Strong women dominate these reminiscences: the grandmother taught the girl whose mother refused to let her go to school, and the life-changing events they witnessed range from the ravages of the influenza epidemic of 1918-20, to murder committed in a jealous rage, to the abduction of a young woman by underground spirits.

In presenting a Cree woman's view of her world, the texts in this volume directly reflect the spoken word: Sarah Whitecalf's memoirs are here printed in Cree exactly as she recorded them, with a close English translation on the facing page. They constitute an autobiography of great personal authority and rare authenticity.