FromglobalartsuperstarKentMonkmanandhislongtimecollaboratorGis癡leGordon,atransformationalworkoftruestoriesandimaginedhistorythatwillremakereaders’understandingofthelandcalledNorthAmerica.Fordecades,thesingularandprovocativepaintingsbyCreeartistKentMonkmanhavefeaturedarecurringcharacter--analteregoofsorts,ashape-shifting,time-travellingelementalbeingnamedMissChiefEagleTestickle.Thoughwehaveglimpsedheracrosstheyears,andoncountlesscanvases,itisfinallytimetohearherstory,inherownwords.And,indoingso,tohearthewholehistoryofTurtleIslandanew.TheMemoirsofMissChiefEagleTestickle:ATrueandExactAccountingoftheHistoryofTurtleIslandisagenre-demolishingworkofgenius,theimaginedhistoryofalegendaryfigurethroughwhichaprofoundtruthsemerge--adeeplyCreeandgloriouslyqueerunderstandingofoursharedworld,itspast,itspresent,anditspossibilities.VolumeTwo,whichtakesusfromthemomentofconfederationtothepresentday,isaheartbreakingandintimateexaminationofthetragediesofthenineteenthandtwentiethcentury.Zeroinginonthestoryofonefamilytoldacrossgenerations,MissChiefbearswitnesstothegenocidalforcesandstructuresthatdispossessedandattemptedtoeraseIndigenouspeoples.Featuringmanyfigurespulledfromhistoryaswellasnewindividualscreatedforthisstory,VolumeTwoexploresthelegacyofcolonialviolenceinthechildren’sworkcamps(calledresidentialschoolsbysome),theSixtiesScoop,andtheurbandisconnectionofcontemporarylife.Ultimately,itisastoryofresilienceandreconnection,andchartsthebeginningsofanIndigenousfuturethatisdeeplyrootedinanexperienceofIndigenoushistory--aperspectiveMissChief,amillennia-oldlegendarybeing,canofferlikenoneother.Blendinghistory,fiction,andmemoirinboldnewways,TheMemoirsofMissChiefEagleTestickleareunlikeanythingpublishedbefore.Andintheirpowertoreshapeoursharedunderstanding,theypromisetochangethewayweseeeverythingthatliesahead.
