I AM NOT A NUMBER
1. What inspired you to write your book?
Listening
to the stories of my family and community history led me to write I Am Not a Number. My granny told me her
story when I was a teenager at a time when I felt that she wanted to share her
truth. I held onto her story for many years, waiting for the right time to
share it. While I was working in the field of Indigenous education, I found
there weren’t any picture books that focused on the Residential School System
through the lens of an Indigenous family. So I wanted to reach out to young
people through literature to ensure they hear the true stories about the legacy
of forced assimilation, where Indigenous children were taken from their
families/home communities and sent to residential schools (known as boarding schools in the United States). In addition, I
also wanted to use literature as a means to encourage educators to begin to
facilitate deep, meaningful conversations, with students and each other, about
the policies that have impacted Indigenous peoples.
2. What is it about?
I Am Not a Number
is about my granny’s experience being taken from her First Nation’s community
at a young age to live in a residential school in the late 1920’s. An Indian
Agent arrived at my granny’s front door and informed her father, who was also
Chief of the community, that any child older than 6 years of age will be taken
north. The story documents my granny’s time spent attending the residential
school as she tries to hold on to the memories of who she is and where she came
from, despite the efforts of the people who worked at the institution to shame
and humiliate her. In my granny’s case, she returned home for the summer where
she made a plan with her parents that she and her brothers would not be taken
away again. If the plan failed, the family risked punishment - a fine or
jail.
3. What do you think will be the everlasting thoughts for the
readers who finish your book?
Through
this book, I hope that readers will reflect on how assimilation policies and
residential/boarding school systems have deeply impacted the everyday lives of
Indigenous children and their families in several countries around the world,
including Canada, the United States, and Australia. I also hope that people who
read this book will go one step further and engage in conversations about
important topics such as assimilation, oppression, truth, justice, in addition
to what is needed for reconciliation today.
4. What advice do you have for writers?
This
was my first piece of children’s literature, so my advice for anyone who wants
to write about truth, justice, and community memories is relatively
straightforward:
● Have confidence in your
abilities. Start by exploring a topic that you
know and care about.
● Be honest and authentic. Prepare to gather information to ensure the authenticity of
the story through an accurate portrayal of the people, place, time period,
experiences, language, and setting.
● Be purposeful,
thoughtful, and intentional. Take the time to
identify what is the intended impact of the story. Writers need to continually
ask themselves, "How will the readers be influenced by the characters,
language, and overall messaging?” “How will the reader's view of their own
world be expanded?”.
● Be authentic. Since I Am Not a Number is a children's picture book, it was
important that it include authentic imagery. A relative of mine, Les Couchi,
had restored a series of old family photos. The old photos helped to inform
decisions when communicating with the illustrator, Gillian Newland about the
hairstyles, what items to include in my great-grandfather's shop, etc. One of
the old photos is included in the book and shows my granny and her siblings
outside their house.
● Identify your responsibilities.
Sometimes writers from diverse backgrounds have a greater
responsibility that includes not just writing the story, but also educating
others and transmitting knowledge about cultural, social, political, or
economic issues buried within the story.
● Be patient and anticipate a lengthy process that may involve
information gathering, several rounds of edits, fact checking, searching for
the right illustrator, etc. As such, I regularly turned to my family between
edits to get their feedback and continued to listen to their memories. Some of
the stories included fond memories of how my great-grandmother often made the
best homemade meat pies, baked breads, jams, and preserves.
● Realize that your work is
reflection of you. Just because something
was done a certain way in the past, does not always make it right today. Be
prepared to speak up and ask questions when you feel something does not feel
right as you progress throughout the process, especially if you feel it feel it
impacts your own ethics and values, or misrepresents a person's/group's racial
or cultural identity or nation.
5. Where do you think the book publishing industry is
heading?
Indigenous
writers will be a driving force in supporting the retention/revitalization of
Indigenous knowledge and social justice education through the stories and
messages they share. The publishing industry will need to reflect on and make a
conscious effort to create spaces for Indigenous authors and evaluate how they
engage Indigenous writers, editors, and scholars in order to support the
knowledge and experiences they carry with them. It is essential that publishers
who engage with Indigenous writers recognize Indigenous expertise and honour
the importance of how to respectfully work in collaboration with Indigenous
peoples by ensuring their full participation, consultation, and informed
consent at all stages of the process.
6. What challenges did you have in writing your book?
One
of the main challenges that I had was finding the time to write. While
co-writing this book, I was working full-time supporting educators in the field
of Indigenous education. I was also in
the midst of completing a research study, Fostering Remembrance and Reconciliation Through an
Arts-Based Response. And I had also just finished my doctorate in
educational leadership. I knew it was a lot to take on, but I felt it was
important that my granny’s story be shared.
7. If people can only buy one book this month, why should it
be yours?
We
talk about calls for truth, justice, and community healing, so it’s important
that people begin to start learning about these stories and others like it. We
need to find appropriate entry points where we can respectfully listen to and
understand the complexities of the histories and how it’s impacted today’s
generation so that we can move forward towards change and seek out
reconciliation in a meaningful way. Using children’s literature can help young
people to understand difficult histories and teach them to consider all
viewpoints and become more self-aware. I
Am Not a Number is not just about a First Nation’s girl who was taken to
live in a residential school, but it is a story that raises consciousness that
my granny (Irene) is one of over thousands of Indigenous children impacted by
assimilation policies and racialized injustice. Through a book like this, all
individuals can learn about this period of history and use it to facilitate
open and honest discussions.
For
more info, see: http://jennykaydupuis.com/
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Brian
Feinblum’s views, opinions, and ideas expressed in this blog are his alone and
not that of his employer. You can follow him on Twitter @theprexpert and email
him at brianfeinblum@gmail.com. He feels more important when discussed in
the third-person. This is copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog 2016 ©. Born and
raised in Brooklyn, now resides in Westchester. Named one of the best book
marketing blogs by Book Baby
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