Five Little Indians, winner of the UBC New Fiction Prize, is a story that follows five individuals: Kenny, Lucy, Clara, Howie, and Maisie. This is a story of survivors of Residential Schools in Canada and of their journey in finding themselves amongst the new world they are thrown into while grappling with the fears and traumas of their past. Once a child reaches the age of sixteen, they are released from the Residential Schools. Finally they are free to go back to their families away from the torture they endured at the schools. Some of the characters escape the horrors of the schools before it is their time to go and those lucky enough to reach the age of sixteen are put on a boat and shipped off out into the world. However, just because they are away from the grips of the Residential School doesn’t meant they will be entirely free.
The everlasting effects of the torture and trauma the children go through put them in a difficult position once they have moved away from the school. They are left thinking “Now what?” Where do they go, how do they get there, or how do they survive. Those fortunate enough to have family still around can’t connect with their loved ones once they are back home. The families are torn, struggling with their own traumas and darkness brought onto them when their children were kidnapped by priests and government agents to be taken away to the Residential Schools. Schools created by the government to “assimilate” and take the “savage” out of the Indigenous children. The survivors who have made it back to their families struggle with their experiences at school, afraid to vocalize what had happened, confused on how to reconnect with their family, roots, and culture. They feel as if they don’t belong, afraid to go back to how it was before they were taken away.
Some of the survivors are left with no idea where their family members are or their family members are never informed that their children have finally been released. All these survivors embark on their own journey to find a way to survive in the world they feel has no place for them. They must fight with their past and the trauma, all while finding their way into the unwelcoming world. Some finding jobs that exploit them as they have no other job prospects, others finding escape in bottles and drugs, and some finding escape into the afterlife.
In Michelle Good’s book, the five main characters cross each others paths throughout their journey and in a way I feel they all learned how to survive through each others experiences. The story is presented in each character’s perspective but Good does this in an easy and clear manner, allowing the reader to keep up without confusion. Five Little Indians is a very well written, clear, and powerful read. Although a fiction book, Michelle Good interlinks real life traumas and the effects of the Residential Schools into each character’s story. These are actually the realities those who survived the Residential Schools faced, not to mention the intergenerational trauma that occurred and is still felt today.
I recall reading somewhere that Michelle Good wanted to tell a story of what the Residential School survivors faced and dealt with rather than lecturing about the impacts of the schools. I’d say Five Little Indians does just that. Another great easy to follow read, however the content might not be as easy to digest. This might actually be a great addition to classrooms and household bookshelves. Disclaimer, this isn’t going to be a happy ending story. Well, in a way it could be but it’s not what you might be used to as a happy ending. This book is one of the harsh truth and realities of the impact of residential schools, with different endings for the different characters. It is a story of survival as well as reconnecting.
Personally, I am in awe of Michelle Good. A member of the Red Pheasant cree Nation in Saskatchewan, Good obtained a Law degree at the age of 43. As a teenager she has worked in Indigenous organizations. After graduating with a Law degree from the University of British Columbia, Michelle Good’s primary focus is advocating for Residential School survivors. Not only is she a lawyer, she also obtained a Masters of Fine Arts degree in Creative Writing MFA from UBC!
Nish Jots Her Thoughts 