Oji-Cree Elder Ma-Nee Chacaby’s Extraordinary Life Story [Review]

A Two-Spirit Journey: The Autobiography of a Lesbian Ojibwa-Cree Elder by Ma-Nee Chacaby with Mary Louisa Plummer

Format/Source: Paperback/Purchased
Published: May 2016
Publisher: University of Manitoba Press
Length: 264 pages
Genre: Memoir
★★★★    

The subtitle of this aptly describes its content. Born in 1950 in a tuberculosis sanatorium, Chacaby was raised in a remote Ojibwa-Cree community in Ontario by her extraordinary grandmother, who was estimated to have been born in the 1860s.  The first chapter describes her grandmother’s and family history. Chacaby’s story then proceeds in chronological order, with the chapters divided by life stages. In telling her story, Chacaby  has fulfilled a wish “to record her experiences and understanding for a broad audience” (215). Chacaby’s unique perspective as a “poor, recovering alcoholic, visually impaired, and lesbian Indigenous woman” (215) makes this a book well worth your time.

My favourite aspect of the book is Chacaby’s clear narrative voice.  I felt like I was listening to a close friend sharing her story with me over coffee. Chacaby speaks with the wisdom of someone who has spent a lot of time reflecting on her experiences. She knows how to tell a story. Even when speaking of the abuses that were inflicted on her, she does so in a frank manner, without going into too many details while also acknowledging the significance of such events. While Chacaby’s co-author Plummer did the work of adapting Chacaby’s words into a written narrative, she “tried to use Ma-Nee’s original terminology and exact words as often as possible” with her “main goal [being] to write a first-person narrative in simple, clear and correct English that would be familiar to Ma-Nee herself” (217).

The afterword by Plummer, explains the process of writing A Two-Spirit Journey . She also places the book within the tradition of told-to memoirs, something I wasn’t familiar with before reading this book. Under the subheadings “Western social science and Indigenous knowledge-sharing”,  “multiple authorship and voice”, and “Ma-Nee’s story within the broader literature”, Plummer explains the relationship between researchers and Indigenous persons, and the process of one person adapting another person’s words into a readable narrative. The afterward adds an important dimension to the book, opening it up beyond Chacaby’s own personal experiences.

Chacaby did not attend residential schools but had her own awful experiences while living at home. She acknowledges:

“I know that it was wrong for children to be taken away from their parents. I also understand that some of them experienced horrible abuse and neglect in residential schools. But it is hard for me to feel lucky. I experienced molestation and beatings in Ombabika, both before and after the other kids were taken away. So it is difficult for me to know whether it was better to stay, or to have been taken away.” (57)

Although Chacaby endured many hardships throughout her youth, today, as an elder, she has learnt to find peace within herself. She acknowledges therapy, counselling, Anishinaabe spiritual practices, and painting all as positive methods that help her cope with difficult memories and difficult times. Chacaby’s story is ultimately one of “resilience and healing against great odds” (231).

The Bottom Line

In this book, Chacaby shares an incredible story, giving voice to perspectives which are rarely heard.  Plummer sums up the value of this book when she writes, “[Chacaby’s] rare, first-person perspective provides insight into how racism, homophobia, violence, substance abuse, and poverty have shaped Indigenous women’s experiences in Canada” (231).

Further Reading

• “What being two-spirit means to Indigenous elder Ma-Nee Chacaby” radio interview @ CBC’s The Next Chapter
• Review by Melissa @ I am Writer Hear Me Roar
• Review @ Publishers’ Weekly