The Memoirs of Miss Chief Eagle Testickle Episode

[00:00:00] Speaker A: We are looking for a fan for our fan book choice. Find out more information at www.bookinterrupted.com. fans. [00:00:09] Speaker B: Parental guidance is recommended because this episode has mature topics and strong language. Here are some moments you can look forward to during this episode of Book Interrupted. Your mischief stopped touching my eagle testicle. [00:00:23] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:00:24] Speaker B: And he thought he was saying, Your name is Ms. Chief Eagle Testicle. I love that a lot. Because she's such a trickster. [00:00:29] Speaker D: Demonize. Where it's. It's gross. Right? And then the term savages comes along. [00:00:33] Speaker A: In our culture, if someone was like that, you would help them and everybody would have enough. [00:00:37] Speaker E: It seems strange to me because I'm like, this is a great history book. And there's a lot of dicks. [00:00:44] Speaker B: Right? [00:00:44] Speaker E: And dicking. [00:00:46] Speaker D: Yes. [00:00:46] Speaker A: Well, more. [00:00:47] Speaker D: More. [00:00:47] Speaker A: Oh, they're all having sex. All of the time. All of the time. I mean, I liked reading it. [00:00:51] Speaker B: Hey. Hello. I like being human. [00:00:55] Speaker D: Like we're changing our own thoughts on history, which definitely with this freaking book. [00:01:00] Speaker C: Yeah, right? [00:01:01] Speaker D: Yeah. [00:01:02] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:01:03] Speaker E: July 1, 1867, for the birth of Canada was no celebration for us. [00:01:21] Speaker C: Mind, body, and soul. Information is the time trying to learn something new without being disrupted. Mind, body and soul. Inspiration is the book Interrupted. [00:01:43] Speaker B: Welcome to Book Interrupted, a book club for busy people to connect and. And one that celebrates life's interruptions during this book cycle. We're reading Kim's book Pick. The memoir of Ms. Chief Eagle Tuscal. A True and exact accounting of the history of Turtle island by Kent Monkman and Giselle Gordon. Ms. Chief moves through time and a complex lived experience of Cree cosmology to the arrival of European settlers. Blending history, fiction and memoir in bold new ways to this book will remake readers understanding of the land called Turtle island or North America. Let's listen in to this episode's group discussion. [00:02:22] Speaker C: Okay. I guess I am the starter, right? Because it's my book. [00:02:25] Speaker B: Yes, you're the starter, so go for it. [00:02:27] Speaker C: I'm a very bad starter because I don't even have the book with me. I could show you Volume 2. I have that with me. [00:02:34] Speaker E: I'll hold it up. [00:02:35] Speaker C: Thank you, Mayor. I am in the she shed and the book is in the house. And that is why we are separate. [00:02:41] Speaker B: Before you start, by the way, a she shed is super trend in design right now. [00:02:47] Speaker E: So just so you know, it's like a man cave. [00:02:50] Speaker D: You're ahead of the game. [00:02:51] Speaker C: It's my own space. How novel. [00:02:54] Speaker D: I love that. [00:02:58] Speaker C: Yes, I do. I also want you to actually tell me what happens after I Say testicle. And what I mean is continue reading, because I don't have the authors memorized. So my story or my book that I chose was Miss Chief Eagle Testicle, Volume 1. It's Kent Monkman and I don't know the other author. [00:03:19] Speaker E: A true and exact accounting of the history of Turtle island, but it has North America crossed out. Kent Monkman and Giselle Gordon. [00:03:28] Speaker C: Okay, thank you. Sorry. Giselle. Right. I could remember the Kent part, but not the Giselle. Anyway, so that's the story I picked without knowing anything. And our topic, our season's. I was gonna say our season's spirit. The spirit of this season is for women. It is, Right. Like, it's the essence of season five. [00:03:48] Speaker B: Can I tell you what I decided on as a theme? [00:03:51] Speaker C: Like the actual name? Yes. [00:03:54] Speaker B: For women, by women, about women. [00:03:56] Speaker A: Oh, okay. [00:03:57] Speaker C: For women, by women, about women. Mine, well, it barely qualifies. [00:04:02] Speaker A: Oh. [00:04:02] Speaker C: Do you know what I learned the other day? I can't remember what it's called. I feel like Schwaitz. You might know, because I feel like you have some deeper knowledge of the English language than the average Joe, potentially. Maybe you don't, but there's this thing which I can't remember what it's called, but it dictates that if you're saying something like knickknack or hip hop or whatever, it goes I, O, maybe A. And if it's two things, it's like I, I. Oh. Like, anyway, there's some order. And so for women, by women, whatever. I don't know if that applies, but it'll sound best if you do it with the IO whatever rule. [00:04:38] Speaker A: That's true. That's a thing. It's like knock Nick would be weirder. [00:04:42] Speaker C: Yes. Tactic or hop hip or hop hip or whatever. [00:04:46] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:04:46] Speaker C: But I also wonder, like, maybe that's just because they're already hip hop. Schweitz. Lindsay would be weird too, unless your name was actually Schweitz, and then it would be normal. Anyway. [00:04:56] Speaker B: Yeah, I put four women by women, about women, but now four by about. [00:05:01] Speaker E: But now I'm second guessing myself. Are the vowels in the right order? We like it. [00:05:06] Speaker C: I think it's fine. Four by about. [00:05:09] Speaker E: We like it and we like you. [00:05:10] Speaker C: I think that it's nice. And I think that my choice then barely qualifies. [00:05:16] Speaker E: Why? [00:05:17] Speaker C: Well, because I even folded pages in my book. Like, I really should have brought my book so unprepared for this podcast. There's a full statement of that's true. [00:05:26] Speaker E: But I'm not a Woman. [00:05:28] Speaker C: Yeah. I'm not a woman. I am everything. Like, I love women, but I am not that. [00:05:32] Speaker E: Yeah. [00:05:32] Speaker C: All genders and whatever, which is great, but I get, like, a little bit rigid. Right. So in this theme, I'm like, well, that doesn't. Let's not. [00:05:40] Speaker A: Well, buy a woman. [00:05:42] Speaker C: Well, that's what I was going to say. That's how I'm barely hanging on. Thanks, Giselle. Because otherwise we're completely out of it. Because it's not really about women either. [00:05:49] Speaker E: Yeah, that's kind of part of the conversation too, though, isn't it? He's like, the settlers are like, there's only women and men, but don't understand there's an in between. And so now it opens the conversation. It's fine. It's a conversation starter. Kim, you're fine. [00:06:04] Speaker C: I also am gifted in arguing, so I know that there are points to be made for why this book does qualify. But on the surface, if you don't want to dig deep or get into these deeper conversations, it's like, wait, what? I just thought the name Miss Chief Eagle Testicle. Right. Miss is where I. It was like a misnomer, I guess. I thought that automatically meant female. And it doesn't. Okay, so that aside, what do you want to talk about? [00:06:34] Speaker B: I wanted to add to that. Do you remember in the book why her name was Ms. Chief Eagle Festival. [00:06:40] Speaker C: Part of the creation story? And someone thought, yeah, she thought the eagle said that, but he said something else like, don't hurt my testicle. And she was like, my name is Eagle Testicle. [00:06:50] Speaker E: Mischief. [00:06:51] Speaker B: Yeah, your mischief. Stop touching my eagle testicle. [00:06:54] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:06:54] Speaker B: And he thought he was saying, Your name is Ms. Chief Eagle Testicle. [00:06:58] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:06:58] Speaker B: I love. I love that a lot. Because she's such a trickster. Right. I really liked it. [00:07:02] Speaker C: So I did my personal journals five seconds ago. And I'm afraid that I'm just going to say all the same things that I said in my personal journals. So I would like to open the floor to other people's enjoyment or questions or whatever. And then I do have one thing I didn't say