The Orenda by Joseph Boyden: Review

I still remember the things I learned about in school about our native cultures in Canada. It was a sad recounting of the type of shelters they lived in, where their settlements used to be, and maybe a little about their hunting practices. The dry and sterile language of the history books was accompanied by strange artist renditions of the different tribes. It all came across as boring.

Then there were the discriminatory words from my grandparents, directed at the modern day natives who “only want things for free and use free government money to sit on their free land and drink alcohol.” These stories lingered in my mind as a child as I would visit the Calgary Stampede’s Indian Village and visit the colourful teepees that the different nations would put up for the event. I would walk into these amazing structures wanting to hear stories of the natives and hear about their family history, but I would only feel the tension in the air and see their thinly-veiled anger when I would uncomfortably walk out without putting money in their carefully placed tip bowls.

This is what I knew of the First Nations people until recently with stories on the news of those horrible Residential Schools and the unfathomable things that went on there. Whenever I even begin to think of the children there it hurts my heart so that I have to stop, and I can not begin to imagine what it is to live with those memories for the rest of your life. What I’m trying to say is, my knowledge of the first people of this land is limited. Very limited! So when I was watching the Canada Reads discussions on CBC this year and witnessed the passionate debate by Wab Kinew for “The Orenda” by Joseph Boyden, I was very fired up to read the book. If you haven’t seen it, you should.

I love historical fiction, but most of what you see on the shelves is centered around the French Revolution or the crazy Kings and Queens of England. I was a little hesitant to read something on the boring history of Canada. But Kinew’s words had so inspired me, I decided to take the chance. I was just hoping that it would be better written then the winner from 2013, “February” by Lisa Moore. I even made a book club event on Facebook so I could discuss it with my friends afterwards.

From the first page, from the first paragraph, I was hooked! I would sneak away to my room for hours poring over the pages. The book is beautifully written, and it fulfilled my childhood desire to know more about the First Nations people. The descriptions of their homes and their daily life is so detailed and colourful, I often felt like I was right there with them. Their connection to the land and their spirituality is told in great detail without becoming a dry textbook. It is perhaps best summed up in one of my favourite quotes: "I say that humans are the only ones in this world that need everything within it....But there is nothing in this world that needs us for its survival. We aren't the masters of the earth. We're the servants." Reviewer Kamal Al-Solaylee, on the Quill and Quire website, introduces the main characters: “In no particular order, the narrators are: Christophe, a Francophone Jesuit missionary (based on canonized martyr Jean de Brebeuf); Snow Falls, an Iroquois teen of the Haudenosaunee nation kidnapped by the Wendats (a Huron nation); and Bird, a warrior mourning (and avenging) the deaths of his wife and two daughters at the hands of the Iroquois.” The characters are so real and so inspiring, they come to life on the page.

This book gives a lyrical and soulful depiction of the early colonization of Canada. Joseph Boyden carefully keeps the narrative equally weighted between the three main characters, which keeps the novel neutral in its opinion of the three different cultures. I would go so far as to say that this book should be in the curriculum of every Canadian high school. Yes, there are some small parts of the novel that are graphic, but this is history that can be read rather than endured. I say take out horrible books like “Watership Down” or “The Grapes of Wrath” and replace them with The Orenda!

As you can tell, I highly recommend this book. I was really sad when I was finished reading it. In one interview with the author, Joseph said there may be a part two written in the perspective of the Haudenosaunee. I eagerly await that, and will not hesitate to read anything else that Joseph Boyden writes.