Taking the pretext of new appointments to the Order of Arts and Letters of Quebec, The duty invites you into the imagination of artists whose exemplary work promotes culture.
There are different conceptions of the universe,” says novelist Michel Jean. Conceptions that we must reconsider, he believes, in the light of what the planet is to become before our eyes. “We are devouring the planet! Dressed in the well-tailored suit of a television news reader, Michel Jean pleads in favor of enriching our perspectives. That everyone can now enjoy a better knowledge of the Aboriginal world cannot harm the common future, he explains in an interview. Quite the contrary.
“Aboriginal people have never seen the accumulation of money as an avenue for the future,” he observes. “What’s going to stay, if we continue like this?” We were told, over and over, that humans were at the top of the pyramid of the living. And here’s where it got us today: pretty low… Aboriginal people never saw the world that way. We made fun of them for that. We will have to see, over time, who was right… ”
“I pointed out, in a conference, that the boreal forest had almost disappeared, that it was in poor condition. Right away, I got picked up by a university forestry professor. He told me to bend down, look at the ground, see that we had replanted small trees, that everything was growing, that it was a cycle of exploitation that we mastered. I couldn’t believe it. I said to him: “When you are on your knees, to see the little trees growing, do you also see caribou and moose growing back?”
How was it possible to consider the forest as an area of exploitation like any other? “Everyone is complaining about what is happening in the Amazon rainforest. We hear people say that what they are doing there is appalling… And here? The boreal forest is no better. What do we do with our forest? But we don’t want to hear that! »
Notoriety
First known to the general public through television, Michel Jean is still amazed by his recent successes as a novelist. “I have been writing for years. And I continue to write as before. But suddenly, the news caught up with me. Something happened, without my having anything to do with it! »
Despite the promotional tours abroad and the requests which have multiplied because of this new notoriety, he strives to continue to write every morning, at least for a few hours. However, the peace of writing seems to him more difficult to find. He now plans to go to France at least once a year in order to find conditions that are more favorable to him.
kukum, his best-selling novel, has sold tens of thousands of copies. The book is now translated into several languages. This success sparked renewed interest in the writer’s other books. He must make a new promotional tour in Germany in the fall. An adaptation of kukum is intended for the small screen. “I didn’t want to take care of the script for the series. I’ll keep an eye on what we do with it, of course. But the little time I have, I want to use it to continue writing my books, “he explains in an interview, after we talked, without rushing, about an old common passion: cycling. .
“I know I’m read by a lot of people now, but I write for the Natives first. It’s true. And that’s important. I care about it. For them first. His notoriety allowed him to launch a collective Aboriginal work, wapke. The book also attracted attention. “My goal is to encourage young Aboriginal writers. I’m a bit like a dog sled team: I pull, I pull, forward! It is important for the future. »
The times have changed. He is convinced of it. The truth of the changes is sometimes out of step with what is presented to us, he regrets. “There are still sometimes incredible things. I heard the other day, on QUB radio, Gilles Proulx say that the Jesuits had warned us! That the Aboriginals are manipulators, deceitful beings! I heard that on the radio! These people are voices from the past. It’s a bit like drums: once you’ve struck, you can still hear their echo in the distance. Nevertheless, he is convinced that mentalities are changing for the better.
“People seem to me much more open than what you can sometimes hear. In the population, especially among young people, there is an interest in Aboriginal people. I see evidence of it all the time. People come to see me. They ask me questions. They want to understand. They are curious. Sometimes they’re clumsy, but they’re sincere. »
Young people’s interest in the Aboriginal world enchants her. “Generally, the interest is much greater than before. And this is even more true abroad. In Germany, in France, I was told about what the Legault government was doing. A German journalist told me that he realized there was a troubled past in Canada. »
The languages of America
There is still a long way to go to establish a better understanding of the Aboriginal world and a new social balance. Michel Jean says not to be fooled. For example, he is surprised by the concerns for the future of French in Quebec when they are projected onto the Aboriginal world. “I understand that French is an endangered language in America. It is true that French is threatened. But can we agree on the fact that it is not Attikamek that threatens French in Quebec? »
Sometimes, it seems to him that we could make the effort to see the social field differently than in the English-French relationship alone. “It seems that it is impossible to make an exception, that we would have to agree to see everything in this English-French relationship. Michel Jean says Canada’s Governor General, Mary Simon, should learn French. But he says he was pleasantly surprised to hear him speak in Europe about indigenous issues. “Of course she has to learn French. But it is false and unfair to say that she is unilingual English! She already speaks a language that has been present in this territory for 5000 years. For Aboriginal people, would you have to know three languages to obtain such a function? »
The past is not past. He can’t be easily. “Indigenous people have been subjected to a lot more racism than we imagine. My mother, I had a hard time getting her to talk about that. It was buried inside her, more or less on purpose. I remember once when I arrived with friends. My friends said something like “it’s Michel’s native mother who is over there!”. She didn’t want to hear that… Yes, I had a hard time getting my mother to say what it might mean to be considered an Aboriginal in this society. Which explained why she preferred to bury this part of herself. Fortunately, he repeats, mentalities are changing. The past is not gone, but everything changes very quickly. And Michel Jean says he feels more than ever the need to collect himself to write again.