A Very Small Rebellion

SKU: 1550419307

Author:
Jan Truss
Grade Levels:
Six, Seven, Eight, Nine
Nation:
Cree, Metis, Plains
Book Type:
Paperback
Pages:
80
Publisher:
Fitzhenry & Whiteside Publishing
Copyright Data:
2005

Price:
Sale price$12.95

Description

A Very Small Rebellion is a novel set in the 1950s in a Prairie classroom. The students are Metis and First Nation and their teacher introduces the idea of the class performing a play. The students begin their rehearsals and their study of the historic period in Canadian history known as the Riel or Northwest Resistance. The author has selected to combine a story about the students' school play along with brief entries at the beginning of each chapter that explains the events of Riel and the Metis Resistance. While the play is progressing, the small Metis community is under threat when the Canadian government plans to expropriate the lands where their homes are located for a highway. As the story unfolds, the students take lessons from the life of Louis Riel and his Metis followers. The play will be presented in Edmonton at a drama festival and everyone feels the excitement all the while their very community is at risk. The results reflect Canadian history as the students return triumphant from Edmonton, their parents have packed all their belongings as the homes are abandoned for the government highway. In the epilogue the author notes that things would not always be bleak for the Metis people in Canada. One day they would rise again and justice would one day be theirs. The novel is an interesting way to approach Canadian history from a Metis perspective. While some terminology may seem dated by today's standards, the novel expresses the norms of Canada in the 1950s.

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