The book Seven Fallen Feathers was written by Tanya Talaga and published in 2017 by the House of Anansi Press. The foundation of the book revolves around the misfortunes faced by indigenous communities in Canada. Based on Talaga's findings, the minority group's basic needs were disregarded by the federal government and the authorities in general. Telega focused her narration on real occurrences that involved the death of seven indigenous young people in Thunder Bay, Ontario. The death of the young students raised concerns because clear explanations of their deaths could not be outlined.
The authorities labeled all the demises as accidents and did not focus on further investigations. Based on the controversies that revolved around the death of the seven young people, Telega ventured on a mission to investigate and unveil the causes of their death. She represented her findings through the book Seven Fallen Feathers. The book acted as an eye-opener to the existence of indifferences, injustices, racism, and violence experienced by indigenous people that resulted in the death of the seven students in Thunder Bay. I also represented the circumstances revolving around the victims' death in detail, providing facts and logical reasoning to prove that the deaths were related to racism.
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Summary of the Book
The book focuses on exposing inequalities and racism encountered by the indigenous group from Northern City. It also emphasizes the consequences prompted by these inequalities. Telega investigated the lives of the seven indigenous students who faced untimely death in Thunder Bay between 2000-2011 in their journey to seek higher education empowerment. She began her book by providing a bit of Thunder Bay historical background and the surrounding First Nations. She clearly illustrated how the hatred and division seed were planted and encouraged to grow in Thunder Bay between the indigenous and non-indigenous people from a few centuries back. The consequences encountered at that particular time were as a result of something natured in the earlier years. Canada's government contributed significantly to the increased discrimination of indigenous people because, in Canadian history, it underfunded the indigenous health and education services (Telega, 2017). Therefore, it is justifiable to conclude that the government created animosity in non-indigenous people and encouraged them to disregard the indigenous people.
Telega has displayed the conditions in the Northern City that hosted the majority of the indigenous people. The city did not have learning facilities for high school students. As a result, most of the students had to attend schools in Thunder Bay to Pursue further education after the successful completion of elementary education. The author explains the systematic factors that lead to the death of the seven indigenous students. These systematic factors include unlimited opportunities in the indigenous reserve area that included lack of schools, which pushed them to attend residential schools in Thunder Bay. Additionally, another systematic factor that may have contributed to the indigenous students' death is the distress they had to go through due to the residential schools’ systems. Tanya has provided an example of a school that forced the indigenous students to conform to the new culture and abandons their own.
Lastly, Thunder Bay residents' abuse and the police unavailability to rescue the young students prompted their death. Furthermore, the book has meticulously without compromise, displayed the stories and lives of the seven indigenous students whose death raises controversies. The book explains each individual's life by analyzing their personalities, family background, goals, and the circumstances under which they met their deaths. After a thorough analysis of the instances surrounding the victims’ deaths, a conclusion is drawn that the deaths were not accidental as the authorities tried to portray. Consequently, these conclusions led to the book’s center of focus, which included exposing racial discrimination and the subsequent repercussions that led to the seven students' death.
The author of the book is convinced that the victims' death was related to the indigenous community's racial issues and discrimination. Therefore, she strives to provide evidence to back up her claims and help the readers understand things from her perspective. She critically analyses the victim’s deaths to develop a logical analysis of her claims. For instance, the book depicts that it is suspicious that five bodies were found in a river (Telega, 2017). The author argues that the deaths could not have been accidental. She further backs up her claims by stating that there was no way a native raised around lakes and rivers would willingly get into cold water; furthermore, even if they did, the possibility of drawing was very low.
Evaluation
It is undoubtedly that the book served and delivered its intended purpose. The author aimed to unveil the extent of racism and its impacts in Canada as she also strived to connect the seven deaths of the indigenous students with racism that was rampant in Thunder Bay. The book presents the ideas systematically and clearly, making the book easier to understand and follow for the general audience. Consequently, the book has a probability of reaching out to a high number of people. The author achieved her purpose through the book. From the beginning of the book, her intention was clear: she aimed to illustrate the extent of racism and indifferences in Canada that led to the death of the seven indigenous students. By reading the book, one can draw the main ideas and objectives of the book that focus on injustices and indifferences encountered by the indigenous community in Thunder Bay.
