Belt Tells Us, and Thomas King's Coyote and the Enemy Aliens

[Rita · Rating 3 out of 5]

2004
A most interesting collection of specially commissioned stories by First Nations writers, perhaps most of them from western Canada. Several tell some version of legends or creation stories. The Coyote story by Thomas King is an example.

Some tell stories, set in a time closer to our own, from the perspective of a child, some from the perspective of a parent. Tomson Highway writes about an 8-year-old playing in a [white] piano competition, combined with Indians getting the right to vote in the 1960s.

One [by Lee Maracle] talks about the history of a part of Vancouver [???], Snauq, that used to be an important First Nations food-gathering place and was entirely destroyed and built over by whites.

Each piece is different, each is enlightening. Most have a main character.

I'm glad I happened to find this book in one of the mini libraries in Eric's neighborhood, while walking between their house and Rose's!

[M · Rating 3 out of 5]

*3 Stars on the whole - Some stories much higher, others lower.

Enjoyable for the most part. Some of the stories are much better than others. Was really hoping for something more mythology based. Many of the stories don't have that mythological/ fable element, more a recounting of historic events from another perspective. Still informative but not what I was after. Would have liked more Brian Maracle type content. The morals in these tales were not lost though, they hit the target. Finished reading most asking the question "What are we doing?"

Was very grateful for being introduced to some of these authors. Added many more books to my Good reads "want to read" list.

Highlights

The Moon of the Dancing Suns -Such a beautiful story. The highlight of this reading journey.

Hearts and Flowers - So touching and upsetting. Made me reflect on the human condition (human vs in-human repetitions were hard to read and accept but this is the world we've created)

Happy reading!

[Mike Dunnigan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is very thought provoking. It is very sad to think of all the ways we European Canadians have tried to destroy the people who made it possible for us to live in this land. The stories are all very different but all tell the message of struggle from the little boy at the piano who couldn't get his head around the fact that he was human or the woman whos ex husband had taken up the cause to protect the land.
Thank you to all the authors who told us their stories. I can't say that I enjoyed the book but I had a hard time putting it down. It would be sad to think that I could get enjoyment out of the struggles of my brothers and sisters.
If there is anyone I can apologize to for the action of my ancestors I do, and hope we do better in the future.

[Sue Williams · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this. It's a great collection of stories by various indigenous writers that taught me much, got me thinking, and allowed me just to revel in the beauty of the writers craft. I took it out of the library and loved it so much I had to buy my own copy.

I've been trying to find my own path to reconciliation by learning what we weren't taught in school about indigenous peoples here in Canada. This book was good for that, but more than that, it appealed to my love of really good writing. I highly recommend it.

[Izzy Thurber · Rating 4 out of 5]

This collection of short stories was really enlightening on different aspects of Canadian history from an indigenous perspective. Some of the writing was absolutely mind-blowing, it only gets four stars because some of the stories I felt that the writing itself was not that great. Regardless of the writing quality, the stories and perspectives shared this book are really important to read and understand as a white person living in Canada. I also loved how they had authors from many different areas of Canada, offering an attempt at comprehensive indigenous perspectives across our vast country.

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fascinating collection of short stories told from different Canadian Aboriginals about the history of Canada. There was mention of some distant Indigenous that I hadn't heard about and how their connections may be related to some modern day Indigenous Tribes.

I highly recommend checking out this book as it's very informative and has several very fascinating tales.

Trigger warnings: death, war, murder, rape (not graphic), slavery, racial slurs, oppression, families torn apart, cultures destroyed

[Amanda Samuelson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this collection of short stories and essays. Educational, thought-provoking, and beautifully written. Although I liked all of the contributions to this collection, I’d have to say I was most struck by Tomson Highway’s “Hearts and Flowers,” which was set in 1960, at the same time Indigenous peoples in Canada finally got the right to vote. Thomas King’s “Coyote and the Enemy Aliens” and Drew Hayden Taylor’s “A Blurry Image on the Six O’Clock News” were other standouts for me.

[Stephanie Sirois · Rating 5 out of 5]

This pulled on my heart so much. Probably not the best choice of a read for the holiday season. In a lot of ways, this is one of the few ways I can get close to my heritage and their stories, so this work was highly appreciated.

[Numberbox · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book. Includes a story about life in the Canadian North one thousand years ago, framed as the birth of Inuit. Amazing.

[Teresa Mills-Clark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written collection of stories discussing the impact of living as Indigenous Peoples within Canada over the past 1,100 years.

[Jenn · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read for anyone trying to understand Canadian history - because this is the stuff you weren't taught.

[Clivemichael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great collection of tales. Profound reflections

[Vontel]

I think I read this book several years ago. Will request a copy to review/see if that is correct, or likely read, if not.

[Cynthia · Rating 4 out of 5]

some of the stories are lovely

[Cheryl · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this short story collections. Some were good well another's were okay.

[Cecilia]

I think I enjoyed to contributors’ notes more than most of the actual stories.

[Pankaj · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great collection of stories by wonderful indigenous writers. I especially liked Basil Johnston's The Wampum Belt Tells Us.