b'BOOKSMUST READSStorytelling is an entrenched part of Indigenous culture, and below are two memoirs that provide invaluable insight into the Indigenous experience as lived by two creative talentsTHUNDER THROUGH MY VEINS:MEMORIES OF A MTIS CHILDHOOD By Gregory ScofieldGregory Scofields unflinching memoir takes readers through a decades-long healing journey that shaped a Mtis boy into the celebrated poet, artist and activist he is today. Beginning at the very start, Thunder Through My Veins: Memories of a Mtis Childhood follows the life of a boy born into a Mtis family with no father or knowledge of his Cree, Scottish, English and French heritage. He is separated from his mother at the age of five and sent to live with strangers and extended family. With each chapter, Scofield wields his talent for the written word to document the abuses, traumas and inner turmoil he faced along his winding journey toward self-discovery and love. Along the way, he also pays homage to a mother and neighbour (Aunty Georgia) who kept him on his path. Thunder Through My Veins was first published in 1999 and most recently included in the Canada Reads 2021 list. In its 2018 review, CBC Books noted, Few people can justify a memoir at the age of thirty-three. Gregory Scofield is the exception, a young man who has inhabited several lives in the time most of us can manage only one.Scofields other books include Witness, I Am (2016), Louis: The Heretic Poems (2011), Kipocihkn: Poems New & Selected (2009), Singing Home the Bones (2005), and other poetry collections. In 2013, he received the Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal, and in 2016, his works earned him the Latner Writers Trust Poetry Prize. CALLING MY SPIRIT BACKBy Elaine Alec Elaine Alec (born telxnitkw, or Standing by Water) took her pen to paper to still wounds in a memoir that draws upon past traumas to convey teachings, prophecy and protocols from her Syilx (Okanagan) and Secwpemc (Shuswap) Nation heritage. In her book, Alec explores how the traumas experienced by her family in residential schools have rippled across generations and how her own struggles with abuse, racism, loss, addiction and mental health led to a path of self-discovery and healing. Beyond the stories, Calling my Spirit Back examines Alecs four protocols for cultivating safe spaces. They include promoting inclusion, promoting validation, promoting well-being and promoting freedom. This makes Calling My Spirit Back both an unflinching account of Alecs life and a guidebook for readers embarking on their own healing journeys.As Alec describes on her webpage, Indigenous peoples have always carried the know-ledge necessary to heal. When our people heal, our families heal, our communities heal, and our land will heal. You cannot have one without the other. Alec is a B.C.-based author, political advisor, womens advocate and spiritual thought leader who is also a direct descendant of hereditary Chiefs Pelkamulaxw and Soorimpt. Calling my Spirit Back represents a coming together of her experiences and teachings.74Fall/Winter 2022'