in my personal journal that I know I will say during this conversation. [00:07:22] Speaker A: So I would like to bring something up. [00:07:25] Speaker C: Let's hear it. [00:07:25] Speaker A: That I actually went to a Kent Monkman exhibit. It was at the rom the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto years ago. So it was actually really fun because I picked it up and I started reading. I was like, these look really familiar. So I texted my friend that I went. I was like, I'm pretty sure. That's what we went and saw. So it was really. The, like paintings in huge format are just breathtaking. And I love. There's not a lot of them here, but those little. I forget what they're called, but the little creatures that are in some of them, they're like little, I don't know, gnomes or something. Anyways, a lot of the paintings that I saw were. Had all the little gnomes. So anyways, it was a really powerful exhibit too, because talked about settlers and what they did to the land. But when we were doing our little text before, I was talking about all the images in the book because there's a ton of his paintings. And Sarah couldn't get the book and so she had to listen to it by audiobook. So I thought because there's so many words that I couldn't pronounce. I think it really be interesting to hear from Sarah to see because she could actually hear the way that the words were supposed to be pronounced. [00:08:30] Speaker B: This is repeating my personal journal. But I'll say anyway, I recommend the audiobook. First of all, Ms. Chief Testicle, the person doing the audiobook is a woman's voice that's doing her voice. So I'm always going to say her because I listen to it. So I don't know if when you're reading the book, you don't. [00:08:48] Speaker C: You maybe them. [00:08:50] Speaker B: Right. You know, you might have a different voice in your head. But I have the one that was in the book. I loved the audiobook because all the Cree words were spoken in Cree. And I know if I was physically reading the book, I would struggle to try to remember and it would stop me from reading. But I do regret, like, I tried to go online to see some of the pictures, so I couldn't tell online what pictures and art were from one of his exhibits or what. Yeah. What was from in the book. [00:09:17] Speaker C: Okay. [00:09:17] Speaker B: I thought that would probably be in. [00:09:18] Speaker E: The book because that's clearly the scene where she's like, hey, hello. [00:09:24] Speaker B: I like being human. [00:09:25] Speaker D: I also listened to it as well. So I feel the same way. Sarah. I also kind of reading it. I'm like, to me, this feels female. I think specifically because of the voice. And so being totally honest here, I forgot that we moved it up a week. So I have not completed this book yet. But from what I have read, I agree it was great through audiobook because I didn't have to try and pronounce those words. And I think it would have taken me out. I do also feel like me and Sarah Missed out because of. In the audiobook, we don't get those beautiful photos, right? Like, and again, you can look it up online, but it is different when you're reading it. You turn the page and there's this beautiful photo there, right? [00:10:10] Speaker E: And they have it in your hands. I have something to say about the words too, though, because I didn't listen to the audio, but I think I would like to. But there's a couple things about the book. It's got a glossary in the back, so when you're reading it, like, it says the Cree word and it says the English translation before or after it Sometimes. [00:10:28] Speaker D: Most. [00:10:29] Speaker E: Some of the time. [00:10:30] Speaker C: Most of the time. [00:10:30] Speaker E: But was very interesting because I. I tried to slow down. I don't know how to read the Cree language, how the letters or the accents or anything, but I was trying to make an effort to, like, read it and take my time because a lot of them are longer, and I have trouble with those longer words, like, just longer words in general. And I found that as I went, I was recognizing the words, and then I didn't need to be like, oh, what is that in the glossary? So I started learning the words, which I kind of liked. I was like, this is great if more books had that, because you don't even notice it's happening. Like, if I read a book by Tolstoy or whatever, the names are all super long Russian names, and I just skip over them, right? Usually, like, a lot of times when I reading with names, I just skip over them. Like, I don't know about that name, but here, because I took the time to read it, like, read these longer words I did not recognize or know how to pronounce. I was picking it up, so it was kind of cool. So then I. Part of me wonders down the road, if I hear these words or read these words again, if I'll still remember, oh, that means beaver. That means buffalo or whatever. [00:11:33] Speaker D: Oh, you learned Cree. That's so cool, right? [00:11:36] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:11:36] Speaker E: So anyway, I love the glossary in the back. Well, also the references in the back, that's a different story. But it was very interesting. And the fact that they. In the book, Sarah and Ashley, the. The Cree words are in red, so they really stand out. So you can go back to the glossary, read it, and then easily find your spot again back in the text. And I'd also like, I don't know, kind of accentuates the word even more, so it makes it stand out. I liked it how it was handled. [00:12:03] Speaker C: I had a similar Experience to Merrick, I started knowing that that word meant whatever. And that was nice, right? Because it's funny how you can learn stuff, right? But it's funny about what you're saying, too, because I do the same thing with names in books. That's one of the reasons why I stopped reading Mists of Avalon, because it has a bunch of crazy, like, I don't know, Game of Thrones type names. You know what I mean? [00:12:25] Speaker D: Which. [00:12:25] Speaker C: It's like, I'm not here for this. And then I just stop because I'm like, I don't know who is who anymore, because I'm not reading these names because they're all ridiculous. Which is a terrible thing for me to say, because who's to decide? Maybe Kim is ridicul. Was too easy to remember. Easy to read, though. Yeah. So, okay, this probably requires more development in my brain, but I read. I don't know if it was a review or, like, you know, a meta explanation about, like, what the book's supposed to be like. It was important to the authors to give the perspective of indigenous people during contact because there's not a lot of literature out there or any other thing that really gives their perspective until, like, I don't know, the truth and reconciliation, you know, like. Like, nobody asked, nobody cared. Nobody's recording because everybody's settling. Right? And so I really like that perspective because I think it helps someone who doesn't understand better understand how, you know, everyone's your relative and, like, everything has a spirit and even just artifacts, why they're sacred and how they're supposed to be treated. Right? Nobody would consider. You're supposed to wrap this pipe up. You're not supposed to put it in a little glass box and show it off. It needs to be treated with ceremony. All of those pieces, I think they really, the way that the story was told, it helps land an understanding of someone who wouldn't have any of that knowledge but for looking for it. You know what I mean? And then I also thought, this is the unformed thought. There's so many layers to this, so bear with me. I don't have a lot of knowledge and awareness around LGBTQ, etc. Culture, for lack of a better word. Right? So maybe this is just par for the course. Like, I wouldn't know, but it seemed hypersexual to me. So Maybe that's just Ms. Chief. Maybe that's LGBT. Like, I don't know where. [00:14:20] Speaker D: Right? [00:14:20] Speaker C: Like, whatever. And that's fine. Like, it was entertaining. Like, when Ms. Chief was having Like a full blown relationship with the prince. I was like, oh my God, like scandalous, like whatever. But what I also kind of like. And I don't know if this is intentional or not, but it made me think for so long the retelling of history has been