Road Allowance Kitten book launched
- Andréa Ledding | March 06, 2016
Retired educator and Métis children’s author Wilfred Burton went to primary school with road allowance children, though he was fortunate his grandparents took scrip and homesteaded at Midnight Lake. Within a few years they were gone, and as an adult he heard of forced relocation to places such as Green Lake, without promised shelters or development. Mabel Gibson told him of being removed from her road allowance community near Lestock, Isadore Pelletier also shared his story, and Sandy Pelletier read the story her mother Marcie Agopsowitz had recorded. One common thread was kittens who were either smuggled along or left behind, and he realized that was the key to writing down this often-ignored history of the Métis people in Saskatchewan for youth and children to hear in schools.
Road Allowance Kitten, colourfully illustrated by fellow Métis educator Christina Johns, and translated into Michif by Norman Fleury, tells of how two cousins are told they must leave behind their beloved kitten when their community is forced into trains and transported north with only what they can pack. Fortunately for these two creative cousins, this includes their kitten in her favourite quilt!
At a book launch at GDI Publishing on March 1, Burton read the book aloud after introducing how it came to be.
“Having heard these stories [of forced relocation], as an educator I wondered how can we bring this story to life for students — because I always wanted to find ways to make history accessible to students — and I thought hey, everybody likes cats,” Burton explained, adding that because it’s a sad story, and a horrible part of our history, “How can we bring this story to young students without making it so sad, and I thought, the cat will do it.”
And the cat does it indeed, although even adults have been known to shed tears of relief and empathy during the final pages. Burton thanked GDI for their on-going publishing of Métis history and issues, along with Norman Fleury for translating Burton’s 32nd book (27 are in the new Taansii series Burton and Angie Caron wrote for young readers.)
“I listened to the recording included and I am learning more and more Michif just from playing it,” noted Burton. “I think it’s a story of great cultural significance and I hope teachers will use it in their classroom,” adding it’s geared for 9 to 14 year olds but adults connect to the story as well. It can be found at McNally Robinson, or purchased online from Gabriel Dumont Institute.