The Way I Remember by Solomon Ratt

A residential school survivor finds his way back to his language and culture through his family's traditional stories.

When reflecting on forces that have shaped his life, Solomon Ratt says his education was interrupted by his schooling. Torn from his family at the age of six, Ratt was placed into the residential school system a harsh, institutional world, operated in a language he could not yet understand, far from the love and comfort of home and family. Ink-p-isi-kiskisiyn /The Way I Remember, Ratt reflects on these memories and the life-long challenges he endured through his telling ofcimisowinautobiographical storiesand also traditional tales.

Written over the course of several decades, Ratt describes his life before, during, and after residential school. In many ways, these stories reflect the experience of thousands of other Indigenous children across Canada, but Ratt's stories also stand apart in a significant way: he managed to retain his mother language of Cree by returning home to his parents each summer despite the destruction wrought by colonialism.

Ratt then shifts from thecimisowina(personal, autobiographical stories) tocathhkwina, (sacred stories) the more formal and commonly recognized style of traditional Cree literature, to illustrate how, in a world uninterrupted by colonialism and its agenda of genocide, these traditional stories would have formed the winter curriculum of a Cree child's education.

Presented in Cree Th-dialect Standard Roman Orthography, syllabics, and English, Ratt's reminiscences of residential school escapades almost always end with a close call and a smile. Even when his memories are dark, Ratt's particularly Cree sense of humour shines, makingk-p-isi-kiskisiyn /The Way I Rememberan important and unique memoir that emphasizes and celebrates Solomon Ratt's perseverance and life after residential school. (From University of Regina Press)

• 70 works of Canadian nonfiction to check out in spring 2023

Solomon Ratt is an associate professor of languages, linguistics and literature at First Nations University of Canada. He is a first-language speaker of the Cree Th-dialect from Stanley Mission, Saskatchewan.

Interviews with Solomon Ratt

Saskatchewan Weekend20:14Solomon Ratt's new memoir 'k-p-isi-kiskisiyn / The Way I Remember'

Solomon Ratt went from a childhood living and playing in the forests of northern Saskatchewan to years at a residential school in Prince Albert. Through it all, Cree language remained a vital force in his life. He's sharing some of his stories - in both Cree and English - in a new memoir. The First Nations University of Canada professor joins host Shauna Powers for an extended conversation.