''Seven Fallen Feathers: Racism, Death, and Hard Truths in a Northern City'' is a nonfiction book by Tanya Talaga, published September 30, 2017 by

House of Anansi Press House of Anansi Press is a Canadian publishing company, founded in 1967 by writers Dennis Lee and Dave Godfrey. The company specializes in finding and developing new Canadian writers of literary fiction, poetry, and non-fiction. History Anansi ...

. The book won the

Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing The Shaughnessy Cohen Prize for Political Writing is a Canadian literary award, presented by the Writers' Trust of Canada to the best nonfiction book on Canadian political and social issues. It has been presented annually in Ottawa at the Writers� ...

in 2017, as well as the

RBC Taylor Prize The RBC Taylor Prize (2000–2020), formerly known as the Charles Taylor Prize, is a Canadian literary award, presented by the Charles Taylor Foundation to the best Canadian work of literary non-fiction. It is named for Charles P. B. Taylor, a n ...

for Literary Nonfiction and

PMC Indigenous Literature Awards The Periodical Marketers of Canada Indigenous Literature Awards, also known as the First Nation Communities Read Awards, is an annual Canadian literary award presented to Indigenous Canadian writers. First Nation Communities Read was established ...

in 2018.

Synopsis

''Seven Fallen Feathers'' discusses the experiences of Indigenous children at schools in

Thunder Bay Thunder Bay is a city in and the seat of Thunder Bay District, Ontario, Canada. It is the most populous municipality in Northwestern Ontario and the second most populous (after Greater Sudbury) municipality in Northern Ontario; its populatio ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central C ...

. For various reasons, Indigenous children in Ontario often leave their homes around age 13 or 14 to attend school in a larger city, such as Thunder Bay, where they are likely to " face a myriad of hardships—rampant racism, extreme underage alcohol and substance abuse, along with physical and sexual violence." Talaga's book investigates "seven untimely and largely unsolved deaths that have taken place among Native Thunder Bay students" between 2000 and 2011, all of which were "immediately deemed accidental, some noted as such by the local police even before a coroner had a chance to conduct an autopsy." Throughout the investigation into these deaths, Talaga also provides necessary history about Canadian residential schools.

Critical reception

''Seven Fallen Feathers'' was generally well-received, including starred reviews from ''

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'' and ''

Publishers Weekly ''Publishers Weekly'' (''PW'') is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers, and literary agents. Published continuously since 1872, it has carried the tagline, "The International News Magazine of ...

.'' Courtney Eathorne, writing for ''Booklist'', noted, "Talaga’s incisive research and breathtaking storytelling could bring this community one step closer to the healing it deserves." ''Publishers Weekly'' called ''Seven Fallen Feathers'' "a powerful examination and critique of present and past Canadian policies on indigenous peoples." The reviewer noted,

Talaga’s research is meticulous and her journalistic style is crisp and uncompromising. She brings each story to life, skillfully weaving the stories of the youths’ lives, deaths, and families together with sharp analysis. She connects each death to neocolonial policies and institutional racism in all levels of governments, as well as the legacy of Canada’s infamously abusive residential schools. The book is heartbreaking and infuriating, both an important testament to the need for change and a call to action.

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'''s Kerry McHugh provided a mixed review, noting that the book "feels imbued with a strange sense of déjà vu, in part because Talaga repeats facts multiple times across as many pages." They continued, stating, "The repetition is what Talaga works hard to warn against: look at what's been done. Remember what has happened. Do not let it happen again."

References

{{Authority Control 2017 non-fiction books Canadian non-fiction books English-language books Books about death Works about racism House of Anansi Press books Books by Tanya Talaga