“Lily’s face seemed to hover in the air in front of Clara, soaking and shivering on that bench, and once again the anger rose up in her. Through her words, we find ourselves in the shoes of these survivors, delving into their individual and interlacing stories, understanding why they make the choices they do. As a daughter and granddaughter of people who went through the residential school system, Good tells this story with compassion and insight, with relatable characters who you feel and root for.Īlthough the subject matter is inherently dark, Good opens a window into the human cost of colonialism without judgment. Even though it made my stomach tighten when I looked at her and thought of Father, I couldn’t help but think, in spite of it all, we were here.”įive Little Indians is the debut novel by poet, lawyer and political activist Michelle Good, and a member of Saskatchewan’s Red Pheasant Cree Nation.

“Indian School seemed like a hundred years ago, but with Lucy in my living room, it seemed like yesterday. We join them as they try to deal with years of neglect and trauma in a world that has no place for them, never mind any understanding. From their prison-like residential school on Vancouver Island, they are turfed onto the streets of Vancouver with no support, money, family connections or life skills.

Five Little Indians follows the lives of five young adults as they grapple with life after ‘Indian School’ in the 1960s.

Book 5 little indians