Summary
Highlights
Catherine Pinkert introduces Cherie Dimaline, a Métis author from Vancouver, Canada, and highlights her award-winning book, "The Marrow Thieves," which was the feature pick for the Read Brave program. Pinkert acknowledges the partners supporting Read Brave and Dimaline's background and achievements, including multiple awards for "The Marrow Thieves."
Dimaline explains her transition to science fiction, inspired by Nalo Hopkinson's "Brown Girl in the Ring." She describes how science fiction allows her to explore societal theories and send a 'warning shot' about potential futures, particularly linking the fictional world of "The Marrow Thieves" to the history of residential schools in Canada and Indian boarding schools in the US. Setting the story in the future made the heavy subject matter more accessible and prompted young readers to consider preventing such events from happening again.
Dimaline details her passionate, rapid first draft of "The Marrow Thieves" in response to Canadian media's debate on residential school genocide. She discusses the extensive rewriting process and her unique storytelling method, which is rooted in her Georgian Bay Métis culture. She emphasizes the importance of specificity in cultural representation and how her community's history, particularly the loss of ancestral lands, is preserved through storytelling.
Dimaline shares how her grandmother, a story keeper, taught her the importance of listening and crafting stories. She recounts childhood experiences where she learned to tell stories accurately and adapt them while preserving core teachings. Dimaline then discusses her personal connection to writing, likening books to 'houses for stories,' and expresses her inability to listen to the audiobook version of her own work due to the discomfort of hearing her words read by someone else.
Dimaline elaborates on the deep connection between language and culture, using examples from different Indigenous languages that reflect their landscapes. She explains how languages like Anishinaabemowin convey continuous existence and circular storytelling. Dimaline highlights the inherent philosophy within Indigenous languages and how they act as a vessel for identity and knowledge across generations, deliberately choosing not to italicize or provide a glossary for Indigenous words in her book to normalize their presence.
Dimaline discusses the central role of dreams in "The Marrow Thieves" as a symbol of hope and resilience for Indigenous people who endured residential schools. She draws a parallel to a conversation with an elder who described the colonizers as 'children' lacking boundaries, highlighting how a desperate drive for survival led to brutal outcomes. She connects this idea to the concept of dreams being the last thing that could not be taken from Indigenous communities, essential for mental and physical well-being.
Dimaline describes the emotional difficulty of writing the character RiRi and her tragic storyline. She explains RiRi's significance as the embodiment of hope for the group and how her fate reflects the ongoing issue of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls in Canada. Dimaline discusses the intentional impact of RiRi's story on readers, aiming to evoke empathy and understanding of the immense loss experienced by Indigenous communities, reassuring that readers of her book are ready for such difficult truths.
Dimaline discusses the backdrop of climate change in "The Marrow Thieves," which, while bleak, offers a message of hope. She argues for centralizing Indigenous knowledge in addressing environmental crises, comparing it to seeking experts when building a home on a specific landscape. She criticizes the dismissal of ancient Indigenous wisdom, often labeled as 'New Age,' and shares how elders are now making conscious decisions to share stories and knowledge to help others navigate current challenges.
Dimaline hints at her upcoming adult novel, "Empire of Wilds," which explores themes of resource extraction and climate change. She also confirms that she is currently writing season one of "The Marrow Thieves" television show and working on a sequel to the book. She mentions her active presence on social media as a way for readers to stay connected, despite jokingly lamenting her age in relation to her teenage audience.