Golden Oak Book Club 2004

Study Notes – Older Readers

As Long as the Rivers Flow was one of eight books selected in 2004 for the Golden Oak Book Club. The book club promotes reading for pleasure, and lets adult new readers know about great Canadian books. Sponsored by Metro Toronto Movement for Literacy, Ontario Library Association, Toronto Adult Students Association and Toronto Public Library. The study notes are used with permission from the Toronto Public Library.

As Long as the Rivers Flow by Larry Loyie with Constance Brissenden Illustrated by Heather D. Holmlund

BOOK SUMMARY: For more than 100 years, the education of First Nations children was taken on by various churches in government-sponsored residential schools. Children were forcibly taken from their families in order to erase their traditional languages and cultures.

As Long as the Rivers Flow (Groundwood Books, ISBN 0-88899-696-9) is the beautifully illustrated story of Larry Loyie’s last summer before entering residential school. For the 10-year-old boy Lawrence, it is a time of learning and adventure. He cares for an abandoned baby owl and watches his grandmother make winter moccasins. He helps the family prepare for a hunting and gathering trip. The epilogue provides a brief history of residential schools with black and white photographs of Larry Loyie and his family.

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY: Larry Loyie was born in Slave Lake, Alberta, where he spent his early years living a traditional Cree life. At the age of ten he was placed in St. Bernard’s Mission residential school in Grouard, Alberta. He is the author of several plays, short stories and children’s stories dealing with native issues.

His children’s book The Gathering Tree, published in 2005 by Theytus Books (ISBN 1- 894778-28-6), introduces the subject of HIV awareness with a gentle First Nations storyline (illustrated by Heather D. Holmlund).

Larry has been involved in literacy for more than 20 years, first as a learner and also as a volunteer. He sat on the board for Movement for Canadian Literacy and was an advisor to the National Aboriginal Design Committee, an indigenous literacy association. Larry received the 2001 Canada Post Literacy Award for Individual Achievement (BC). Larry is the only First Nations writer to win the Norma Fleck Award for Canadian Children’s Non-Fiction (2003). His website is www.firstnationswriter.com.

Co-author Constance Brissenden has written 14 books of travel and history. In 1993, the couple started Living Tradition Writers Group to encourage First Nations people to write about their traditions and stories. Illustrator Heather D. Holmlund’s roots are in Fort Frances, Ontario. She studied visual art at York University and lives with her family in Pickering, Ontario. As Long as the Rivers Flow was her first book.

Suggestions for Tutors/Instructors Before beginning the story, read the inside front and back covers. You might flip through the book looking at pictures and noting the difference between the watercolour pictures and the black and white photographs in the epilogue.

Pre-Reading 1. There are many ways to acquire knowledge and skills. Some important things are learned outside of school. What are some of the important things you have learned from your parents or grandparents?

2. If you were to live in the woods, what skills would you need to survive?

3. If you were (are) a parent or grandparent, what are the most important values you would want to share?

Discussion Questions 1. Why do you think Lawrence’s father gives him the owl to look after?

2. Lawrence learns many things from his family. What do you think are the most important things he learns?

3. At the beginning of chapter 3, Lawrence’s father says, “Your kokum (grandmother) is equal to anyone … you will learn a lot from her if you watch and listen.” What does this statement tell you about the grandmother’s role in the family? How does Lawrence feel about his grandmother? What role does she play in Lawrence’s view of his family and himself?

4. In chapter 4, Lawrence’s grandfather says, “This land has always given us what we need to live … Like they told us long ago, as long as the rivers flow, this land is ours. It is up to all of us to care for it.” What do you think Lawrence’s grandfather means?

5. Why do you think residential schools were established in Canada?

6. Why do you think native people’s traditions were not always valued in the past by others?

7. How are the illustrations similar to and different from the photographs in the epilogue? What do the images add to the story? To the epilogue?

8. How do you think Lawrence felt about going away to school? How did it change his life? How would you feel if this story happened to you?