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Edmund Metatawabin

30 September 2014 | Email This Post Email This Post | Print This Post Print This Post

Edmund Metatawabin, author, educator, and former chief of the Fort Albany First Nations discusses his new memoir, Up Ghost River: A Chief’s Journey Through the Turbulent Waters of Native History (Knopf, 2014), with Joseph Planta.


Up Ghost River: A Chief’s Journey Through the Turbulent Waters of Native History by Edmund Metatawabin (Knopf, 2014).

Click to buy this book from Amazon.ca: Up Ghost River


Text of introduction by Joseph Planta:

I am Planta: On the Line, in Vancouver, at TheCommentary.ca.

A powerful book out now is Up Ghost River: A Chief’s Journey Through the Turbulent Waters of Native History. It’s a moving memoir about one man’s experience in the horrific residential school system. It narrates eloquently the abuse its author suffered, as well as the long path from abuse to triumph over demons in his past. Edmund Metatawabin joins me now. I’ll get him to tell us about his new book, and the terrible years he spent at St. Anne’s, the infamous residential school in northern Ontario, where he was subjected to physical, sexual, and mental abuse. We’ll also discuss the work Mr. Metatawabin has done since, as a Chief, and as a survivor, expanding the dialogue all of us should have about the past and into the future. Edmund Metatawabin is the former Chief of the Fort Albany First Nation. He is a Cree writer, educator and activist. You can visit his website at www.edmunmetatawabin.com. This book is published by Knopf, and is written with Alexandra Shimo. In Sarnia, Ontario this day, please welcome to the Planta: On the Line program, Edmund Metatawabin; Mr. Metatawabin, good morning.