The Sweet Bloods of Eeyou Istchee: Stories by James Bay Cree Storytellers

by Ruth DyckFehderau

In this groundbreaking collection, Ruth DyckFehderau and twenty-seven storytellers offer a rich and timely accounting of contemporary life in Eeyou Istchee, the territory of the James Bay Cree of Northern Quebec. The stories are connected by diabetes, but they are not records of illness as much as they are deeply personal accounts of life in the the fine, swaying balances of living both in town and on the land, of family and work and studies, of healing from relocations and residential school histories while building communities of safety and challenge and joy, of hunting and hockey, and much more. Sweet Bloods is essential reading for anyone who knows anyone with diabetes, and for anyone interested in a contemporary rendering of one of Canada’s vibrant, thriving, and highly adaptive Indigenous communities.

280 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2017

About the author

Ruth DyckFehderau grew up on a farm in Southern Ontario. She holds degrees from Universities of Alberta (’01 PhD, '95 MA) and Winnipeg (’91 BA). She has lived in many places and has travelled widely. These days, she is writing nonfiction books with the James Bay Cree of Northern Quebec, and she sometimes teaches Creative Writing and English Lit at the University of Alberta where she is an Adjunct Professor. She does quite a bit of public speaking, has published many short works in literary journals and anthologies, and has received awards for writing, for teaching, and for activism. She lives in Edmonton with her partner. She is hearing-impaired.

Ruth has written three books. I (Athena) was released by NeWest Press in April, 2023. E nâtamukw miyeyimuwin: Residential School Recovery Stories of the James Bay Cree, Volume One, nonfiction, written with James Bay Cree storytellers, was released in March, 2023. The Sweet Bloods of Eeyou Istchee: Stories of Diabetes and the James Bay Cree (2017), nonfiction, also written with James Bay Cree storytellers, is now in Second Edition (2020) and is being translated into Northern East Cree, Southern East Cree, Ojibwe, French, and excerpts into Chinese.

Reviews

[Jesse Chevrier · Rating 5 out of 5]

5/5 - no notes a+

[Léanne R · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5*
A collection of stories from Eeyouch from different communities who live with diabetes: a must-read for any healthcare professional working in Eeyou Istchee.

[T.R. Ormond · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Sweet Blood's of Eeyou Istchee shares 26 personal stories about how individuals in Eeyou Istchee have contracted and then dealt with diabetes. The purpose of the book is to help others know the signs of diabetes and the various was of preventing it. If prevention is too late, the stories recount how others have managed their diabetes, offering numerous examples and revealing that there is no "one-size-fits-all" approach to coping with this problem.

The book's strengths are numerous, but two things really stand out.

First, every story demonstrates that diabetes is a direct consequence of the radical transformation in lifestyle and diet wrought by the influence of white culture. The Eeyou and Eenou are traditionally a people who walked everywhere; now they drive. The Eeyou and Eenou diet is traditionally supported by hunting and gathering in the bush; the availability of of starchy, processed foods out of the south now makes up much more of their diet. The impact of imperialism behind these changes, and the legacy of residential schools, have led certain individuals to depend on junk food for comfort, something very familiar to white southerners, but previously unknown to a culture that used to depend on a subsistence diet. Diabetes is the physical manifestation of the toll cultural transformation is taking on Eeyou and Eenou bodies.

The book's second great strength is that is demonstrates the value and effectiveness of the concept of miyupimaatisiiun, an overarching view of health that sees "physical health and wellness as being inseparable from spiritual health, from emotional health, from intellectual health, from community health, and from the health and wellness of the land" (270). Every story shows that the path to better managing diabetes is one where the sufferer envisages his or her health in these broader terms. Many of the stories also show that western medicine often fails to help Eeyou and Eenou because it focuses exclusively on the material aspect of health. It's not that western medicine is wrong, just that it is too focused on one aspect of health. The stories of these individuals reveal that western medicine serves them much better when it is used in conjunction with Cree concepts.

The book is a useful tool for those who suffer from the disease or who are likely to succumb to it. In addition to stories, it has "true and false" sections to dispel myths and it closes with a thorough glossary to help people understand some of the confusing concepts about health, medicine and addiction.

Its primary audience will be Indigenous readers, especially Eeyou ad Eenou. I also think it can be a useful read for anyone interested in learning about contemporary life in Eeyou Istchee. Here are the stories of 26 people currently living there. Their lives all were impacted by the James Bay Hydroelectric project, residential schools, and the closing of HBC posts in the region. They have all experienced a dramatic social and cultural transformation. We would do well to be aware of it and acknowledge it, especially since so many of us depend on their land for electricity and paper products.

[K.D. Reid · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was a great look at a lot of very important and under recognized social issues. The discussion about diabetes is really just the tip of the ice burg. All of the stories are told by way of a story circle, very similar to the style of the Cree people of the book. So being able to view the world through their lens in a way that is significant to their culture was a marvel in and of itself. Further than that, it touches on issue such as post-partum depression, nursing aversion, bipolar depressive disorder, and depression among other things. Not to mention, the entire premis of the Cree people being suppressed and undergoing the same kinds of discrimination and abhorrent treatment as the African American and Native American peoples. It is a must read for everyone, an important educational read indeed.

[Terri London Mabel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not a health care professional but this is an incredible resource for anyone wanting to learn more about the Eeyou/Eenou of Eeyou Istchee (the James Bay Cree). It consists of 26 first person stories of people who discovered they had diabetes--their lives before, their first symptoms, their experiences with the medical establishment, and how they treated it.

Because it's storytelling, and not clinical descriptions, these stories talk about their family life, their loves, their heartbreaks, traditional ways of living and so forth. It's very rich with cultural detail.

[Clara Annabelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent book that every Canadian should read. It gives a greater understanding of the affects of colonization and residential schools on the health of the Cree today. The book is a compilation of true stories from different members of the community which makes it very personal and enjoyable (while at many times heartbreaking) to read. Truly a must read, especially if you work in the health care system. Everyone has a story.

[Samie_TheBookMouse · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a nurse working for Cree Health Board, I think this book should be read by all healthcare workers who works with Cree patients. It helped me understand how my patients see their diabetes and how to better help them.