Monday, May 13, 2019

In Regalia by Erin McCormack



Things we asked about and/or learned from Erin:
What indigenous vocabulary did we know?
What parts of the story were true?
Who were the characters modeled after (were any real people)?
What was the writing process like? How long did it take? (4 years)
How did you decide on names?
What did you think about when you choose to write a story outside of your cultural knowledge? And the fact that you might be taking space from other indigenous authors. (Native People couldn’t write this story!)

Discussion Questions we created and some of our thoughts:
1) How did your feelings about Helene change from the beginning of the story to the end?

2) What did you learn about First Nations/Native Americans by reading the book and what does it make you wonder about?
  Erin shared the meanings of many things

3) Was there a moment that stuck with you?
  When Helene wanted to take Wishi Ta because Western medicine would be better
  When Izzy was attacked
  When Helene was talking to Izzy and the guy was there looking out for the kids (mother was suspicious of white people)
  When Lewis was in jail
  Change is slow: Helene finally “got it” little by little, not all at once
•. Almost dying and killing Wishi Ta
  The ending was perfect

4) Does your life resemble Helene’s old life or new life or something in the middle?

5) What did you know about the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) and other legal forms of oppression against First Nations?

6) What parts of the story were believable and what was of concern to you as you read the story?
  Marriage of Lewis and Renee
  Helene seemed irrational when she took Wishi Ta
  Would Lewis really give up legal rights?
  Why would you have a garden, if you spent time away?
  Lewis was more likeable through the diary than in person

We hope a lot of people read it, especially if they don’t know much about indigenous culture. It is a compelling story.