Critical Book Analysis Assignment

Marilyn D. Black
#871740
Native Studies 262.3 T2
January 28, 2015
Professor W. Wheeler
University of Saskatchewan

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Stoney Creek Woman is the memoir of Mary John, a Carrier woman who
provides a view of changing traditional life in British Columbia through an Aboriginal
lens. Specifically, she focuses on what it was like to be a Native person from the late
1900s until the turn of the century. In 1976, the author, Bridget Moran, met Mary while
she was working as a social worker and journalist. Throughout, Morans writing
facilitates insight into Marys compassion and quiet resilience to overcome extreme
hardships caused by the resounding impact of colonialism: disease, Government and
Church assimilation policies, and discrimination. Despite the many strengths of
the book there were also some weaknesses, including her refusal to
talk about Native sexuality or in depth discussion regarding the effects
of alcohol. Both of these subjects would have helped the reader to
develop a better understanding of the Carrier people. Overall, the book
tells Marys story of growing independence and activism, which ultimately led to her
journey into politics and the justice and school systems as a means of preserving her
culture and increasing the quality of life of the Carrier people.
Mary was born in a log cabin on Six-Mile Lake to a 13-year old Carrier woman
and white father who did not acknowledge her. Mary and her family lived with her
grandmother, who was remembered as a feisty, independent, and strong woman. Mary
struggled financially and endured many hardships, yet it is clear that what was most
important was for people to care for one another. For example, during the 1918 flu
epidemic neighbours cared for the sick. Other examples included when Mary took
children with tuberculosis into her home, and when she retrieved her brother Mark from
the sanatorium to care for him during his last days of his illness.

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The cultural traditions described in the book demonstrate how the Carrier people
had a distinct, dynamic society prior to when Indian Affairs dictated all aspects of their
lives. Self-sufficiency was key, as the Carrier people migrated to traditional fishing,
hunting, and trapping territories order to trade goods and acquire food necessary for the
year. Oral traditions were used to teach the children their roles, which included to
listen, obey, and to not question adults. Mary often commented that she wished she had
listened more closely to the stories she heard when she was younger. Since Mary worried
about the loss of the language and traditions of the Carrier people, she was a pivotal force
in establishing the Elders Society, which aimed to teach about all aspects of the culture.
The Elders also helped improve living conditions on the reserve, established a village
welfare committee, and assisted with the placement of native children in Stoney Creek
foster homes.
A cultural convention was an equality of the sexes in Native families. In
particular, survival depended on both men and women and hard work was a source of
pride. However, the book demonstrates how, although the Carrier people lived a
challenging life, there was also time for interaction and fun. For instance, the family and
village members often visited over tea, went camping, had dances, held Potlatch
ceremonies, and attended feasts.
Mary was an obedient girl and took great care to observe the laws and
expectations of native children including listening to her elders and not questioning their
decisions. An example of this is her compliance with her arranged marriage to her
husband, Lazare. This cultural tradition of silent acquiescence played a large role in how
she and her people accepted the decisions made on their behalf by the priests and all-

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powerful, remote Indian Agents. Indian Affairs also made life and death decisions for
the people without truly understanding their cultural traditions or spirituality. Mary
talked about the ban of the Potlatch ceremony, which was a practice and tradition of
giving gifts or sharing, because the government did not understand the purpose and
thought that the natives were giving too much away and that they were making
themselves poor.
The book shows how the policies that Indian Affairs instituted such as the
residential school system and liquor ban fostered discriminatory attitudes. For example,
the Indian Agent and railway convinced the Carrier people to sell prime land without
fully understanding the implications, placed native children in white foster homes, did not
provide tools beyond an axe, or financial aid. Furthermore, although the 1918 Spanish
Flu and tuberculosis decimated families, there was no relief offered. The Indian Agent
would hand out minimal provisions that were supposed to last the year. In a moment of
desperation when Mary went to his house to ask for help, she suffered indignity as he
gave her a flannel nightgown along with the insult to not lift it up when her husband
came home.
As the Carrier people ended up struggling for survival, Mary became increasingly
aware of the growing injustices. Consequently, she helped to form the Homemakers Club
in her village to make life better. This club was instrumental in her political involvement
in finding justice during the inquest into the death of Coreen Thomas, a young native
mother-to-be who was hit by a white man. Here, Mary was involved in hiring lawyers
and building bridges with the R.C.M.P. and white community by hosting suppers and
meetings at her house. Although she was not a talker, Mary was an influential organizer

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and activist. In the end, the charges against the man were dropped, but the situation
instilled Marys drive to never let anyone do make her decisions for her.
The book also describes Marys experiences in the Mission and Lejack
institutionalized residential schools, another example of the stranglehold of Indian
Affairs. The students were used for menial labour, spent very little time with academics,
and were whipped if caught using their traditional language instead of English. While the
students were homesick and always hungry, the staff had meat and sugar. She never
forgot this inequity and later understood that childrens parents were powerless and did
not want them to go away to school. Mary experienced this helplessness when she was
forced to send her own children to the school and two died while attending. Overall, the
school succeeded in breaking childrens ties with family and culture as well as
developing their beliefs about inferiority and low self-esteem. Since she recognized the
importance of education and was concerned with the high drop out rate, Mary eventually
got a job teaching culture in the local school. She also helped to set up an alternative
school on the reserve with the help of the Elders Society, which taught cultural traditions
in order to pass on skills, beliefs, and a sense of pride in their heritage.
The book devotes only a short chapter to the issue of alcohol and its effect on the
lives of the Carrier people. The Indian Act controlled the sale and consumption of
alcohol and it was illegal for Natives to drink or buy liquor, even on their reserves. In
1952 this policy changed, and Natives could legally drink off reserve. The result was that
many people would drink as much as they could before the bar closed, or drink in back
alleys or by train tracks. This resulted in disastrous consequences. For example, Mary
recalls the death of a young couple that were hit by a train while drinking and left behind

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children at home, as well as the accidental poisoning of her beloved stepfather. These
events had a resounding impact and Mary received an abstinence medal from the priest
and hoped this would be an example to the young people. The impact of her commitment
to abstinence may have had more impact had she given more examples to further
explicate the how the lives of her people were affected by alcohol.
Mary became a role model and activist through her desire to preserve her culture
and instill a sense of pride within the future generations. She received the Citizen of the
Year award in 1999 as recognition of her contributions and efforts. Her devotion to her
culture and reserve resulted in improvements in the lives of the Carrier people by
increasing employment and education opportunities so that the young people can choose
to remain on the reserve, thereby remaining connected to their culture. Overall, the
reader has a true sense of the experience of traditional life, how it changed during the
course of Marys lifetime, and how a single person can make a difference.