A Steady Brightness of Being: Truths, Wisdom, and Love from Celebrated Indigenous Voices

In this poignant volume, McClelland & Stewart publisher Stephanie Sinclair and her historian sister, Sara, who are of Cree and Ojibwe descent, collect letters reflecting on Indigenous heritage from established and up-and-coming writers across Canada and the U.S. The contributors address their entries to recipients living, dead, and not yet born, delving into Indigenous history, present-day life, and hopeful visions of the future. David Treuer (The Heartbeat of Wounded Knee) sends “A Letter to My Brother on His Fifty-Fifth Birthday,” in which he recollects their different ways of embracing Ojibwe culture while growing up and notes that “nothing scares or unsettles [white people] more than healthy, happy, productive Indians.” Waubgeshig Rice (Moon of the Crusted Snow) speaks to his great-great-grandchildren about his efforts to learn Anishinaabemowin and hopes that it might be their first language someday. Terese Marie Mailhot (Heart Berries) writes about drawing spiritual power for endurance from both the land and the sky, as “all our teachings will tell you we are one with the stars.” The editors emphasize that “many Indigenous people alive today have grown up at some distance from their ancestors’ stories” as “a direct and intentional consequence” of the residential school system, making anthologies like this one a vital form of resistance. While the contributors’ varying levels of engagement with the epistolary structure can make for uneven reading, this slim collection contains an impressive array of voices. (Aug.)