Launched last weekend at the Abitibi-Témiscamingue Book Fair (SLAT), the third edition of In June: I Read Indigenous! already seems to have the wind in its sails according to the creators of the event, Daniel and Cassandre Sioui, owners of the bookstore and Hannenorak editions in Wendake.
“This is the first year that we have partnered with the SLAT, explains Daniel Sioui. Even though it wasn’t June yet, we thought it was a really good idea given that there was great aboriginal programming. I was not present, but looking at the sales figures, I know that there is a great enthusiasm for Aboriginal literature. »
In fact, in addition to the phenomenal success of the novel kukum (Stanké, 2019), by Michel Jean, still very popular in bookshops, let us recall the wave of love aroused by the poet Joséphine Bacon (Uiesh. SomewhereMémoire d’encrier, 2018), the Prix des collègegiens won in 2020 by shuni (Mémoire d’encrier, 2019), by Naomi Fontaine, to whom we also owe Kuessipan (Mémoire d’encrier, 2013), beautifully brought to the screen by Myriam Verreault in 2019.
“If I compare the last five years with the time when I started my career, 20 years ago, when I was less interested in Aboriginal culture, it’s exponential!, observes the artist Jocelyn Sioui, who lives in Montreal. In Gaspésie, my halls are full; this year, I presentedMononk Jules five nights in Vancouver, where I am not known at all, and the room was full. For someone whose face is not known, I was a puppeteer at the base and I worked a lot in theunderground, to manage to fill a room, it is the proof that people are interested. »
From the first edition of I read native!, Daniel and Cassandre Sioui were surprised by the enthusiastic response from booksellers: “Everyone is on board! exclaims Daniel Sioui, who also created Kwahiatonhk! – First Nations Book Fair, including the 12e edition will take place in Quebec, from November 16 to 19, 2023. We had no choice but to continue, we didn’t think it would be so big. »
“The first year was a bit crazy,” adds Cassandre Sioui. One of the distributors with whom we did business told us that in the bookstores where there was an introduction of Aboriginal literature, it was their best performance of the whole year. »
Who reads native?
In Quebec, there are 11 Aboriginal peoples, which means 11 languages and 11 literatures. But who is really interested in it? Natives or non-Natives?
“Mr. and Mrs. Everyone! replies Jocelyn Sioui without hesitation. Just like any other literature. There are all genres, poetry, thriller, comics, so it attracts a lot of people. It is more difficult on the Aboriginal side perhaps because education is not the same, because, this is not a criticism, but an observation, the fewer the studies, the fewer there are of readers, but that tends to change. »
Since 2009, the year the Hannenorak bookstore was founded, readers have also changed. Tourists attracted by folklore have been followed by informed readers, both from the Wendat side and from other Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal communities.
“Each person can find an interest, depending on the type of book that interests them, explains Cassandre Sioui. A young Attikamek can take a Gord Hill comic strip as a gateway and then turn to poetry. Quebeckers, who will perhaps begin by kukum, because it’s the book they’ve heard the most about, can then go to JD Kurtness or Virginia Pésémapéo Bordeleau. By discovering Aboriginal literature, they realize that there is Wendat literature, Innu literature, Inuit literature…”
If each of these literatures has its own specificities, the three Wendats agree that in each of them, humor, sometimes politically incorrect, sometimes tinged with a good dose of irony or self-mockery, is a place of choice. Not to mention the figure of the Trickster, which appears in indigenous cultures from coast to coast.
“In many books, I notice a desire not to take themselves too seriously,” says Jocelyn Sioui. The relationship with the territory comes up quite a bit in all the nations. Perhaps because poetry is closer to the rhythm of nature, there are many poets among the Innu and also among the Wendat. Transmission is a common feature of Aboriginal literatures, as are traditional values, such as the relationship with others, the protection of the environment. I think the political demands are more specific to the Wendats; with Louis-Karl Picard-Sioui, we do. »
Beyond the humor, the themes and the genres used, the literatures of the different nations express the pride of being Aboriginal, off-reserve or not.
“We also feel proud to be able to speak our language,” confirms Daniel Sioui, who regrets not speaking Wendat. We are still afraid that the languages will disappear. It is through the arts, and that, Quebec knows, that we can bring our language to life. That’s why we’re happy to see the resurgence of Aboriginal arts. We dream that there will be other Aboriginal publishing houses, that there will be a succession because we won’t be there forever. »
“When the language has always lived in you, it shows through in the writing, thinks Jocelyn Sioui. I feel it in the rhythm of Joséphine Bacon, who is Innu. Even I, who don’t master Wendat, I learn words in Wendat and this taints my writing, my thinking because I discover another meaning to the words, the bear and the tree, for example. »
Survival instinct
This renewed interest in Indigenous culture is linked to the discovery of unmarked graves near residential schools for Indigenous peoples across Canada and the death of Joyce Echaquan, an Attikamek victim of systemic racism in 2020.
“Unfortunately, it sometimes takes tragedies for people to get closer, believes Cassandre Sioui. What happened with Joyce Echaquan was shocking. No matter our nation, we stand together. At the Climate Walk with Greta Thunberg, there were Indigenous people from across Canada. »
“With residential schools, people understood that they were missing a piece of their history,” recalls Jocelyn Sioui. You have to understand what happened to be interested in the other. It takes time for that. Before, there was almost no space in the media for Aboriginal people. Now there is news three or four times a week. It’s new for us, and it’s fantastic. »
If I read native! occupies Quebec territory, with a small incursion into Ontario, Daniel Sioui would not be against the idea of partnering with an English-language publisher so that the initiative becomes pan-Canadian. Until then, like other members of the various nations, he will have to ensure that this interest in Aboriginal culture continues.
“For the past ten years, we have worked hard to ensure that there is an Aboriginal presence in theatres, bookstores and schools. I will do everything to make the future bright. I am very positive in life and I tell myself that what we have won, we are not going to lose it. I refuse that it’s just a fad, that we’re the ‘flavor of the month’”, concludes Jocelyn Sioui.
Until June 30, in participating bookstores. ilisindigenous.ca