Mamaskatch

A Cree Coming of Age

Darrel J. McLeod
Publisher: Douglas & McIntyre

Book Description

Growing up in Smith, Alberta, Darrel J. McLeod was surrounded  by his Cree family’s history. In shifting and unpredictable stories, his mother, Bertha, shared narratives of their culture, their family and the cruelty that she endured in residential school. The fractured narrative of  Mamaskatch  mirrors Bertha’s attempts to reckon with the trauma and abuse she faced in her own life, and captures an intensely moving portrait of a family of strong personalities, deep ties and the shared history that both binds and haunts them. 

Author Bio

Darrel J. McLeod is Cree from treaty eight territory in Northern Alberta. Before deciding to pursue writing in his retirement, he was a chief negotiator of land claims for the federal government and executive director of education and international affairs with the Assembly of First Nations.