Ma-nee Chacaby is a very interesting person and this story is one of the most honest told by an indigenous woman. Born of ambiguous parentage in remote northern Ontario she was abused and sexually abused. She was surrounded by alcoholism and started drinking at an early age. She and her near age friends indulged in sniffing exhaust fumes. She was forced to move several times and until she was about 20 did not speak much English, relying on Ojibwa and Cree.
Her story includes being raped, beaten and getting drunk. On the positive side she learned survival skills such as hunting, trapping and tanning animal hides. Her step father wanted her to realize that hunting is not bad and is needed for survival. At a very young age she was able to sell fur to the Hudson's Bay Company who set up an account for her that she let build up until at an older age she used it for a building project.
As she aged she tried to stop drinking, but usually failed until she got involved with Alcoholics Anonymous in Thunder Bay and even then struggled for awhile. Towards the end of the book she boasts that she had not drunk any alcohol for over 30 years.
She goes through some relationships giving birth to 3 children and fostering children. She helps counsel others not to drink and delivered several babies, including for strangers. She got involved with translating information from English to Ojibwa and Cree, but as her vision deteriorated she had to give that up.
Through Alcoholics Anonymous she attended a segment for lesbians that awakened her interest. She did not understand her attraction to women and kept it secret. Eventually she broke through her hesitation lived with at least three women and got involved with Pride promotions. At one time she dressed up as Elvis Presley for an event.
She wanted to tell her story not only for herself, but for her children, grandchildren and other relatives. She had met Mary Louise Plummer, a social scientist and writer. As it happened circumstances conspired to free Mary Louise and she agreed. At the time she was in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. They connected through the internet and conducted over a hundred hours of interviews sorting many details. Other writers of indigenous stories failed to credit the actual person, but Mary Louise felt that Ma-nee was unusually open about her history and as a natural story teller was given primary credit.
Shayla Stonechild was the champion for "A Two-Spirit Journey" was very well prepared and articulate. She is an indigenous model, actress and health advocate. If not for her ability I might have been tempted to not bother as I had already read the other four books and had already written a blog on them. I am glad I listened to her and got to read a very interesting book.
There are many decisions to make when selecting a book you hope to immerse yourself with and one tool for me has been the Canada Reads contest. Not only are good books involved, but with a champion for each book over four episodes you get insight. If you are interested the CBC holds this contest once a year around March and can be seen on television or the internet. This particular book is well worth an effort, but the contest will suggest others.
This first link is to the 2025 Canada Reads with the four other contenders.
http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2025/03/canada-reads.html
There were a lot of books from this contest over the years that I enjoyed reading and watching the contest. For me it has been mind opening.
http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2017/09/indian-horse-by-richard-wagamese.html
http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2018/10/canada-reads.html
http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2020/09/the-book-of-negroes.html
http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2023/09/ducks-my-first-graphic-novel.html
http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2024/09/hotline-canada-reads-nomination.html
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