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Saturday, October 28, 2023

"The Reason You Walk" by Wab Kinew

Several years back, I took note of a polished and personable young Indigenous journalist for CBC television, based out of Winnipeg, in my home province of Manitoba. (He also worked for CBC Radio.) His name was Wabanakwut (Wab) Kinew, and I was amused to learn that, pre-journalism, he'd been a rap/hiphop artist.  In 2015, he penned a memoir, "The Reason You Walk," which became a national bestseller.   

Since then, Kinew entered provincial politics. He was elected to the Manitoba Legislature in 2016 and chosen leader of the provincial (leftist) New Democratic Party in 2017.  He served as Leader of the Opposition and then, in a provincial election late last month, he became Premier, at the relatively youthful age of 41.  (Here's a CBC profile about him.)  He is Canada's first provincial premier of First Nations descent, and Manitoba's first Indigenous premier since Métis Premier John Norquay in 1887.  He was sworn in wearing a traditional feathered headdress that had belonged to his late father, Tobasonakwut. 

I already had a copy of "The Reason You Walk" in my gargantuan "to read" pile, and immediately moved it up in the queue. :)  

Kinew's relationship with his father forms the core of this book, which begins with his father's story. Tobasonakwut was born on a reservation/First Nation in northwestern Ontario, and was a survivor of the infamous residential school system (which I wrote about here). Although he later attended university and became a respected academic and politician, the anger and grief that still consumed him ultimately strained his relationship with his children, fathered by several different women, including Wab's mother, a white woman from Toronto. 

Young Wab followed in his father's footsteps, in more ways than one. He mostly grew up and attended school in Winnipeg, but spent summers in the forests of northwestern Ontario and travelling with his father to the U.S. to attend sundances and learn more about his heritage. Unfortunately, like his father, he learned to numb his pain and anger with alcohol and drugs, and had several encounters with the law (some that he writes about here and others he didn't) before he eventually turned his life around and came to terms with his father before he died. Their story is set against the progress made by Canada's Indigenous peoples over the span of their lifetimes. 

(Kinew's opponents in the latest election tried to make an issue of his past run-ins with the law. He chose to tackle them head on in a major campaign speech about crime prevention. And on election night, he spoke directly to the young Indigenous people in the audience:) 

I was given a second chance in life, and I would like to think that I've made good on that opportunity. And you can do the same — here's how. My life became immeasurably better when I stopped making excuses and I started looking for a reason.

And I found that reason in our family. I found that reason in our community. And I found that reason in our province and country.

...[But] you have to want it.

The book is written in clear, straightforward language. The pace is slow, but the story is moving -- especially the last few chapters. It would be a good choice if you're looking to learn more about Indigenous life and culture in Canada today (they have an expansive definition of family that I could appreciate, as a childless woman)(although I could have done without the detailed descriptions of what "piercing" ceremonies entail...!), about the lingering, multi-generational effects of the residential school system -- and/or about a rising young star in the Canadian politics. I sure learned a lot, and I will be watching with interest to see where he and his government take my home province -- and my country -- over the next few years. 

4 stars 

This was Book #39 read to date in 2023 (and Book #3 finished in October), bringing me to 87% of my 2023 Goodreads Reading Challenge goal of 45 books. I am (for the moment, anyway...!) 2 books ahead of schedule. :)  You can find reviews of all my books read to date in 2023 tagged as "2023 books."  

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