whitewashed and it's, you know, completely not necessarily true. It's everybody's version of whoever had power. I feel like this is a little bit taking the piss. I don't know. If you were to get friggin John A. MacDonald today, he would be horrified to find out that men were sleeping with men or whatever. Right. Like, I feel like the way that the story is being told is not only just a different point of view, but also meant to, I don't want to say like embarrassing, but meant to be upsetting in some way, shape or form because. And also true, right? Because we all know that gender is on a spectrum and there's homosexuality for one example, has existed forever. And you know, and so to hear that perspective on that piece of the story I thought was interesting. Again, unformed, so open floor. Like, please build upon what I'm saying. [00:15:31] Speaker D: So just from kind of a. Some of the knowledge that I have, and I noticed it was also very hypersexual, just even from the get go from the small parts that like I've read, I think that is very true to traditional values in. For indigenous people. A lot of retellings too from Eurocentric people have been said like indigenous people are savages. And part of that is they coexisted in the sense that they're sleeping with each other. It's a community thing. It's very open. I do think that also shows the stark contrast of the settlers coming in and making it so black and white and kind of demonizing this sleeping together with other men, other women, your community. I think it kind of just shows how much that was taken away too. It seems like it felt more free and people were so much more accepting. And then, you know, first contact comes in, everyone's settling and merging together and that really gets taken away and demonized. Where it's. It's gross, right. And then the term savages comes along and now we have this whole history written about how indigenous people are savages when it's, you know, you came to them with your values. [00:16:49] Speaker C: Yeah, I feel like the closest thing we can relate it to is like hippies, you know what I mean? Like love and peace and whatever. And in that way I can understand it as a white settler, like, oh, okay, like I get that Vibe, you. [00:16:59] Speaker B: Know, I liked in the book how she was, like, noticing that, oh, they have so much shame around pleasure. Why? [00:17:08] Speaker E: Being themselves at the Hide themselves. They're like children. [00:17:11] Speaker C: Yeah, yeah. [00:17:12] Speaker B: They don't know life is amazing. Having this amazing pleasure with our bodies. Why are they so ashamed of it. [00:17:18] Speaker D: With everyone and everything. Right. Like, you can really derive pleasure from anything. Right. And it really, like, you're saying, like, the shame aspect there. They really put that on to indigenous people to feel so ashamed of what they have grown up for centuries with. Right. Like, that's so normal to them. [00:17:38] Speaker E: I think, too, what part of what, like, Kim's talking about is. It made me think of the book Braiding Sweetgrass. In the book, the author is trying to learn. I don't know how to say it. Pato Watomi. I butchered it. But she says it's really hard because there's a lot of humor built into the language. Okay. This is a quote because I wrote it down because it was so good. She goes, even a small slip of the tongue can convert. We need more firewood to take off your clothes. She was saying that, like, in the book of Braiding Speak Rush. She said in a lot of indigenous languages, there's, like, humor kind of built in so that you can laugh about things. Like, sexual things, too. Right. So she's like, there's a lot of laughter and joy. That's part of what Ms. Chief is talking about. And, like, I think that's what the title is all about is like, it's a play on mischief and us laughing about sexuality and things that are so normal to everybody and can be hilarious. Like when Ms. Chief gets a big hug and then they fart and everyone's laughing. It's just. It's easy. It doesn't have to be. These things that happen to everybody don't have to be embarrassing. Right. It's nice. So it was a very strange book. It seems strange to me because I'm like, this is a great history book. And there's a lot of dicks. [00:18:55] Speaker B: Right? [00:18:56] Speaker E: And dicking. [00:18:57] Speaker D: Yes, totally. [00:18:59] Speaker E: My husband's asking about. I'm like, it's great. And there's a lot of dicks and dicking. And I think part of that is the education of the reader to that idea that we can have fun. We can talk about things that are upsetting and have fun with it, too. And still laughter. And it's kind of making fun of, like, ridiculousness, how people are hiding so shameful and hiding their shame. But really it's because they're so repressed or taken out. Others, like, it's got layers. Right. [00:19:26] Speaker C: And so it's. [00:19:27] Speaker E: It's very funny. It's a funny book. It's. I think it's supposed to make you laugh and see the absurdity of some things, but also teach you something. I don't know how to tell people about this book. [00:19:37] Speaker C: Right, right. [00:19:38] Speaker D: I feel like it's very true to indigenous people, like my friends and their families on the reserve in Pentict. So my family is indigenous, but I was raised very white, so I have a lot of shame around a lot of things. I used to be very ashamed of, kind of like sexual things, but I'm so open about it now. I think part of that is just I go to the reserve, and I'm talking to these family people I don't even know, just so open, always laughing. Like, even in serious moments, you know, people will say their thoughts, their feelings, and it always ends in a joke, you know? So even the serious things, it doesn't feel as serious. And. Yeah, so that's kind of the vibe I was getting from the book. I'm like, man, this feels like going to the res and just having, like, a good old laugh with everyone, you know, trying to talk about all these stories and stuff from our perspectives. That's what it reminded me of, reading part of it. [00:20:34] Speaker B: Cool. [00:20:35] Speaker C: I'm happy. So, as a curious person who wants to learn more about authenticity, ingenuity. Right. Like, because it's so hard, as the whitewashed history goes, I love getting to have the experience. Feeling my own repression while I'm reading it and being like, is this weird? Or am I. Am I weird? Well, not even weird, but I'm. Do I need to open my mind even more? Like, I didn't. I thought it was wide open, but there's a whole category here that I'm rubbing up against in a. [00:21:05] Speaker A: Well, I don't know. Rubbing up against a lot of. [00:21:09] Speaker E: Rubbing up against a lot of things. [00:21:11] Speaker D: Kim, you're really catching on. [00:21:14] Speaker C: There's a whole category I'm rubbing up against, and I'm loving it. Like, thank you, Ms. Chief Eagle Testicle. [00:21:19] Speaker D: You're really embracing. [00:21:21] Speaker A: Literally. [00:21:22] Speaker D: Yeah. The book. [00:21:23] Speaker C: Yeah. Like, that's funny because it highlights my. For lack of a better word, like, white eyes as I read and understand this text, and I'm like, ooh. And I have the feelings that have been embedded into me even just 10 minutes ago. I'm like, I don't know if they're mocking us or what's going On, Right. But really it's just a completely different perspective that for centuries now has been, like you said, Ashley demonized. Right. So I love that actually, like, like just even this conversation, I'm like, yes, I love this book even more now. [00:21:54] Speaker E: And mocking doesn't have to be aggressive thing. Mocking could be fun if everyone's mocking everybody. It doesn't have to be about like, oh, I'm gonna make you look bad. It's just like mocking can be just fun. Living life and laughing. [00:22:07] Speaker C: I think you have to be able to laugh at yourself. I feel like that's a life skill. [00:22:11] Speaker B: It's the whole trickster thing. Like, she's a trickster and the trickster. That's what it's about. Like playing tricks that it doesn't have to be negative. [00:22:19] Speaker C: It's just teaches a lesson. I think too. [00:22:22] Speaker E: Yeah, yeah, yeah. [00:22:23] Speaker D: I've noticed too. I lived in Ontario. I moved to