Medicine Walk

Medicine Walk

• Genre: Fiction; literary fiction
• Originally Published: 2014
• Reading Level/Interest: College/adult
• Structure/Length: 26 chapters; approx. 246 pages; approx. 8 hours, 1 minute on audio
• Protagonist/Central Conflict: Franklin Starlight has mixed emotions when he is called to visit his estranged father, Eldon. When he decides to go, he finds Eldon dying, wasted away from years of hard drinking. Eldon asks Franklin to undergo a difficult journey in the mountains because he wants to pass in “the warrior way.” On their journey, Eldon tells the story of his life, offering Franklin first-time insight into his father’s history.  
• Potential Sensitivity Issues: Alcoholism; death of a parent; terminal illness; grief; racial slurs; child abuse; sexual content; abandonment    

Richard Wagamese, Author

• Bio: 1955-2017; Canadian author and journalist from the Wabaseemoong Independent Nations; best known for his novel Indian Horse, which was adapted into film and released after his death; abandoned with his three siblings at age two; raised in foster home before his adoption at age nine; not allowed to maintain his First Nations identity while in foster and adoptive care; left his adoptive parents at 16, lived on the street, abused drugs and alcohol, and was imprisoned several times; began his first writing job at New Breed in 1979, going on to work as a journalist for the Calgary Herald; did not reunite with his family until he was 23, where they gave him the name Mushkotay Beezheekee Anakwat—Buffalo Cloud—and told him his role was to tell stories; has been honored with several awards, including the Native American Press Association Award, a National Newspaper Award, the National Aboriginal Communications Society Award, and the Canada Council for the Arts Molson Prize
• Other Works: Keeper’n Me (1994); Dream Wheels (2007); One Native Life (2008); Indian Horse (2012)
• Awards: Banff Mountain Book Festival Grand Award (2015); Evergreen Award (2015)    

CENTRAL THEMES connected and noted throughout this Teaching Unit:

• The Nature-Human Continuum
• The Dangers of the White Man’s World
• Virtue

STUDY OBJECTIVES: In accomplishing the components of this Unit, students will:

• Develop an understanding of the social and historical contexts regarding colonialism that incite Frank’s conflict.
• Analyze paired texts and other brief resources to make connections via the text’s themes of The Nature-Human Continuum, The Dangers of the White Man’s World, and Virtue.
• Plan and construct a story using Eldon’s storytelling based on novel details.
• Analyze and evaluate the plot and character details to draw conclusions in structured essay responses regarding storytelling, character changes, and other topics.