Description
Basil Johnston was born in Wasauksing First Nation in 1929, and was a member of the Chippewas of Nawash Unceded First Nation. He was a highly respected author, storyteller and preserver of the Anishnaabe language. He wrote 15 books in English and five in Ojibway, as well as numerous articles that have been published in newspapers, anthologies and periodicals. He was a strong proponent that the key to understanding culture is language and was tireless in his efforts to promote the Anishnaabe language and culture. So tireless, that he developed audio language programs on cassette and CD and continued to teach Anishnaabe language classes to youth and adults. At a time when indigenous languages stand in jeopardy, Basil Johnston’s meticulous work to retrieve, maintain and document the Ojibway language helped to stem the threat of extinction. In addition to his prolific writing career, he worked at the Royal Ontario Museum from 1970 to 1994 in the Department of Ethnology. He was a history teacher at a high school in North York and a lecturer at various universities and colleges, including Trent and the University of Saskatchewan. He was a renowned storyteller, possessed with the oratorical gift of the ancestors who could enthrall his audience by telling a great legend. His best known book Indian School Days utilizes humour and poignancy to provide an accounting of his experience in the residential school system. Basil Johnston received many awards and honours for his work, including the Order of Ontario, the 125th Anniversary Medal and honorary doctorates from the University of Toronto and Laurentian University. His books have served as ambassadors for Indigenous Peoples and his language tapes and CDs as tonics for the Ojibway mother tongue.
Back in the 1960s, bumper stickers advocated “Think Indian.” And while this plea may have been intended for general consideration, it represented a personal appeal for exercising an increased intensity of Indigeneity, especially for those prevented from practicing real Indigeneity.
This collection of essays by the incomparable Basil Johnston is drawn from many talks he gave at educational conferences and gatherings across Turtle Island (Canada and the United States). Topics he covered include the critical need to protect and encourage Indigenous languages, how we are “One Generation Away From Extinction,” “Cowboys and Indians,” “You Can’t Tell Stories in the Summertime” and “Languages are Beyond Price.” Basil’s thoughtful and vital reflections on Indigenous life, legends, language and culture are found in this wise and humourous collection of his writings.
“Basil Johnston proves once again that he is the dean of Canadian Native writers with this indispensable collection of his best and most entertaining essays. Beautiful, lucid, sometimes hilarious and always thought provoking, Think Indian is essential reading for anyone wanting to understand contemporary Native experience. It will make you think again about what you thought you knew.”
—Warren Cariou, award-winning author of Lake of the Prairies.