Penticton 2009. And once I started becoming closer with people on the reserve here, I noticed they made fun of me a lot. And I felt I was like, are they bullying me? You know, like, I really wasn't sure. But I realized, like, that's them kind of accepting you. That's them saying, hey, I'm comfortable enough with you. It is all jokes, right? Like, we do really razz each other up and it's just supposed to be like a funny thing. Again, not to take everything so seriously type of deal. Like, it's like, yes, this is a big deal, but also it's kind of funny, right? [00:23:05] Speaker C: Yeah, yeah. [00:23:06] Speaker A: I'm kind of like Kim in the fact that my mind's pretty open. But I was uncomfortable in a few moments of this book because of, you know, what I bring. Like when Ms. Chief was eating out the bear that I was like, this is really uncomfortable to me right now. But I kept reading, you know, and I found it very. There was. I was just like, oh, there's more sex. [00:23:27] Speaker D: Okay. [00:23:27] Speaker A: Oh, there's more. You know, dicks and balls and all that. Well, more. Oh, they're all having sex all of the time. All of the time. I mean, I liked reading it. [00:23:35] Speaker E: I thought it was interesting. [00:23:36] Speaker A: But I also just recognized that I felt uncomfortable in a lot. And my mother in law, she's like, oh, should I read that book? And I was like, I don't know. Like, I'm not sure. I was like, you can look it. So I gave it to her and she. Because I was reading it over New Year's when I was with her in Montreal and So I was like, well, you can look through it. And she's like, yeah. [00:23:56] Speaker E: She's like, well, she's like, maybe that's. [00:23:58] Speaker A: Not my kind of book. So I mean, I don't know. You know, you have to be open minded to read the book. [00:24:04] Speaker D: Absolutely. [00:24:04] Speaker E: It's like you could say, do you like history then? And are you okay with dicks? [00:24:11] Speaker C: Meredith is working on how she talks about the book. She's still practicing. [00:24:15] Speaker E: I've been trying to explain it to my husband. [00:24:18] Speaker C: I'm going to recommend it to all mother in laws. Like that standard person. Even more so right now. Like when you just brought up that idea of like a mother in law being like, should I? And you're like, I don't know because you're, you're aware. But now I'm like, yes, yes you should. And let's see if you can get your own mind cracked open. Yeah. Or will your head explode? Let's see. Please. [00:24:40] Speaker A: Yeah, yeah, yeah. [00:24:42] Speaker D: Like do you want to relearn history and, and you know, in a different context. Right. For so long, up until really recently, we've only heard it from a Eurocentric point of view. [00:24:52] Speaker C: And it was lies too. [00:24:54] Speaker D: Yeah, exactly, right. Like so much of it was lies. I was also thinking, I wonder how interesting it would be because I know so many people really kept journals back then, right. They like to, you know, oh, today was voyage day 300. We saw a rock, whatever, right. So I don't know. Yeah, like a cool rock. [00:25:15] Speaker E: A rock I've never seen before. It wasn't a cobblestone, it was something else. [00:25:19] Speaker D: It was really big. Like I don't know. I would love to see some side by side journal excerpts from settlers who came, saw these artifacts and you know, like we were saying earlier, put them in a box like to display instead of really appreciating their ancestral and traditional values. I would love to read excerpts from these people's journals saying like, oh, this is this artifact and we're going to display it and kind of their thought process versus like what the traditional value of it is. I, I just think it would be really interesting to see. [00:25:52] Speaker E: Yeah. Like with a picture. [00:25:54] Speaker D: Yes. [00:25:56] Speaker E: And it's got like the settlers interpretation and maybe a couple of them. And then it's got an explanation below being like, okay, let's talk about what it actually is. [00:26:08] Speaker D: Totally. Yeah, yeah, yeah, exactly. [00:26:10] Speaker E: Great. [00:26:10] Speaker C: The story touched that too. Ms. Chief was getting annoyed, but she's like, this guy drew this picture and it's got a little sample from over here. And A little sample from over there. Like, that's not what we look like. But they're creating this picture. I like that different perspective because. And just to go back to what I said, it wasn't true, too. I don't mean that Ms. Chief's recounting isn't true. What I mean is the colonial history was. I have an understanding that history is honest, and it was not honest. And so this is more honest. So, like, when I say two, I mean, not only was it terrible, but half of it was made up to make it not look as terrible as it actually was. [00:26:52] Speaker E: Like, yeah, yeah. I like the. The talk about, oh, I want you to wear something authentic. I mean, that was also a play on the idea of shame and the having to be gendered. You should be ashamed if you're not gendered and if you're everything. And so it's like, not just like you should be. Dress authentically. It's like, but I am authentic. What I'm doing here right now is I know how to be me and you all don't know how to be you. Because if I offer you a good dicken, you're going to jump on it, literally. [00:27:23] Speaker D: Yeah. Who wouldn't, right? [00:27:26] Speaker C: Wouldn't nothing like a good dick. [00:27:29] Speaker B: And I don't know if you guys go this way. Maybe not. So I said that my personal journal. So I'm reading, but I want to get your opinions on it. So when I first started the book, there was lots of sex. And at first I was like, oh, there is a lot of sex in here. But then I just got used to it. It was just part of the story. Like, I didn't feel uncomfortable at all. I was just like, of course that's how she's going to. She's going to use her sexuality to try to give these settlers information they need to know about the way the world actually works. Like the commitment you made to the earth, the commitment you made to the creatures on the earth, and everything's connected. Like, she's going to use it, her sexuality, to be able to teach them, because that's how she can get to them. I just thought, like, of course not. [00:28:12] Speaker C: Even that's how she can get to them. But also, like, that in and of itself is an example of it. You know what I mean? Like, she's walking the walk. It's not only a tool to, like, entice people to come and learn, but it's actually a literal lesson in it, in the very thing she's trying to teach. [00:28:30] Speaker B: She's Trying to broaden the minds and their bodies, like release them. Like actually release them so they can hear and see what they need to learn. And she just hopes that it worked. You know, I think it's supposed to. [00:28:41] Speaker E: Be a bit of a transformation, too. So at the beginning, you know, a lot of us were feeling uncomfortable with all the sexuality. And then as you go, the sexual scenes are used to actually break the tension of some really terrible things. [00:28:55] Speaker C: Right. [00:28:55] Speaker E: And so instead the sex was to make you feel more comfortable, ironically. Well, you know, and it's so. It's like you don't even realize it's happening while you're reading the book. [00:29:06] Speaker D: But you. [00:29:07] Speaker E: The reader is being educated in the way to not be ashamed of yourself and sexuality, but in fact, to use those things to bring light, to get through hard ideas and hard times and stuff. Author's actually taking you on a journey. And Ms. Chief as a book is doing. What Ms. Chief in here is trying to do is trying to educate the settlers by using her powers of seduction and love. [00:29:36] Speaker C: Just authenticity. [00:29:37] Speaker E: Yeah. And authenticity. Anyway, it's interesting. I like when books do what they are describing to do to the people. [00:29:44] Speaker C: In the story, like an additional meta experience. [00:29:49] Speaker E: It's good because, yeah, near the end, it's like, oh, and then there's another. Of course there's going to be some head or something you're at right now. [00:29:57] Speaker D: And why wouldn't there be? [00:29:58] Speaker E: And now everyone's going