The Reason You Walk

The author's name, Wab Kinew, as used here and on radio is a shortened version of his true Anishinaabe name. All First Nations writers talk of residential schools it seems. Government policy at the time supported by the church was aimed at assimilating Native Children by seizing them from their parents and depositing them in church-run schools. As his fellow writer Thomas King would say policy was aimed at either annihilation or assimilation.

This book is autobiographical. Whether or not it is exactly true in all its details it documents the myths of the author's life. The writing style is very readable. I particularly like that he always provides an English translation for Native languages.

In telling his story the author documents many traditional Native rituals including the Lakota Sundance and fasting which some have called a vision quest. Many of these seem strange to those of us who share European Ancestry and even the author shares his doubts.

In concluding Kinew decides that holding on to grievances allows them to claim he who holds the grudge. Healing will come through reconciliation, not separation; understanding, not suspicion; and most powerfully love, not hate. It is these principles that underlie his writing style and make this book so appealing.