Social Science Indigenous Studies
The Sweet Bloods of Eeyou Istchee
Stories of Diabetes and the James Bay Cree
- Publisher
- Cree Board of Health and Social Services of James Bay
- Initial publish date
- Mar 2021
- Category
- Indigenous Studies, Diabetes
-
Downloadable audio file
- ISBN
- 9781989796054
- Publish Date
- Mar 2021
- List Price
- $39.99
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Description
In this groundbreaking collection, Ruth DyckFehderau and twenty-seven storytellers offer a rich and timely accounting of contemporary life in Eeyou Istchee, the territory of the James Bay Cree of Northern Quebec. The stories are connected by diabetes, but they are not records of illness as much as they are deeply personal accounts of life in the North: the fine, swaying balances of living both in town and on the land, of family and work and studies, of healing from relocations and residential school histories while building communities of safety and challenge and joy, of hunting and hockey, and much more.
Sweet Bloods is essential reading for anyone who knows anyone with diabetes, and for anyone interested in a contemporary rendering of one of Canada’s vibrant, thriving, and highly adaptive Indigenous communities.
This book is published by Cree Board of Health and Social Services of James Bay and distributed by WLU Press.
About the authors
Ruth DyckFehderau has written two nonfiction books with James Bay Cree storytellers: The Sweet Bloods of Eeyou Istchee: Stories of Diabetes and the James Bay Cree (2017, 2nd Ed 2020) and E Nâtamukh Miyeyimuwin: Residential School Recovery Stories of the James Bay Cree, Vol. 1 (forthcoming 2023). Her work has been translated into five languages and she has won many literary awards. She sometimes teaches Creative Writing and English Lit at the University of Alberta. She lives in Edmonton with her partner. She is hearing-impaired. This is her first novel.
Ruth Dyckfehderau's profile page
Awards
- Winner, International Book Awards
- Silver IPPY Independent Publisher Book Awards
- Short-listed, National Indie Excellence (Health) and (Multicultural)
- Short-listed, Next Generation Indie Book Awards
- Silver Foreword INDIES Book of the Year
- Short-listed, Foreword INDIES Editor's Choice
Editorial Reviews
The stories contained in The Sweet Bloods of Eeyou Istchee are incredible. They are life lessons, they are tales of warning, they are songs of resilience, they are prayers for a healthier life. Each one is its own entity, and each storyteller bravely and beautifully speaks out so that we all may begin our own healing journey. This is a must-read book. I've not seen something quite like it before.
Joseph Boyden
This is an important book. In tis time, when our Cree communities and other Indigenous groups are facing down a brutal and pervasive diabetes epidemic, Sweet Bloods offers a Talking Circle in print: frank, funny, and emotional stories of James Bay Cree people living with the disease. What makes this book special is that we know these storytellers, and their stories are our stories. We recognize the effects of colonization in bodies, families, and communities -- and we see that the insights and love and laughter of these storytellers are stronger. We thank them for the courage to say what most of us will not say. Once you start this book, you'll want to read to the end. :
Bella M. Petawabano
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