Tribal Journey

by Gary Robinson

Overview

Jason's lucky to be alive, but life in a wheelchair was not in his plans. Even when he was protecting his mom and siblings from his drunken father or escaping from home to be with his friends, he never imagined his future in a wheelchair.

When reading a text message while driving, he is in a car accident that leaves him with a paralyzed leg. Jason sees himself only as a kid who will always be paralyzed, but when he becomes part of the Raven Canoe Family and learns to "pull" a canoe, his outlook on life begins to change.

After completing a two-week tribal canoe journey with his Duwamish tribal members, Jason is proud to be a Coast Salish Indian. From the hardships and camaraderie of the journey, he gains a new sense of courage and determination to someday swim and walk again.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781939053015
Publisher:	Book Publishing Company
Publication date:	04/15/2013
Series:	PathFinders
Pages:	96
Product dimensions:	5.20(w) x 7.30(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	12 - 17 Years

About the Author

Award-winning writer and filmmaker Gary Robinson (Choctaw/Cherokee descent) has worked most of his life to create Indigenous content in dozens of Indigenous educational, informational, and documentary television projects. He is the author of sixteen books, including eight books for teens in the PathFinders series. Gary lives in Santa Ynez, California.

Editorial Reviews

Helping to carve and then paddle a traditional canoe brings a disabled Seattle teenager back to his Salish roots. Paralyzed in one leg after a traffic accident (both he and the other driver were texting), Jason is gradually drawn out of his depression. This is effected first by the healer his Duwamish mother brings in, who tells him, "Your soul has been very far away from your body. I called it to come back to be with you again." Following this, he is invited to join in the creation of a cedar dugout for the annual gathering of Coast Salish tribes. Ugly early scenes with Jason's abusive German-American father--"A lot of people think all Indians are alcoholics. Not in my family"--seem shoehorned in, but they are mitigated later on. Jason's experiences in the canoe's ceremony-rich carving, naming and challenging 200-mile journey to Cowichan Bay on Vancouver Island take center stage to spark both his acceptance of a place in the Native American community and his resolve to walk again. An uncomplicated tale of mirrored inner and outer journeys, welcome for its look at Native American characters in a modern context. (Fiction. 10-16)

Kirkus Reviews