By Carly Smith
In My Indian, Suliewey is a Mi’kmaw man who has been tasked with leading a white settler across Newfoundland to the Beothuk, another group of Indigenous peoples. It’s the 1800s, and relationships and encounters between white and Indigenous peoples in Canada are strained, raw, and uncomfortable. After consulting his friends and family in his home community, Suliewey agrees to take Cormack, the white man, on the journey, but does not disclose that he will not actually bring him to the Beothuk.
The journey between Suliewey and Cormack covers a lot of ground, both in distance and in how much is revealed about the settler perceptions of Indigenous peoples at the time. Readers are exposed to the initial impressions that settlers and Indigenous folks had towards each other, and a long and arduous physical and spiritual voyage leaves readers reflecting on current and past relationships between Indigenous and non-Indigenous people in this land.
The authors create Suliewey as a gentle, loyal, and cautious man. He is resourceful, wise, and boasts a good sense of humour. He is tactful in how he handles the predicaments and mishaps in his journey, as well as the way in which Cormack treats him. He understands that there is tension between his people and Cormack’s, but he treads carefully throughout his travels, aware that arguing and fighting back will cause more harm than good in this particular situation. Cormack is a stubborn man who acts superior—even though he is aware that he must rely on Suliewey’s knowledge and skills. He takes part in the journey unwilling to learn from Suliewey and treats him with condescension. Although the two clash repeatedly, both learn from the other and both gain a profound understanding of themselves.
Mi’sel Joe and Sheila O’Neill track the men’s journey in a thought-provoking way. Readers are offered viewpoints from both men, encouraging the book’s audience to be curious about what had happened in these men’s lives previously, and what will happen in the future. I was excited to see that the chapters were recounted from more than one perspective; this added to the element of empathy. Although I found the book started off slowly, I was happy to persevere, and it quickly became a page-turner. Not only did My Indian prompt a deeper interest in the beginning of the Indigenous/settler relationship in Canada, it also reignited a desire to travel within my own country and learn more about its origins.