![]() He doesn’t even drink.”Ĭhanie’s memories then go back to his first day at school. Lemire captures the love in his drawings. These memories are in full, beautiful watercolour. His thoughts go back to happier times, fishing with his father. Chanie’s story is told in the form of flashbacks. The trees are bare, and ravens circle free overhead. Alone, following the train tracks, Wenjack is illustrated in stark black, blue and white. It was October of ’66 and the story begins with Chanie already on his way home. You must take time to study the lines and shading, for each page is rich with beauty and detail. Listening along is the best way to appreciate the rich images. The book has no text other than the album’s lyrics. Meanwhile, Wenjack and thousands like him were abused and tormented at residential schools all over the country, not even afforded the dignity of their own names.Īt age 12, Wenjack ran away. The Beatles were the biggest band in the world. The residential school forced him to change his name to “Charlie”. It is the story of Chanie Wenjack, Anishinaabe by birth, raised in northern Ontario. #Gordon downie secret path fullThe book comes with a download code so you can listen along, and read the full lyrics. In 2016 they released Secret Path, a gorgeous and painful graphic novel to accompany the Downie album of the same name. If Gord Downie were alive today, what would he have to say about these discoveries?ĭownie and Jeff Lemire tried to tell us. How many? With bodies being unearthed daily, we may never know the true tally. Thousands of these children never came home from the residential school system. All in the misguided and shameful effort to “civilize the savage” and “bring the heathens to God”. Forced to lose their language, culture, and way of life. Children, taken away from their families, and forced to assimilate. It has shown the world that even the great nation of Canada has skeletons. This terrible secret is no longer hiding in the dark. Eventually, atrocities are brought to light. GORD DOWNIE & LEFF LEMIRE – Secret Path (2016 Simon and Schuster) ![]()
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