Kâ--pî--isi—kiskisiYân / ᑳ ᐲ ᐃᓯ ᑭᐢᑭᓯᔮᐣ The Way I Remember by Solomon Ratt

Reading Solomon Ratt’s The Way I Remember has been an educational experience for me. I assumed that this would be a personal memoir, and it is, but it is more accurately a living celebration of a People, and a significant educational text. It was humbling to read as a European-Canadian, and face the depths of my own ignorance.

“The Way I Remember is an open introduction to Cree culture.”

First, this book is written in Cree. The book is presented first in Woods Cree syllabics, and then in Cree using the Roman Orthography, with an English translation. That English translation was the part I read, but for the sake of my two mentors, I occasionally explored the Cree sections, seeking out remembered phrases. What an opportunity for language preservation and language learning this is!

Especially, The Way I Remember is an open introduction to Cree culture. The author sifts through his experiences in life to share the things that nourish his life – family, community, environment, Language, and the Sacred Stories. And he shares the things that have hurt his growth – the residential school experiences. Yet even here, his essential humour is present.

The first section is on memories. Through poetry, story, and reflection, the author tells of his upbringing and the way he was kidnapped into the residential school at the age of six. He speaks of the grounding he received at home, becoming well-educated through observing and imitating. When he arrived in the residential school, this education was dismissed – ironically, only by imitating White ways was he considered to be a “credit to his race.” In addition, he missed receiving the Sacred Stories, for these were part of winter life. The Sacred Stories entertain, but within that entertainment lies life teaching on science, technology, social studies, language, customs, values….. Missing this vital component of education, he reflects, has left many stuck between two worlds. Not all have found their way back.

Perhaps most haunting is the way he describes the summer evening of play and laughter before his return to residential school; on this evening, the families hear the laughter of their children, but the next nights, there will be only the silence.

This section was first recorded in Cree by the author, and then translated by him. ( Arden Ogg, in the Introduction, describes Solomon as a “residential school trickster”, for in spite of the system’s attempts to take his language and culture, he kept them. He has reclaimed his education and can now invite others to do so.)

The second section takes us to the Sacred Stories, with stories from the wîsahkicâhk cycle. They are often humorous, perhaps a little shocking to the English mind, filled with wonderful events and, especially, life lessons. The author first delivered these orally in Cree, then transcribed, and finally translated them into English. The sense of the oral telling carries through all the way to the English translation, and while reading these, I was hearing them too.

The book notes provide URLs to the original electronic telling and/or writing for each entry in the book, with brief comments. This is a good reference and educational resource.

I would like to thank Solomon Ratt for writing this book (in three ways, no less! And Syllabics keyboards are not for the faint of heart!) I would also like to thank him for sharing Cree ways and inspiring Cree, and also taking others along on this journey.

Solomon Ratt was born on the banks of the Churchill River just north of the community of Stanley Mission. His parents were hunters and fishers who lived off the land, spending their winters on the trapline and summers fishing in La Ronge. Solomon spent the first six winters of his life with his parents, who didn’t speak English. They knew the ways of the land, including the traditional stories passed down through generations, which they told to Solomon and his siblings.

Publisher ‏ : ‎ University of Regina Press (Jan. 28 2023)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 264 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0889779147
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0889779143

Anne Smith-Nochasak

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Anne M. Smith-Nochasak grew up in rural Nova Scotia and taught for many years in northern settings including Northern Labrador, the focal setting for her second novel. She has retired to Nova Scotia, where she enjoys reading, writing, and country living. She has self-published two novels through FriesenPress: A Canoer of Shorelines(2021) and The Ice Widow: A Story of Love and Redemption (2022).