Wild Waters is Larry Loyie’s, Cree, exploration of the little-known side of the fur trade, the side of Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) and Canadien (French Canadian) paddlers who powered the canoes. After seeing his four times great-grandfather’s name, Tomma, in Chief Trader Archibald McDonald’s 1828 journal, Larry, with partner and co-author Constance Brissenden, began researching and writing about a challenging canoe voyage from Montreal to Hudson Bay, and then on to the Pacific. Larry was determined to combine his creative vision of Tomma’s life with the entries in McDonald’s journal to honour the unacknowledged voices of history. Some of the people in Wild Waters existed; others are based on the authors’ view of the fur trade and its people. Wherever possible, real dialogue was used. Weights and measures are consistent with usage of the era. Highly recommended.
Wild Waters is a finalist for the 2022 R. Ross Annett Award for Children’s Literature (chapter books) and has been selected for the First Nation Communities Read 2022 Awards Long List (FNCR 2022).
Reviews: “Wild Waters, Inside a Voyageur’s World is a personalized account of the hardships and hazards of a voyageur’s journey. The fur trade would not have been possible without the strength and endurance of the Indigenous people.” – Frank Surprenant, Woodland Cree Elder.
**“Wild Waters, Inside a Voyageur's World is an authentic, atmospheric tale of the voyageur and Hudson’s Bay Company days. Not only do you admire the strength and courage of the paddlers in navigating the wild waters, but also how they negotiated the intense personalities and rivalries of the Europeans they laboured for. An excellent historical account of the voyageur’s life!” -- Darlene Adams, Curator, High Prairie & District Museum, High Prairie, AB.
**Wild Waters: Inside a Voyageur’s World, by giving a voice to the previously nameless and voiceless, makes its contribution to the ongoing process of reconciliation. -- Recommended -- Dave Jenkinson, Editor, CM Reviews Volume XXVII / Issue 39 - June 11 / 2021.