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It is 1919, and Niska, the last Oji-Cree woman to live off the land, has received word that one of the two boys she saw off to the Great War has returned. Xavier Bird, her sole living relation, is gravely wounded and addicted to morphine. As Niska slowly paddles her canoe on the three-day journey to bring Xavier home, travelling through the stark but stunning landscape of Northern Ontario, their respective stories emerge—stories
of Niska’s life among her kin and of Xavier’s horrifying experiences in the killing fields of Ypres and the Somme.
McNally Robinson Aboriginal Book Award: Winner 2005
Barnes and Noble Discover Great New Writers Award: Nominee 2005
Governor General's Literary Award: Nominee 2005
CBA Libris Award - Fiction Book of the Year: Shortlist 2006
Amazon.ca/Books in Print First Novel Award: Winner 2005
CAA MOSAID Technologies Inc. Award for Fiction for a Full-length Novel: Winner 2006
I.M.P.A.C. Dublin Award: Longlist 2006
Canada Reads: Top 40 2010
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