(Reviewed by JD Jung)
“…Canadians in general are more prepared to help the poor of the Third World than the First Peoples in their own country.”
James Bartleman, retired Ontario lieutenant governor and member of the Chippewas of Rama First Nation, also of Scottish ancestry, educates us on the crimes committed against the Indigenous peoples in Canada in is fourth novel, A Matter of Conscience.
Actually, only part of the book is the short, compelling novel backed by actual events, and the second half researches the “Sixties Scoop” and the current class-action lawsuit that revolves around it. Indigenous babies living on Indian reserves were taken (scooped) from their families by child welfare authorities from 1965 through 1984 and then placed in white homes. Once removed, they did not even know their origins or have access to their foster or adoption records. The goal was to do away with the Indigenous people through assimilation.
As if that wasn’t horrific enough, Bartleman researched reports of murdered and missing Indigenous girls and women over the years and why society doesn’t seem to care about them.
“…Indigenous husbands, crazed by the depths to which their people had fallen, beat and killed their wives, while the dregs of white male society preyed on the Indian girls and women left standing.”
The story starts in the summer of 1972, when child welfare officials flew to the Yellow Dog Indian reserve in Northern Ontario to seize babies in the manner I described above. One baby girl, Brenda, was adopted and raised by a white family. Meanwhile a boy, Greg, was born to a white middle class family. He left home at age eighteen to earn money to help pay for university expenses. He drank heavily and became involved in the murder of an Indigenous female student living in a residential school. In order to alleviate the enormous guilt consuming him, he decided to dedicate his life to helping Indigenous people. He even took on the identity of a Métis, a person of mixed American Indian and European ancestry. The lives of Brenda and Greg’s converge, and this story takes tragic turns as Greg’s past and character flaws resurface.
The novelette format works well to convey this thoroughly researched history. Also, the characters are fully fleshed out, so I could understand their motivations.
It is important to also read all the prefaces, as Bartleman provides his background and motivation in writing the story. He also explores the high suicide rate of Indians, as well as other sociological conditions that lead to their extreme poverty.
As Bartleman succeeded in educating me on this grim piece of history, A Matter of Conscience is a moving piece of literature and a must-read.