to have sex with bears, right? [00:30:00] Speaker D: Yeah. [00:30:00] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:30:02] Speaker D: I think it's also interesting that these settlers came and they're so disgusted and so ashamed and awkward about all the. The different. The genders and the sexuality when I'm sure that was also happening in Europe. But because of all the shame and stuff, you know, it was probably so suppressed. Again, I'm not too sure. I don't know that history very well, but just the general knowledge that I have, it's always just been so taboo, right. And illegal in so many places for so long. So it's so interesting to come to a place that's so open about it and still, you know, be so disgusted. And it's like, that's not right. It's so black and white. And it's like you don't even realize how many people back home are gay, lesbian, are transgender. Like, you know, you just. You really don't know. And to put this black and white onto other people because you're uncomfortable is. It's so true telling. [00:30:57] Speaker C: You know, it's terrible, too, because to put it on to other People like, why do you get to decide, whoever you are? Right. The proverbial you. It's just. I don't know who decided that. [00:31:10] Speaker D: Like, why do they get to decide? [00:31:11] Speaker E: Yeah, I like that they like to compare the English and the settlers to children, because in a way, that's kind of what a child does. It's part of a developmental thing where you grow up and you think everyone's experiencing the same thing, and then one day you realize that that person thinks different than me. Like, that's a big deal, Right? Like, theory of mind being like, I know that that person knows what I know, or those ideas. And then it's almost like not getting past that, being like, oh, I know that that person is different and thinks differently than me. [00:31:40] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:31:40] Speaker E: I like the. The idea, like, they're like children, because these days I think that feeling is becoming more common as well. The idea that there's these people in power and they get to decide whatever. And we watch these billionaires or people who are in places of great power acting like children for what, to get more money, to get more power or whatever. And I think it's timely where I think there's a lot of people that can really understand where this is coming from, where the. The narrative's coming from, being like, yeah, it does feel like, why do you need more than you need when you. [00:32:11] Speaker D: Already have so much? [00:32:13] Speaker E: Yeah. [00:32:14] Speaker D: You're just taking. To give to yourself and no one else. [00:32:16] Speaker E: Yeah. You know, sometimes people are like, would I ever be a billionaire? I don't think I could ever. Because in order to become a billionaire, you have to hold on to stuff. And once you have way more than you need, would you keep holding on to it? [00:32:30] Speaker C: I don't know. [00:32:31] Speaker E: Some people wouldn't. [00:32:32] Speaker A: I found it. [00:32:32] Speaker D: Yeah. [00:32:33] Speaker A: When Ms. Chief would walk by and see. When they went to. Of Europeans would see somebody who was, you know, homeless, obviously, or in need on the street saying, well, why are these people who have all this. But not while helping this person. Like, why in our culture, if someone was like that, you would help them and everybody would have enough. And I think that's the same thought that, that really. I mean, in Toronto all the time, there's people that are homeless or on the street or, you know, walking, and you think, why do some people have so much and some people have nothing? And if we all just shared, we'd all be fine and happy and. [00:33:10] Speaker D: And why are some people so unhappy with excess amount of wealth, excess amount of everything? And then you have people who are living on the Streets and are so happy with the bare minimum. Literally just anything to survive. You know, there's also this discourse of, like, how do we get these people that are so greedy and how do we get these people that are so happy with nothing? They're just so opposite. Right. And it, you know, obviously a lot of it is how you're raised, how you're grown up and the people you surround yourself with. But it would be so interesting to me, these billionaires, millionaires, like, if you're on the streets for a couple of years, you don't have any money. I just would love to see if their perspectives would change or if they'd be like, no, no, no, no, no. I gotta rebuild. We're getting the power, we're getting the money, we're getting it all back, you know, or if they would just be like, wow, I. I do really appreciate new clothes and a dry bed. [00:34:07] Speaker C: You want like Trading Places? That's a movie. [00:34:10] Speaker D: Yeah, I would love it. [00:34:12] Speaker C: Slash. Undercover Boss. Yes. [00:34:16] Speaker D: That's what you're looking at. Yes, but with the people I want. I want the President incident on the streets. [00:34:21] Speaker C: Yeah, exactly. But with Jeff Bezos. [00:34:23] Speaker D: Yes. [00:34:23] Speaker C: Right. Like, or with. [00:34:24] Speaker D: Yes. Some Hunger Games type thing. On the streets. [00:34:28] Speaker C: Right. I would watch that show a hundred percent. [00:34:32] Speaker E: Oh, my gosh. [00:34:32] Speaker A: Back to the Hunger Games again, Ashley. Always about the Hunger Games. [00:34:37] Speaker D: It's the Hunger Games or Twilight. Come on. [00:34:39] Speaker C: Yeah, I was just gonna say it wouldn't be an episode without either or. What I'd like to see is a. [00:34:45] Speaker E: Hunger Games Twilight mashup. Can somebody combine those movies? That would be ridiculous. [00:34:50] Speaker D: Oh, yeah. [00:34:51] Speaker E: Just like as a short. A short cartoony type thing. [00:34:54] Speaker C: A short, cartoony. [00:34:56] Speaker D: Just a short series. One season, eight episodes. That's it. [00:34:59] Speaker C: Limited. [00:35:00] Speaker D: Yeah, limited series. [00:35:03] Speaker E: Vampires going around trying to kill each other and you're like, I'm immortal. [00:35:06] Speaker C: It's kind of like what Twilight is. Twilight is like a low key Hunger Games between wolves and vampires and other vampires. [00:35:13] Speaker D: Oh, absolutely. [00:35:14] Speaker E: Lots of wolves and vampires taking their shirts off. [00:35:18] Speaker C: Definitely. [00:35:19] Speaker E: My shirt is so. It confines me. [00:35:21] Speaker C: Definitely. Those wolves are. [00:35:22] Speaker D: It's appreciated, actually. [00:35:24] Speaker C: And the vampires, because they're sparkly. [00:35:25] Speaker E: Oh, are they? [00:35:26] Speaker C: Right. We get to see that in its full, sparkly glory. [00:35:29] Speaker E: Like they glitter. [00:35:30] Speaker C: Their blue glitter is beautiful. [00:35:32] Speaker D: If I was sparkly, I'd be taking my top up all the time too. I'd be like, look at me, like. [00:35:36] Speaker A: Have your boobies all glittery. [00:35:37] Speaker E: That can happen. You could just buy glitter at the store. [00:35:39] Speaker C: That can happen. [00:35:41] Speaker B: Oh, my God. [00:35:41] Speaker C: You could make that dream come True. You don't have to be a vampire. [00:35:44] Speaker E: Just saying. [00:35:45] Speaker D: You see someone around BC without a top glittering. It's me. [00:35:48] Speaker E: Me and Ashley would be covered in glitter. [00:35:50] Speaker D: Naked on the road International. [00:35:54] Speaker A: I don't think that'd be okay in Senegal. I don't know. I think you may get arrested. [00:35:59] Speaker D: I would be in support of you from here. [00:36:02] Speaker E: I would support you from here. [00:36:05] Speaker B: Have to go to Canada. [00:36:06] Speaker E: Be. [00:36:06] Speaker B: Be toplets in public with glitter all over me. [00:36:09] Speaker D: Yeah. [00:36:09] Speaker E: I like how you shake your shoulders like this so people can see you shimmer. I would. [00:36:14] Speaker A: That's what it means with the sunlight. [00:36:16] Speaker E: Is that what they do in. [00:36:17] Speaker C: No, in Twilight. [00:36:19] Speaker B: They don't do that. They're not proud of shining. They're not happy about it. [00:36:23] Speaker E: Oh, they don't like it. They don't like