“There were incredibly complex societies already existing in North America long before Europeans arrived. So many people think that before European contact it was just Natives huddling around a fire, waiting for civilization to come save them. But that was not the case.” PeopleThinkingLongAmericaWaitingCasesFireCivilizationComplexesContactNorth America Author:Joseph Boyden
“The beliefs of Native people are no less powerful or important just because they focus on a different "form of magic."” PeopleImportantDifferentFormBeliefPowerfulFocusMagicNative Author:Joseph Boyden
“There's a few scholars that object to how the italicized sections suggest that Native people are to take some part in the blame for how colonization occurred. But I say, "Yes they are." Not nearly as much blame as the colonizers, of course. But we are not just victims. I hate this idea that we are all just victimized and oppressed and etcetera etcetera. It's dehumanizing in its own way.” PeopleWayIdeasHateCoursesObjectsI HateVictimBlameNativeScholarOppressedSectionsColonizationEtcetera Author:Joseph Boyden
“People will say that Canada, unlike America, was not birthed from violence. But I want to say, "What are you talking about?" It's just not true.” PeopleWantAmericaTalkingViolenceCanada Author:Joseph Boyden
“When I die, nieces, I want to be cremated, my ashes taken up in a bush plane and sprinkled onto the people in town below. Let them think my body is snowflakes, sticking in their hair and on their shoulders like dandruff.” PeopleThinkingWantBodyDiesTakenHairTownsShouldersPlanesAshesSnowflakeNiece Book:Through Black Spruce: A Novel Source: Through Black Spruce: A Novel
“The world is a different place in this new century, [...]. And we are a different people. My visions still come but no one listens any longer to what they tell us, what they warn us. I knew even as a young woman that destruction bred on the horizon. [...] War touches everyone, and windigos spring from the earth.” PeopleWorldStillsDifferentWarEarthYoungVisionCenturySpringDestructionHorizonYoung WomenDifferent PeoplesDifferent Place Author:Joseph Boyden
