The Many Names of Robert Cree: How a First Nations Chief Brought Ancient Wisdom to Big Business and Prosperity to His People

Fort McMurray First Nation chief Cree charts his path from a horrific childhood to a fulfilling life in this moving debut. In the early 1960s, when Cree was nine, police took him and his siblings from their home in Alberta and forced them to attend a Christian residential school. Cree was not allowed to see his mother for five years, and at school—with the support of Canada’s Indian Act, which sought to reduce the powers of tribal governments—his abusive instructors attempted to sever him from his Indigenous history, though Cree maintained reverence for his people’s traditional teachings. After graduating at 18, Cree reestablished ties with his family, and by 27, he’d become one of the youngest First Nations chiefs in Canadian history. As Cree recalls negotiating contracts with oil companies seeking to use Indigenous land, he also discusses overcoming drug and alcohol addictions he’d developed to numb the pain of his childhood. Cree’s optimism rings true (“I want you to know... the joy of letting go of anger and bitterness”), even as his blunt account of state-sanctioned abuse haunts. The result is an affecting, hard-won testament to the power of perseverance. Agent: Claire Gerus, Claire Gerus Literary. (Oct.)