A Two-Spirit Journey: The Autobiography of a Lesbian Ojibwa-Cree Elder

This collaboration between Chacaby and social scientist Plummer tells the story of Chacaby’s remarkable life. She was born in a tuberculosis sanitarium in 1950 and raised largely by her grandmother—who early on recognized her special nature—and their Anishnaabe community. Her story was shaped by social conditions specific to that era of colonialism in Canada. She avoided residential school by being in the bush when the other children were rounded up, but then had to survive abuse by her closest family; a harrowing escape with two children from an arranged, abusive marriage; alcoholism; living on the streets of Thunder Bay; and coming out as a lesbian in a small community in the early 1980s. Chacaby’s story is suffused with people helping others overcome hardship. These helpers include Chacaby herself, once she is in a position to aid others. Leveraging the storytelling traditions that she learned as a young girl in Ombabika, Ont., this autobiography is rich in detail and reads like taking tea with a wise and dear grandmother. Plummer’s role is evident in the way the book is organized, but she is otherwise unobtrusive, facilitating rather than obfuscating Chacaby’s narration. (May)