Darrel J. McLeod

Peyakow= A person alone. rough translation.
I didn't start with Mamaskatch as I didn't feel like reading another childhood book just now, but starting McLeod's life with him grown was no different than most memoirs. The first half of the book spent as much time exploring his relationships and feelings as it did his activities. He is often challenged to prove how 'native' he is. He feels he needs to hide his homosexuality in order to suceed. He is often assigned or re-assigned to different projects on the whim of a superior, who just as often as not would like to see him fail.
By the last half he is giving us scenarios of his efforts in the various governmental positions he held. At one point, he mentions being accused of selling out, being an "apple" (red on the outside, white within) while he feels he is trying to effect change from within the system, where he feels major changes need to start. And he does important work in negotiations, getting opposing sides to reach agreement: advisor on Aboriginal post-secondary education for the British Columbia government, a major treaty the Nisga'a Nation & Canada, another with the Nuu-chah-nath Nation which obtained Canada's apology for the abuses of the Indian residential schools, liaison for the Mexican President with the Canadian gov't at the 1997 Asia-Pacific Consortium, organizing meetings of international indigenous peoples to agree on a proposal of Declaration of Rights of Indigenous Peoples for the UN, and more. And then there is a Canadian election resulting in a much more restrictive government in which "years of my life's work would become unravelled." (p.208).
How does a person move on from here? Fighting suicidal urges, he alludes to spiritual practices which help him, without any real specifics. The last chapter reads more as a dream, or a wish for the future, his method of following a friend's advice to "figure out what it is you want and put it out there" (p.210), in which all those who have died in his family are still there, helping him continue.
One dissonant aspect for me was the contrast between the poverty of the general population of indigenous individuals and the opulent settings most of the governmental functionaries worked in, which he himself comments on, and also on the luxury in his own later life, which he doesn't attempt to justify. Yes, I can see that he works hard for these rewards. Yes, he mentions owning things crafted by native artists, so that we can see how he tries to share his wealth. Yes, I can imagine that all the trappings of wealth are necessary to put oneself forward as effective in the higher levels of government and international affairs. But still, I regret that the waste of resources is necessary.… (mais)