Big Bear: Extraordinary Canadians

by Rudy Wiebe

Big Bear (1825–1888) was a Plains Cree chief in Saskatchewan at a time when aboriginals were confronted with the disappearance of the buffalo and waves of European settlers that seemed destined to destroy the Indian way of life. In 1876 he refused to sign Treaty No. 6, until 1882, when his people were starving. Big Bear advocated negotiation over violence, but when the federal government refused to negotiate with aboriginal leaders, some of his followers killed 9 people at Frog Lake in 1885. Big Bear himself was arrested and imprisoned. Rudy Wiebe, author of a Governor General’s Award–winning novel about Big Bear, revisits the life of the eloquent statesman, one of Canada’s most important aboriginal leaders.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Canada, Biography, Indigenous, Biography Memoir

116 pages

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

Wiebe was born at Speedwell, near Fairholme, Saskatchewan in what would later become his family’s chicken barn. For thirteen years he lived in an isolated Mennonite community of about 250 people. He did not speak English until age six since Mennonites at that time customarily spoke Low German at home and standard German at Church. He attended the small school three miles from his farm and the Speedwell Mennonite Brethren Church.

He received his B.A. in 1956 from the University of Alberta and then studied at the University of Tübingen in West Germany. In 1958 he married Tena Isaak, with whom he had two children.

He is deeply committed to the literary culture of Canada and has shown a particular interest in the traditions and struggles of people in the Prairie provinces, both whites and Aboriginals.

Wiebe won the Governor General's Award for Fiction twice, for The Temptations of Big Bear (1973) and A Discovery of Strangers (1994). He was awarded the Royal Society of Canada's Lorne Pierce Medal in 1986. In 2000 he was made an Officer of the Order of Canada.

Reviews

[Carolyn Harris · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautifully written literary biography that captures the eloquence and statesmanship of the Cree Chief Big Bear and the challenges faced by First Nations people in the late 19th century. Wiebe draws upon a variety of sources, including interviews by Big Bear's descendants to describe his efforts to reach a peaceful agreement with the Canadian authorities and provide for his people. The final chapters of the book are tragic. Big Bear and his family experienced starvation and poverty, and the Chief was blamed for attacks on settlers that he in fact attempted to prevent. Wiebe concludes that Big Bear still has a lasting impact on Canadian culture, stating, "His insistence on talking to resolve conflict would become the Canadian way. They had, after all, named the whole country Canada, which sounded very much like the Cree word kanata, meaning 'the place that is clean.'" Well worth reading.

[Joe Seliske · Rating 5 out of 5]

A most difficult biography to write where the oral history of the Cree cannot be properly translated and where the best translators can't even present the essence of what is said. This is further complicated by over a hundred years and "white" records that did not even record Big Bear's testimony at his trial. Oral histories provided by relatives tell the story as it was intended. A truly brilliant story.

[Monika · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found the writing style in this book of the series difficult for me to follow and had to reread paragraphs several times. Content-wise, it's a subject that I'm trying to learn more about.

[Alan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Part biography, part novel this book was thoroughly enjoyable and shed light on a little talked about part of Canada's history

[Christopher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent - really the whole series (10?) by Penguin are a fantastic collection on Canada's History

[Yasmin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing story about one of Canada's greatest men. I do not chose these words lightly nor for show. Big Bear in Cree Mistahimaskwa, was a great man who cared for his people, who only wanted peace and to trade fairly with white men. He wanted to live on and from the land as he had in his youth and people had done for generations, that was not too much to ask. But when white men came with guns and missionaries they claimed they discovered the lands of North America and George the third by royal proclamation of the "doctrine of right of discovery" which meant the whites that came controlled the land. When the land had a flag rammed into it and called out to be the King's that stole the land from the original inhabitants. Sadly nothing the aboriginal people could do or ever foresaw would change the fact the land was ripped out from under them. There was no bargaining or sharing fairly and equally of this huge land mass. All along the plan was to exploit the land of its riches, encourage capitalism and greed and for that the Spirit must be contained at all times. The people that roamed freely as the wind had to be boxed in to make way for settlers, railways and development. As the aboriginal people did not live like white people and have a fixed religion to a fearful god they were called savages and wild people and were therefore inferior to white people. Big Bear died alone with only a daughter to care for him. At 60 years of age and absolved from any wrong doing still he was imprisoned set for three years. Before dying in prison he was released before the full time expired but it was already too late. None of his family or people would be there to see him free. He was sent to a reserve that had been disloyal to government and crown and so received no aid. The people on this reserve just pulled through starving to death as his people had before when their way of life was taken away from them and his hand was forced to sign Treaty Six which barely helped his people out of starvation. Big Bear is truly a hero among the people and he should be for all Canadians.

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Big Bear was overall a decent enough read that I ultimately have mixed feelings for. I started it on National Aboriginal Day and it took me longer than I wanted to finish it since I had to constantly push myself to get through it.

What I liked: I really liked the actual information displayed. The letters, articles, journals, records, statistics, etc. from the time period were fascinating to read, as were the oral accounts later written down. Big Bear's life was fascinating and sad. My knowledge on the aboriginals of Canada doesn't extend beyond what I learned in school, which isn't a lot. This book gave me a lot of new information to digest and that information was very interesting. It made me want to learn more and that's always a great thing.

What I didn't like: Obviously not everything can be known about what happened during certain events, and so Wiebe has filled in the blanks a lot with storytelling bits that were made up with his assumptions based on the facts. I honestly didn't like it. The writing during these parts wasn't interesting and I found myself having to force myself to keep going so I could get back to the parts I did want to read. The language was a bit too flowery in parts to be interesting. I mostly just wish there had been less of this.

Overall, I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in the information but if the storytelling passages are very off putting for you than this is probably not for you.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fabulous book, one that manages to convey other ideas of space, landscape, and time. Instructive without being at all heavy-handed, lyrical but factual.

This is the second of the Penguin Extraordinary Canadians series that I have read and they have both been great. Brief, solid on facts, but full of energy and emotional resonance. They've convinced me that reading all of the bios in this series is part of my To Do list.

I'm really looking forward to discussing this with Sandra once she's read it this fall.

[Marlies · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not a big fan of Rudy Wiebe (or I should say his awkward grammar), but I appreciated his story telling in this book. The life of Big Bear was heartbreaking to read: the end of a way of life. Betrayal of trust and faith in the Government. Starvation, illness, desperation. Near the end, Wiebe leaves his reader with a moment of hope: "What he had done, what he had tried to do but failed to do: the Creator's world remained and People belonged in it. His beloved People would not vanish, no matter what Whites forced upon them" (Pg 211).

[HadiDee · Rating 3 out of 5]

A satisfying book, a little dry in parts (as such histories often are), but overall very readable. Not a tale one can actually 'enjoy' but a worthwhile read. As an immigrant to Canada, there is much Canadian history that I am not familiar with and this filled some gaps. It also broke my heart

[Jeffrey Sylvester · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sweet book. Really shifts one's paradigm of life in the 19th century Canadian prairies. Very cool.

[Megan · Rating 1 out of 5]

Interested in the history but didn't' like the style of writing at all