They Called Me Number One by Bev Sellars

Synopsis from Goodreads: 

Xat’sull Chief Bev Sellars spent her childhood in a church-run residential school whose aim it was to “civilize” Native children through Christian teachings, forced separation from family and culture, and discipline. In addition, beginning at the age of five, Sellars was isolated for two years at Coqualeetza Indian Turberculosis Hospital in Sardis, British Columbia, nearly six hours’ drive from home. The trauma of these experiences has reverberated throughout her life.

The first full-length memoir to be published out of St. Joseph’s Mission at Williams Lake, BC, Sellars tells of three generations of women who attended the school, interweaving the personal histories of her grandmother and her mother with her own. She tells of hunger, forced labour, and physical beatings, often with a leather strap, and also of the demand for conformity in a culturally alien institution where children were confined and denigrated for failure to be White and Roman Catholic.

My Review: 

This was a part of native history that I wasn't as familiar with which is what drove me to read it. After finishing this title, it's definitely a subject I would like to better educate myself on. Bev Sellars speaks simply with an often pragmatic voice that has little flourish in language, but the memories she shares are no less vivid for it. While her passion for the injustices committed at these residential schools is more than evident, she asks for no sympathy in recounting them. In fact, there were moments when it felt like my heart was breaking more than hers. Not surprising when you grow up being shown little to no respect or courtesy. I can imagine that would toughen someone up pretty quick.

I don't know if it's true for all residential schools, but the one Bev was forced to go to received money from the government for each Indian child they could house and feed. Quality of life was not so much a concern as quantity of children. The children were called by their number not the name their parents gave them. It was forbidden to speak their native tongue and corporal punishment along with verbal abuse was commonplace. In addition to chores, the students were forced to make arts and crafts that the school would sell for their own profit. Their diet was of such a poor quality that one of the newly-hired chefs refused to feed the kids such poor food (spoiled food was known to have been served as well). The children often wore uniforms and shoes that did not fit. DDT was used to kill lice. Children who were injured from play or by accident were not taken to a doctor or hospital. They were left in bed with broken arms or legs that never properly healed in their adult life. This school, along with others, would later face charges of sexual assault against both girls and boys. 

The worst part of this is that, according to Sellars, when she would return home for parts of the year no one would speak about what happened at the residential school. Both her mother and grandmother and other family members who had also attended the school remained silent. Friends pretended it was a different life, not wanting to relive those moments or even admit to them. Later in her life, Sellars would lose many family and friends to alcoholism. She believed very strongly that their experiences were too much to cope with and alcohol was an easy way to drown out the pain. 

One thing that really surprised me was the law in Canada prohibiting any native from LEAVING the reserve without a pass from their Indian agent....?!? Here is an article that talks more about the Indian Act and also shows an image of one of those passes: http://www.ictinc.ca/blog/21-things-you-may-not-have-known-about-the-indian-act-. 

Bev Sellars, although painfully shy, later went on to become chief of her tribe for over 20 years.

The Author

Author Tidbit: Bev Sellars won the 2014 George Ryga Award for Social Awareness in Literature. She also has a degree in history and law.

King Arthur: A Military History by Michael Holmes

Synopsis from Goodreads:
Is it true that King Arthur was a real historical figure? That he had a profound influence on the actual history of England and the world? The evidence presented here comes from many reliable ancient sources that depict the world of Britain around the year A.D. 500, and, more important, from numerous modern historians who have developed methods of examining ancient records to uncover hidden kernels of historical truth. What is known about the history of the period is compared with intriguing details imbedded in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle and other legendary sources. The most valuable contribution is a careful study of major events in Gaul and Britain during the Arthurian era to show how a leader of Arthur's stature could have caused the known victories in battle and the known shifts in political power. Every major battle in which King Arthur is supposed to have engaged is treated as an actual happening, and each is described in meticulous detail, complete with maps and campaign charts. What a few years ago was thought be a futile quest now is being taken seriously: that only a historical person who led real battles and produced major victories could have inspired the centuries of stories and legends.

My Review:
If you are interested in more than just the romantic myth of King Arthur and his Knights then you should add this to your Arthurian collection. It covers the time period, the landscape and the events surrounding the speculated military career of Arthur. The author, Michael Holmes, (a physicist by trade), goes into surprising detail, pulling from primary historical sources and applying a healthy dose of reason and logic to his speculations. He sets the scene with events that took place before Arthur's birth, events that would have influenced his father and grandfather. He goes into the Celtic tribal mindset and the Roman military machine and how these two things would have played an important role in shaping the romano-celtic people including King Arthur. 

Two of the main sources the author pulls from are Nennius's "History of the British" and the "Annales Cambriae."  These sources reference Arthur (although there is some debate on his name being added long after the first arthurian myth developed). But if that's not the case then the points Holmes presents are really interesting. Towards the end of the book, he goes into an incredibly detailed and thoughtful account of King Arthur's campaign defending England from the Anglo-Saxons and the numerous battles leading up to the victorious Battle of Mount Badon and the betrayal of Medraut (Mordred). 

All in all, even if what Holmes is suggesting can't be proven, it's an interesting book written by someone who obviously loves the legend of King Arthur. And there is enough honest history in it to please the history buff.