Jo-Ann Episkenew talks about Taking Back Our Spirits

Jo-Ann Episkenew, author of Taking Back Our Spirits, was recently interviewed by Cassandra J. Opikokew for the University of Regina’s YOURblog.

Here’s an excerpt from the interview:

If you had to sum up what your book was about in a few sentences, how would you describe it?
My book is about the damage that the poorly conceived policies of the Canadian government have inflicted on Indigenous people through making white privilege and attitudes of superiority a cultural norm that Canadians do not question. It is also about the ways that Indigenous literature can heal both writers and readers.

What did you learn from writing this book? What sticks with you?
I think that I also understood intuitively the healing power of literature. I’ve been a life-long book worm. What sticks with me is what I learned about how this healing power actually operates, and I am committed to studying further how to transfer my skills in literary analysis to my work in health research.

You discuss literature as a form of healing. How do stories, health, and policy connect?
Canadian government policies have injured Indigenous people individually and collectively. They are responsible for the education deficit, chronic disease, poverty, and violence in our communities to name but a few. Without access to the discourse of public policy, Indigenous people had to turn to the only discourse available to critique Canadian government policies, and that was their stories. When I’ve experienced trauma, my mind is like a hamster on a treadmill, but by writing it down the feelings move from the inside to the outside where they can be examined and better understood. Telling our stories is an act of agency, of empowerment, and that can be incredibly healing. When my mind is like a hamster on a treadmill, it is healing to read the story of someone who has suffered a similar experience. Sometimes her story helps me shape my story, which is also healing. Read the rest here.