it. [00:36:25] Speaker C: It just reveals mischief. [00:36:27] Speaker E: Could teach them something, right? [00:36:29] Speaker D: Absolutely. Some acceptance. [00:36:32] Speaker E: Self. [00:36:33] Speaker C: Well done. [00:36:33] Speaker D: Yeah. [00:36:34] Speaker A: Kim has volume two. So tell us about volume two. Because you just said you have it. [00:36:38] Speaker C: Okay, so I think that traditionally. I don't know if I can't reach it. Give me one sec. I gotta take out my earbuds. [00:36:45] Speaker E: She's gone. I'm gonna say one thing about the end of this book. Is that it ends on the birth of Canada. Right? Like that's where volume one. [00:36:55] Speaker C: That's cool. [00:36:56] Speaker E: I'm just gonna read the last line. Is that ruining the book for everybody? I don't think so. [00:37:01] Speaker B: No. [00:37:01] Speaker E: It says I'd used up all my patience. It was time to move on. Us at Tayo Kanak usually pay little attention to dates. But I do remember the day I left the. Oh, kiss wepesque. July 1, 1867. For the birth of Canada was no celebration for us. I should have just read that date. But anyway. So it ends on the first Canada day. [00:37:22] Speaker D: Cool way to end it. [00:37:24] Speaker E: Yeah, right. Because I got mine from the library. My library carries this book. And they have volume two as well, so. [00:37:30] Speaker B: Oh, do they? [00:37:31] Speaker E: Yeah. I think I'm gonna get volume two. Because I want to know. Because then the next story is. I mean, we've heard some of it, but I'm assuming it's the first day of the Confederation too. Today. [00:37:41] Speaker B: Well, can we tell us right now? So what's the rest? What's the second? [00:37:44] Speaker C: That's it. It's done. She took. [00:37:46] Speaker E: Oh, I'm sorry. [00:37:47] Speaker A: Oh, nice. [00:37:48] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:37:48] Speaker A: So it goes all the way to current times. [00:37:51] Speaker C: Guess you'll have to read volume two. Lindsay, get ready for some more dicks. [00:37:56] Speaker D: Okay. [00:37:57] Speaker C: I'm assuming so. Like, it's definitely gonna Go through residential schools. They're already like, alluding to it and stuff. Right. So I don't know. Do you want me to read the last line of volume two? [00:38:06] Speaker D: Yeah. [00:38:06] Speaker C: It ends with a date. [00:38:07] Speaker B: Yes. Okay. [00:38:08] Speaker D: Agree. [00:38:08] Speaker B: Okay. [00:38:08] Speaker C: Hold on. [00:38:09] Speaker B: Because maybe is there a volume 3? Is the question. [00:38:11] Speaker C: I don't think so, but we'll see. Hold on. I don't know. [00:38:16] Speaker E: Oh, well, because the history is not over. [00:38:19] Speaker C: Like, it doesn't end with a date, I'll tell you that much. It ends with like a. That's what I'm looking for. Like an affirmation. Like, remember, like, you are everything you need to be. You're your own medicine. Basically, you are the medicine you need. Akosi Pitima. [00:38:34] Speaker D: And what does that mean? [00:38:35] Speaker C: Let me go into the glossary and tell you. [00:38:37] Speaker D: Oh, perfect. [00:38:38] Speaker E: The glossary. [00:38:39] Speaker C: Wait a bit. Wait a bit. [00:38:41] Speaker D: Oh, okay. Wait a bit. [00:38:43] Speaker C: So you're all the medicine you need. Wait a bit. So it sounds like a comeback story to me. [00:38:47] Speaker A: Can I see the book? Can I see the COVID of the second one? [00:38:50] Speaker C: Oh, so it looks like a neighborhood, right? Like, it. It's more. [00:38:54] Speaker A: Yeah. [00:38:55] Speaker C: Rural or whatever. It's not even like old timey England. Like, there's a. Oh, no, it's a totem pole. I'm like, there's a telephone pole. Oh, no. But it is a telephone pole too, because like there's shoes hanging from the wires. Can you see? [00:39:06] Speaker B: Okay, yeah, My library doesn't have it yet, but I will definitely read that one. [00:39:11] Speaker D: Very cool. [00:39:12] Speaker C: What? I don't know what that is. It looks like there's a dinosaur on the front too. Oh, no, this is a buffalo, Kim. It's a dinosaur. [00:39:22] Speaker E: I feel like this is one that maybe it would be good to have the audiobook and listen to the audiobook while you read the actual book. Like the print book. I shouldn't say actual book. I mean the print book. [00:39:33] Speaker C: Yeah, that's a great idea, Mayor. Remember back in the day when you used to get like a book and you would also get a record and you would play the record and it would read the book to you? [00:39:41] Speaker D: Box. [00:39:42] Speaker C: Yeah, that would be. Oh, my God. Read. [00:39:49] Speaker D: Those. [00:39:49] Speaker E: They have those for kids now, but they're digital. They're called, like box books. They have them at our library. And so you could even put headphones in and you charge them and then that reads the book to the kids and has the. Like when this sound happens. Turn the page. [00:40:03] Speaker C: Yes. [00:40:04] Speaker D: It's great. [00:40:05] Speaker C: I used to have one for ET and it used to scare me. I couldn't listen to it alone in my basement because I was afraid that E.T. would come. [00:40:12] Speaker D: And E.T. [00:40:13] Speaker C: Was nice, but I was afraid of him if he was creepy looking in my basement. [00:40:17] Speaker D: Yeah, yeah, he's creepy looking. [00:40:20] Speaker B: I just want to point out something. I don't know if anyone else noticed, but when you said you thought there was a dinosaur and it was a buffalo, I just think it's extra funny because you have a buffalo bill's hat and shirt on and then you didn't see the buffalo. [00:40:33] Speaker C: You don't understandable. Like, I don't recognize this animal at all. Is the sample of the buffalo that I'm calling. [00:40:40] Speaker D: Okay, you know what? That's fair. [00:40:42] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:40:42] Speaker D: I was getting triceratops vibes. [00:40:44] Speaker C: Totally. Right? [00:40:45] Speaker D: Yep. [00:40:45] Speaker C: Yeah. [00:40:46] Speaker D: Yeah. [00:40:46] Speaker B: Okay. [00:40:46] Speaker D: I see where you're coming from. [00:40:48] Speaker C: Thank you. [00:40:49] Speaker B: You get a pass. [00:40:49] Speaker D: I do just also want to say that I really appreciate Kim, you're always. I feel like your book choices are always very indigenous. Conscious and being indigenous myself, like, I don't go and read those kind of books. Honestly. Honestly. And I think that's like, a fault of my own. I think I really should. So you're making me read stuff that I wouldn't read myself. So I appreciate it and I think it's good for our audience and just ourselves to be reading it and having these discussions. [00:41:16] Speaker C: Thank you. [00:41:17] Speaker D: Appreciation. Yeah. [00:41:18] Speaker C: It was a commitment I made at the beginning because when I think about truth and reconciliation, like, it feels important to me. It's something that I'm obviously in support of, but it's so gigantic and I can get lost in, like, we're still, you know, a total capitalistic society. Like, it's just so huge. Right. The only thing that I can do is bring it back down to, like, literally, like, what can I do? I can try to learn more. I can do it. Right. And so it was something that was like, I'm gonna always choose indigenous, something focused, writer, author, whatever, for this podcast. [00:41:50] Speaker D: Yeah, I love it. I think it's so great. You. It's the small things we do, you know, it really is. And just even learn, like, we're changing our own thoughts on history. [00:41:59] Speaker C: History. Which is definitely with this friggin book. [00:42:02] Speaker D: Yeah. [00:42:02] Speaker C: Right? [00:42:03] Speaker B: Yeah. [00:42:03] Speaker C: Yeah. Okay. Well, I feel like that's a good ending. [00:42:07] Speaker D: Yep. [00:42:08] Speaker B: Yeah, I think it's a great ending. [00:42:09] Speaker D: So. [00:42:10] Speaker B: Okay. This interruption is brought to you by our affiliate partners, Libro fm. Libro FM lets you purchase audiobooks directly from your favorite local bookstore. Book Interrupted has a special offer. Use the promotional code Interruption to get two audiobooks for the price of one and help your local bookstore while you're at it. Book Interrupted so here's my