Where the Pavement Ends

by Marie Wadden

Book by Wadden, Marie

Genres: Nonfiction

264 pages, Hardcover

First published April 21, 2008

Reviews

[Snehil · Rating 5 out of 5]

I cannot say I enjoyed reading this book. I was very much saddened by the reading, even when this book was supposedly very optimistic. Not because how aboriginal people of North America were treated in the 19th Century or even during the 20th century, but because of the government's attitude even in the 21st century. This book is not about what went on until over a century ago. It is about how things are today. There are quite a few positive stories that are an indication that some communities in the reserves have managed to improve in spite of the bureaucracy in Canada. The original Canadians of this land have at large managed to forgive a lot. I think only very strong people are able to forgive so much. I hope the immigrant Canadians understand this fact. Canada as a whole need to make it a national priority to make sure that injustice against these victims stops, it is high time. The book has given enough evidence that the aboriginal Canadians have everything within their culture and community to fix what needs fixing if our government is supportive enough and can put the bureaucracy aside. And as the citizens of Canada, we need to tell our government that this is one of the most important issues the government needs to be working on.

I am a very proud citizen of Canada and one of the major reasons I feel so proud is that in our charter of rights and responsibilities, volunteerism is listed as a responsibility. And it is amazing to see how dedicated the Canadians are in helping the weak, the beaten and the tortured. Even when a dog is poisoned, we send thousands of sympathy letters. A girl in the farthest country from us is denied education, we stand up for her. We fight against every injustice around the globe, be it against people, environment, animals or birds or fish, just about everything under the Sun. I think more and more of us need to learn about the difficulties a significant section of our own society is facing. I think we are just not aware of these issues. I am confident once our population becomes aware about these issues, we will stand up for the rights of our own people. I have full faith in the power and extreme goodness of the people of this wonderful country.

[Helen S. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a great read for Teachers or people who wish to examine history of Indigenous People specifically how they are combatting alcoholism since 2007.
I selected this book for a course in order to teach the Indigenous Ways of Knowing for Grades 7-10.
How can we better understand the historical and enduring barriers that exist in education for Indigenous Peoples? Within this question, there are aspects of history that have long been overlooked and I got to unpack several of them in her writing.

Much of the book takes place in Manitoba, Island and Newfoundland based on her time spent observing new revised modalities of counselling and prevention of alcohol abuse. Leadership has been somewhat problematic because of periods of time where Band leaders were gone on alcohol binges before deciding to address how to overcome it all. A theme mentioned early on is to understand by blaming others for their problems goes against their spiritual practices so to cope, they need to work out and talk about community social issues responsibly.

A major disruption to getting all the health supports for these communities was essentially family treatment plans did not work for the population. It was still whitewashed and did not include a community addiction model. Innu people requested specific help besides counselling and therapy. One of which was returning children from temporary care to their rightful communities. Another obstacle was the people in charge of health workers were bureaucrats who did not necessarily involve enough Innu speaking workers. There was a report and plan for ten years set up in 2000 to work on maternal nutrition, diabetes prevention, therapy and early childhood development. It was called “ Beginning the Journey to Change”. Although a college helped to train workers, they still lacked enough of them in order to render necessary services to the community.

It examines how much can happen only when the ongoing crises becomes public. That is what to me is pitiful. How we figure out to send in more researchers or ask for support when children are trying to get high off of poison and are doing this in the open.

[Brett Newman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is an amazing piece of Canadian journalism which paints a picture of the socio-economic plights as well as governance and health issues of the indigenous people of Canada. Marie Wadden shows case study after case study in which Aboriginal People have transformed their communities in different parts of Canada. Marie suggests that Canadians needs to stand up and realize that time-consuming top-down bureaucracies need to be re-evaluated, and that a grassroots Canadian national plan of emotional, spiritual, and cultural healing are the key to unlocking the potentials of Canada's First Nations.

[cat · Rating 5 out of 5]

This non-fiction book about the issues and futures facing indigenous communities was published in 2008, however the issues and solutions presented in this book are still alive today. Reading this book should be a part of the curriculum in Canadian schools, especially Ontario since much of the chapters discuss reserves in Ontario. Highly recommend to anyone looking to educate themselves on the history and people we weren’t told about in school - the people we still share this land with and we still harm with our ignorance and lack of action.

[Kay Nutt · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautiful exploration of aboriginal strength and also challenges, as well as what is being done in communities across Canada. It’s a dated book, but well worth the read, and has left me with so much to think about!

[Ed · Rating 5 out of 5]

Marie does a masterful job of documenmting the social difficulties Cnada's Native people are having and how, inspite of government bureaucracy, they are slowly rebuilding their culture.
This book is a documentry work that definitely needs to be recorded. I have found that it confirms much of the research that went into my book Altar and Throne. The value of a fiction work is that the reader is connected to the Native people emotionally and views them as real people.
For someone interested in the social work done by Native people on their reservations this is a good read.

[Alexis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is another case where I would give a book 4.5 stars. This book is a very thorough examination of First Nations communities and their struggles. It looks at alcoholism, abuse, reconciliation and other social problems and examines the crisis and what is being done, mostly by the communities. Make no mistake, this is a HEAVY read, but it's one that will blast your mind open, make you aware and make you right pissed off.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reading these stories and the reasons behind the struggle in Indigenous communities is heartbreaking.

[Nicole Huber · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sad but realistic read.

[Amanzi · Rating 4 out of 5]

“I think we have to spend the next twenty-five or fifty years in this country reconciling ourselves with the Aboriginal peo-ple, and they reconciling with us. …unfortunately the history of this country, as noted by judges and politicians, is that it hasn't been a sharing. It's been a top-down relationship, a forced relationship. We've stood on Aboriginal people. We've pushed them down, and they keep coming back up and they say, 'We will move forward with you on a sharing basis, on some sort of a partnership basis."

This was a very well written, informative and insightful read, looking at various parts of Canada and their Aboriginal communities striving for social healing for their communities and beyond. A practical call to action for our priority to get on board with truth, reconciliation and healing.

[Andrea Elkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this memoir. The author focused more on her interactions with and her reactions to the people she met along the way than the landscape or the history of the countries she toured. Quibble: the author introduced several words with which I am unfamiliar. These seemed to come in odd spurts, as though an editor said "We have to make this more high-brow" and randomly inserted multi-syllabic, obscure adjectives.

[Kristin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Glad I read this so soon after finishing "A National Crime". Still a heartbreaking read overall, but also has enough positive stories and messages to inspire hope for the future.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kept me interested! Loved the stories about the people and places she visited.

[Ash · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic. I borrowed this from the library, but I think I might have to go and pick up a copy to keep.

[Vontel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent and eye-opening book. Read several years ago.