Article Added On: November 29, 2008 - about 1 year ago
Title: Going back to her roots
Original URL: http://www.interlakespectator.com/PrintArticle.aspx?e=1321732
Author: Hayley Brigg
Publication: Interlake Spectator
Publication Date: November 28, 2008 - about 1 year ago
Faith Groups: Native Spirituality
Themes: other

Abstract: "Nahoway: A Distant Voice" is available at Blaine’s Books in?Selkirk, at Winnipeg McNally Robinson Booksellers, or via Sutherland herself at whitebuffalobooks@gmail.com

She came to Donna Sutherland in a dream, and she didn’t rest until her story was uncovered.

That’s how the Petersfield author describes the inspiration behind her second book, Nahoway: A Distant Voice.

“I?kept having this same recurring dream about an elderly aboriginal woman,”?explained Sutherland. “I knew there had to be some meaning behind it.”

Being of aboriginal heritage herself, Sutherland had taken the dream and consulted Cree elders in an effort to decipher its meaning, which had plagued her sleep for so many nights.

“They told me I was having a vision of my great-great-great-great Cree grandmother, and the book is a reflection of a series of events that transpired to uncover her identity,” she said.

Sutherland is no stranger to digging through the history books to uncover lost aboriginal history. Her first novel, Peguis: A Noble Friend, required her to spend endless hours picking through archival information to pen the biographical story of one of Manitoba’s most celebrated aboriginal leaders, Chief Peguis.

Although they may fall along the same lines in terms of genre, Sutherland says the two books are worlds apart.

“The first book really had nothing to do with me as a person,” said Sutherland, explaining the Chief Peguis Heritage Park Inc. had commissioned her first novel. “(Nahoway) is a personal account and narrative, and my own spiritual journey to find my ancestor.”

The University of Winnipeg grad immersed herself for 10 years on and off in university and Hudson’s Bay Company archives to try and piece together the scattered history of Nahoway.

Born on the chilly shores of Hudson’s Bay (Churchill River) around 1775 to a Cree mother and Scottish father, Nahoway spent the early years of her life at the Hudson’s Bay Company-owned Price of Wales Fort where her father was employed.

Through her novel, Sutherland explores the struggle Nahoway and her family faced after French warships destroyed the fort and kidnapped male HBC employees in 1782, leaving the women and children alone.

“Without the fort for shelter and supplies, and little food, they couldn’t stay there,” explained Sutherland. “They decided to trek 150 miles to the nearest (HBC) post, York Factory.”

In addition to books a records, Sutherland relied on family oral history for much of Nahoway's story. She said she was inspired to reach out to distant family members while researching her book in an effort to try and bridge her own personal gaps.

“I went to my parents, cousins, and other relatives and asked them, ‘Who do I come from? Where do I come from?’” said Sutherland. “Through this books I’ve found out all of my Cree heritage and it has led me back to the spirituality of my ancestors.”

Getting back to her roots, Sutherland says she has renewed her belief and practices in Native American spirituality, something she says she hasn’t done in over a decade. She credits finding Nahoway and discovering her story with creating a feeling of wholeness in her life.

“Ever since I was a kid, I felt as if part of me was missing, but now I feel as though that hole is filled,”?she said.

Sutherland said the many descriptions and references towards aboriginal spirituality almost didn’t make it into the book.

“A lot of people never acknowledge that part of them, because those spiritual traditions are still a target of racism,” she said. “I?was hesitant at first to include the spirituality for those reasons, but in the end I decided that the things you might not want to write about are always the things that your readers need to hear.”

Braced for negative reactions, Sutherland has been pleasantly surprised by the amount of support she has received not only from family, but from strangers regarding some of what Sutherland calls “taboo” material.

“Many people have e-mailed, phoned, or approached me and told me I had courage to write about those things,”?she said.

Although her 336-page novel may be completed, Sutherland has no plans to slow down anytime soon. She has recently developed her own publishing company, White Buffalo Books, and has two books on the go at present.

“I see White Buffalo Books as my main goal, I want to get into publishing,” said Sutherland, adding she wants to use her company as a tool for publishing unknown authors and the aboriginal history genre. “I wouldn’t just publish anything, there would definitely be a certain niche. There are so many good authors out there writing about important things that are being missed.”