interruption. And it's kind of a braggy interruption, but I'm kind of proud of myself, so I'm gonna save this interruption. So for the last three years, I have set a goal on Goodreads and Storygraph. They have the reading challenges. So I've done a reading challenge for three years to read 52 books, which is one book a week, and that includes audiobooks. And on average I kind of do that. Like, I read a lot. I don't really watch tv. I just kind of, whenever I have downtime, I read. Or if I'm like cooking or doing the dishes or laundry, I'm always listening to an audiobook. But I could never make this goal. I'd get close, but I could never get to 52. And this year I made 52 books. Exactly. I made my goal. Although as a side note, for some reason Goodreads says I made 51, but because I was also tracking it on Storygraph, it says 52 and I can see the book they're not including. And it might be because it was a self published book. I'm not sure because it's on my. When I go through all the books I've read, it's there. But my summary of the year, it's not there. I can't figure out why. But anyway, I have read 52 books. And then I was talking to Meredith. She was just saying how hard is to read a book around my mother. And my mother is like one of those crazy readers that can like read a book in a day. Like, she's such a fast, fast reader. She's like, mom read tons of books. But it's so hard to read books around my mom. And then I realized, because my mom's like that kind of person when you're reading, she'll talk to you. And she's a lovely person. I think it's just because she has a different relationship with books because it's so easy for her to read quickly that she doesn't think of it as a big deal. Anyway, I realized, I think I made the 52 books because my mom didn't come visit me this year yet. She's coming in April. So I think I made my goal because she was supposed to come in November and we moved it. I think the only reason I made my goal is because my mom didn't come to visit, which is horrible but true. [00:44:28] Speaker C: Book Interrupted. [00:44:31] Speaker B: It'S book Report time. We're gonna find out from each member their final thoughts and do they recommend the book. Let's listen. [00:44:39] Speaker C: Good morning, bookies. I am coming to you live from the she shed. I don't even know if you know what that is. It's a little sacred space in the back of my house. Anyway, this is my personal journal for Ms. Chief Eagle Testicle, Volume 1. The Mostly True history of North America. Crossed out Turtle Island. I am still figuring out how I feel about this book actually. Honestly, I definitely think it is super unique. I know one of the things that I really like about it was that it is from the point of view of not only like an indigenous character, but one that like wraps. Wraps up a lot of indigenous spirituality, I guess, for lack of a better word. So that's multifaceted in its use as a. As a character anyway, you know what I mean, as far as a storytelling tool. So yeah, like that point of view, that perspective piece was really huge for me with this book because I loved hearing about something that I've learned about already from a different point of view. And I think that that point of view is obviously a powerful one. And it's unfortunate that there's probably not a lot of captured histories of indigenous people because of the nature of the whole friggin colonialism and assimilation and everything else. Like, I doubt that any settlers were keeping a very important version of the story on file. Anyway, I guess overall I would recommend this book. I don't know if it's my lack of exposure to lgbtq, anything really that makes me curious about the other. Like kind of. It's not like a main thing, but like there's some sexual escapades in the story listener and they're entertaining for sure. I guess I. I don't feel any really way about it, but they're just, they're. I guess the uniqueness comes back through. I've never read a story quite like this one and I think it was pretty good. And I do believe that it's an important story to read. I also actually really like that the story itself is all built around a character that already existed in paintings. In the paintings of. I think his name is Kent Monkman. That is another feature that's pretty interesting and cool around this book. So anyway, would I recommend. Yes. That is all I will say for now. Have a wonderful day. Talk to you soon. [00:47:31] Speaker B: Okay. So this is my book report for the memoirs of Miss Chief Eagle Testicle by Ken Monkman and Giselle Gordon. So this is my third attempt at this personal journal because I couldn't remember who I knew, Ken Monkman, But I couldn't remember Giselle's last name because I had to read this particular book as an audiobook because I couldn't actually get it in time to read it for the book club. It was actually challenging for me to get it from here. So what did I think about this book? First of all, I thought it was going to be way longer, and I was worried I wasn't going to get it finished. So I had started it really early. Early it's because it was like 14 hours long or something, maybe more as an audiobook. And that was because they tell the story. And then the second half of the book is a story with the footnotes. It was only ended up being like eight hours long, so it wasn't very long at all. So I end up finishing it really early, more than I would have liked to, just so I could remember it more clearly. So for this book, you should know right off the bat, there's a lot of sex in it. A lot. But the way they tell the story and the way they weave it in, it just becomes kind of normalized. And you don't really think about it. Like, it's just another tool that she uses to try to instill wisdom, especially to the, you know, colonizers that come. The audiobook, I would recommend, because all the Cree words that they have in the story, they're saying it in Cree. So that's really amazing. I think, for me, anyway, I really enjoyed the book, hearing it the way it's supposed to be said, because otherwise I wouldn't read it probably correctly. So I really like that. However, I do know if you read the audiobook, you're missing out on all the amazing art in the book, which I try to find online and stuff, because I end up getting the book from my library on a library app for the audiobook. So I looked online, but I can't tell what's in the book and what is just Ken Monkman's art. I can guess. But I want to hear what the other girls have to say about the art because I'd be interested in their opinions on the art. And I will, once I'm with them. [00:49:46] Speaker E: Look at their books because I really. [00:49:47] Speaker B: Want to see what the art is in the book. Okay, so now that's out of the way, I would recommend the book. I think it's an amazing. Like, it really is the history of Turtle Island. She really goes through indigenous stories of. Of how the earth came about which I really like because there's lots of parallels from other indigenous communities and Greek mythology. And I like seeing all that kind of parallel storytelling. And I liked how she kind of the way they wrote it as a memoir. She sometimes dismisses things that we just won't understand. You know, she's like, this happened, but you won't understand it. Oh, in the beginning of the book, I really like that she's like, I can tell you some of the stories, and some of the stories I can't because you didn't bring me, you know, horse or tobacco or anything. You didn't have any. There was no exchange. But I think the key message of the book is that the creatures on Earth were willing to help the humans as long as they didn't take more than they needed. And then if you take a look at our world now, that's all we've done is take more than we needed. And I really like how it's reflected. I love. First of all, I love that she's a shapeshifter. So her being a whale was amazing. Her being able to talk to the animals. I like that she isn't just one thing. Do you mean, like, she's not one type of creature. She speaks to the trees. She's not a particular gender. You know, she's everything. But she's interacting in our existence. So I really like that. I like that she's like, time's not the same for us as if it is for you guys, like, when she sleeps for a long time. Because it was too. Was