Joseph Kakwinokanasum is a member of the James Smith Cree Nation, a graduate of SFU’s Writers Studio, and the author of the novel, My Indian Summer (Tidewater Press, 2022). He continues to write on the unceded territory of the Sooke First Nation. For more about Joseph visit starblanketstoryteller.com
Joseph will be showcasing new/ previously unpublished work at the festival.
Interview by Mira Culen
Mira Culen (MC): In your debut novel, “My Indian Summer,” you tackle intergenerational trauma through a coming-of-age story. In “Wihtikow,” (Joseph’s sample of new writing) you also write about intergenerational trauma, but this time through a fantasy-fiction story. What is the impact of exploring this theme in fantasy versus a more traditional form of lit (fiction, non-fiction) for you as a writer? And what is the intended impact for your readers?
Joseph Kakwinokansum (JK): This is an exploration into the history of intergenerational trauma. Thank you for recognising that. In the genre of fantasy fiction, I’ve discovered a certain freedom, or liberation of voice. For lack of a sufficient description of the overall exploration, it has allowed my characters a certain autonomy from who I am or what I would do. And that is liberating. When I think about it, in some way this style, the content, the characters, the storytelling is all just a product of intergenerational trauma.
Other benefits of this style of exploration is the distance I get from writing the hard stuff (that is, I’m not reliving my abuse). I’ve learned to trust my characters to know what to say and do, how to be in their time and place. And, as an extension of me, my characters intend to primarily entertain and expose the human mind to an alternate experience through a different lens. I think the writer must read their audience, trust their characters and their readers.
MC: In interviews about “My Indian Summer” you’ve mentioned that the work is based on an alarming incident that happened to you when you were 10 years old. In “Wihtikow,” the story is set in the traditional territories of the Cree Nation, the dialogue features Cree language, and the plot revolves around Cree mythology. What impact has incorporating elements from your personal life and traditional history in your writing had for you?
JK: With respect to my personal life, the impact this next novel is having feels very similar to the impact my first novel delivered. In a word: poignant; emotionally, mentally, spiritually, the impacts feel physical. Moreover, for me, the mental, emotional, physical, and spiritual pain of Indigenous people, feels a bit more validated, less oppressed by Christianity or archaic racist government laws and practices. From strictly a writer’s POV, the more I do this the easier it is for me to separate the narrator from writer, and the character from narrator. The act of incorporating traditional history is just me playing catch-up with the educational system.
MC: In interviews about “My Indian Summer,” you have mentioned that villains are always victims. This is also a powerful theme in “Wihtikow.” Just as Hunter’s mother in “My Indian Summer” is described as monstrous, Storm-Cloud in “Wihtikow” – without giving away too much – can also be described as such. What message would you like your readers to take away from your villainous victims?
JK: Bad people can come from good places, and good people can come from bad places. We are all products of a failing, flawed, unequal system. From across the spectrum no matter what cast you come from, no matter what socioeconomic standing you grew up in, bad people are made, they are not born.
MC: You speak with fondness about the writing program you completed at Simon Fraser University, as well as about the calibre of the mentorship you received there. How did your mentors encourage and inspire you to hone your literary voice? What advice would you impart on new/aspiring writers that are similarly wanting to dedicate themselves to their writing as you did?
JK: So many people have encouraged me to hone that voice. But like most things in life, it takes time to find voice. It was a gradual process accelerated greatly through SFU’s program The Writer’s Studio (TWS). I highly recommend this program, such a fantastic group of professionals. I like to regularly touch base with the folks there, occasionally they invite me to a function or event, and it’s always a good time to catch up. Like old friends, we pick up right where we left off, talking life, work, and I’m always left with a high-octane-fuel-in-the-tank sort of feeling. And I’m always proud to plug the TWS program, and the talented TWS cohort I was blessed with. Everyone continues to be extremely supportive. My mentors continue to inspire me. The generosity of their time, and kindness of their council, the little moments they take to check in with me are priceless. They continue to inspire me.
Advice? Hmm, would it be irresponsible of me to impart the acts and depths I went to to become a writer? Life’s short. I was 39 when I left a long-term relationship, quit a very cushy union job, absolutely annihilated my previous life. I spent every penny from that settlement … but seriously, to the new and newly aspiring writer out there, leave it all on the page, leave nothing out, don’t keep secrets from your readers, or yourself. Extricate yourself from whatever it is that is holding you back. If you want to be anything, writer, truckdriver, physicist, it takes time, so pitter patter and get at ‘er.
As a writer animal, as a storyteller animal, the elements I needed most to overcome were the ones I was conditioned to think. As a terminal writer I learned how to question and analyze my life. Twenty plus years of therapy teaches you a thing or two if you let it. In my life I’ve learned to question myself, but not to the point of inaction, on the contrary, it’s quite the inverse. I try not to wemble. I wrote my first novel with a time-urgency, an anxiety that I might die before I finished the project, and I don’t have children. So, I am sure that has a lot to do with it. Be good to your body, feed your mind with books, listen to your spirit so your emotions don’t overwhelm you. Find your people, they’re out there waiting for you.
MC: In an interview with the CBC about your writing process, you describe transforming a storage closet into an office, and using a laptop, typewriter, pen and paper, and cellphone while writing “My Indian Summer.” Are you still writing in your makeshift office and using the same tools to write your current projects? Also, do you have any favourite writing goodies that help keep you fueled through the process – Coffee? Snacks? Music?
JK: I have lived in four places since the time of writing this. I moved three times while in the process of writing my first novel. Currently I am writing in a twenty-foot motor home that I purchased in the spring of 2022. I’ve named it Bubbles. A 1986 Toyota fuel-injected four-cylinder, Bubbles is built on a one-ton chassis, with a full floating dual-axel rear end, and complete living quarters (propane fridge, stove, furnace, queen bed, bathroom, and solar generator). Bubbles is my mobile office.
Coffee and sparkling water. That’s it. Maybe some mixed nuts for a bit of a protein boost if I’m really on a roll. Everything I need is there: I turn on the furnace if I need, put on CBC Radio, and before coffee is brewed, I make sure to have all my notes arranged, journals placed just so, typewriter with a fresh sheet of paper and the date already typed out on the top left corner, and the title of what I’m working on one space below that.
Added Note:
JK: What I noticed about the questions is the use of the word, “impact”. It is difficult to define the impact of something so fresh. It’s like coming to the scene of an accident just after the crash, assessing the damage and helping the injured. At the time of writing this (August 28, 2023) the book is not yet a year old.
When religious dogmas, and social zeitgeists question your struggle of existence your entire life then suddenly you are allowed to speak; the impact is profound. Like, when a new set of scientific data is compiled from state-of -the-art tools it takes scientists years to comb through, analyze, and interpolate the information. Thus, the impacts of my first novel have been felt at many levels, personally, and professionally.