However, the book appeared to be biased against the local police. The author blames the police for the seven indigenous students' death depicting the police as racists and uncaring to the indigenous community. There is inadequate evidence to conclude that the police contributed to the young ones’ death because even the fastest police intervention would not have saved the seven students. Actually, in almost all the instances, the students died before the authorities knew they were missing. The book is informative but terming police officers as wicked and uncaring in this concept is slightly misplaced. In this regard, I feel the author did not comprehensibly outline what the police could have done differently to save the indigenous students' lives. If the readers understood what was expected of the police in saving the seven lives and how they failed, it would have created a strong foundation on the author's argument that termed the police the main contributors to the students’ deaths.
The book is relevant in modern society because atrocities and injustices based on racism are still common. People need to read this book and understand the extreme consequences prompted by racism. Based on my perspectives, the book is an eye-opener to both the non-indigenous and indigenous communities in Canada and worldwide. I believe racism, injustices, and indifferences will stop when all parties involved understand the impacts of the situation in-depth. The book describes the beginning, causes, and repercussions of racism in Canada, making it relevant in uniting the two communities and ceasing racism. It can act as a calling for reconciliation between the non-indigenous and indigenous communities.
I found the book informative and knowledgeable. I gained knowledge concerning racism in Canada and how it all began. Without the book, I would not have understood how difficult it was and still is for indigenous youths, notably those living among the non-indigenous community. Additionally, it expanded my knowledge of how the government can contribute to racism and pass it to other citizens. For instance, the author described how the Canadian policies planted a seed of division among the indigenous and non-indigenous communities by disregarding and underfunding the indigenous community needs compared to non-indigenous community needs. The author was cautious about how she portrayed and defended her arguments. As a result, I was convinced by her primary ideas, and I understood her arguments from her perspective. I would recommend people interested to know more about racism and how government institutions can contribute to racism, to read this book by Telega. It is an eye-opener and rich in meaningful information and lessons concerning racism.
Personal Comments and Lessons over the Book
The book is quite profound in unveiling racism in Canada that led to the seven indigenous students' death. The author is cautious about how she states and reinforces her argument. For instance, she interweaves the historical background with the seven indigenous students’ death stories to understand the author's argument based on her perception. Additionally, the author supports her arguments by cautiously collecting the available information and illustrating how it could have contributed to the seven students’ deaths. For instance, by reviewing the policies in residential school systems, the reader can understand that the policies were harsh on indigenous students, resulting in discrimination and atrocities in schools.
On a personal level, the book prompted me to reflect on modern times in our society. I understood that being from a minority community among a majority community can be devastating. Based on this knowledge drawn from the book, I will be more cautious and caring for students in our schools from minority groups. Most of the time, we do not care to ask about how they feel and help them if they felt they needed any help. Additionally, I learned a valuable lesson that the government plays a significant role in spreading or stopping racism. Inclusive government policies and efforts to advocate for equality can help in stopping racism. I will use this lesson to advocate for government policies that support inclusiveness. The book expounded on my understanding and offered clarity on the issue of racism. Sometimes I would not understand why students in my schools from the minority groups were anti-social; however, I understand they might feel inferior among the majority communities with the book's help. From now, henceforth, I will be less judgmental and more understanding of minority students.
Conclusion
In summary, the book acted as an eye-opener to the existing racism and hostilities experienced by the indigenous people, which resulted in the death of the seven students in Thunder Bay. The author represented the circumstances revolving around the victims' death in detail, providing facts and logical reasoning to prove that the deaths were related to racism. The book served its purpose, and it enabled the people to view racism from a different perspective. Racism was no longer a minor issue but an issue requiring urgent intervention because it had the power to rob people's lives. This book is significant in depicting the impact of racism, and it might help change people's way of thinking and action toward other people who appear to be different based on their race and class.
References
Talaga, T. (2017). Seven fallen feathers: Racism, death, and hard truths in a northern city . House of Anansi.