too much for her to take and end up being. I think it was like decades or 100 years or something. Anyway, I just. It was great storytelling and all the sexual stuff. You don't really mind by the end of it, like, it's just part of the story of her trying to instill this knowledge to people who don't want to hear it and her trying to, like, spread the word Anyway, so I'd recommend the book. Just. It's rated R for sure, but you don't really notice by mid book, so. That's my personal journal. I'd love to hear what the other people have to say about it. Yeah, there's just so much to talk about in this book, so I can't really even do it justice on a personal journal. There's just a lot. I just wonder where our conversation is going to go. Okay, bye. [00:52:06] Speaker A: All right, here we are, Season 5 of Book Interrupted. Excited to be here again for season five. And we are talking about the Mischief Eagle Testicle. It is by Kent Monkman and Giselle Gordon. And I actually knew about Kent Monkman and his paintings. I'd been to a show at the rom of a gallery show of his. His work. And they're just like. If you ever get a chance to go see a Kent Monkman show, I would highly recommend. I mean, the amount of detail and all of the paintings, the colors, the stories, and it really, the show was really important and really hit me. So I would recommend. I don't want to give too much away if you go because I think the whole experience of just being there and, and seeing his paintings and the words that, you know, people have put with it, it just was really spectacular and thought provoking and interesting and just worth going to see. But in the book itself, there's a ton of his paintings. So I would recommend getting the book anyways just to be able to see all of them. Yeah, I also would recommend this book. I found it was a really different way or an interesting way of understanding a different version of the whitewashed history that we are taught in school and that we learn and we will talk talk about in podcast. But there's a lot of sex in it. So I would maybe just caution that you have to go into it with an open mind, really be able to open your mind that what we learned in school is not everybody's version of history. And you know, really the indigenous people, you know, our ancestors stole their land, came in when it wasn't about being sold. There was no owning. The whole idea of ownership of land didn't exist. And you know, that land isn't owned, that everything is interconnected. The settlers came in and decided that they were going to start owning land, so they just took everything. And what happened was just not okay, obviously. But going back to the book, this book really shows the importance of love, of kindness, of giving back and not taking, of really that everything's interconnected. And I looked up how to pronounce this word. So I do apologize if it's a Cree word, Mana chit to win. And it means the mutual respect and the land of the original people. And I think that. And mutual respect of all people. And I think that, you know, that's something that we should all be striving for. I would say that if you are going to dive into this book, make sure that, you know, you have some good lighting to be able to see, see the paintings. I agree that perhaps listening to the audiobook to be able to understand the pronunciations would be really Useful as well. I think it'll sit with me, this book and this way that this history was told. It was told from kind of the beginning of time to when Canada is. Is founded. Founded's not the word, but like the whole Confederacy of Canada, 1867, paid more attention in history class. Anyways, it transports you to a different way of thinking about the world that you know is around us. And I would recommend. [00:55:32] Speaker E: I think a lot of what I want to say was already said during the group discussion. This is a very unusual book compared. Compared to what I normally read and at the same time very good. Like it was a contrast where it was this history book and there was a lot of sexuality in it, which is not something that you see a lot of, or at least that I don't see a lot of. One thing that I didn't talk about during the group discussion they wanted to bring up was the references. I loved reading the references in this. I could just read the references. In fact, at some point I did. This book isn't just storytelling. It's telling a history. So. So it says a true and exact accounting of the history of Turtle Island. It's taking direct quotes from people's journals or things that they said in the past, things that happened, and putting it in this story. Almost like a retelling based on fact. So that's something we didn't really talk about is that there's a basis for the stories and the characters. I mean, the characters are people that existed and things that they in fact said or the history books say they said. And so just going through and reading the references is interesting in its own. Would I recommend this book? I think I would. I don't know how to describe this book to people, though. So are there some people I would not recommend this book to? Probably, you know, some people are not. Not okay or comfortable with this much sexuality. But at the same time, depending on their personality, maybe I would still recommend it to them because it is such a different book. And also it's a history book that is. Kind of keeps your attention because you're going along and you're reading these stories and then all of a sudden there's like this sexual scene. I think that if the reader realizes that the story based on tangible pieces of history and little stories in history, you realize that. That when it. They call it a true and exact accounting, it's because they did their research. And I always like books that are well referenced, where the person did a lot of research. I think this book had a lot of work put into it, not just the artistic side of it, because obviously the pieces of art in this book took a lot of effort on their own. But to craft a story that pulls together so much from history, it was quite an undertaking and I'm looking forward to reading the second volume of this book. [00:57:58] Speaker D: Hey, this is Ashley and I'm going to be talking about my personal journal. I'm going to be honest, I didn't finish the book. I totally thought I had another week left. But that's okay. I did finish some of it. I'm listening to it through audiobook and one thing I would say is it's slow for me. Like just the pacing of the telling of the book is a little slow. So I did have to put it. I'm listening to it at 1.5 and I think that that is a really good speed for me. I'm excited to talk to everyone else in the group and kind of get their feedback on the book. And I think we're going to be discussing some really interesting topics. And I always appreciate reading books about Indigenous stories, Indigenous lives, and this is, I think, a really cool one to talk about First Contact and the Settlers. I like how sexual the book is so far. I think that's very true to Indigenous culture and people. It's true to me, I feel. Yeah. So I'm excited to finish reading this book, but I thought I would just give my quick personal journal on it. I would recommend it because I think it really will make people question the history of Canada that they believe. And even for me, I am having a good time relearning history because I was raised very white and the history that I believe is not true. So thank you so much, Kim. I always appreciate the books that you pick. So yes, a must read for me. Thank you. [00:59:30] Speaker B: Thank you for joining us on this episode of Book Interrupted. If you'd like to see the video highlights from this episode, please go to our YouTube channel, book interrupted. You can also find our videos on www.bookinterrupted.com. [00:59:46] Speaker C: Are you interested in buying this book? Do you want to order the next book so you can read along? Go to www.bookinterrupted.comshop to see a complete list of our books and if you haven't tried them yet, our affiliate partners, the Bookshop and Libro fm, both help support your local bookstore where available. Thanks for taking the time to check in and connect. We'll see you next time on Book Interrupted. Book Interrupted Never forget Every Child Matters.