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Peyakow
- Reclaiming Cree Dignity
- Narrated by: William C. Wanzi, Wikcemna Yamni ake
- Length: 8 hrs and 22 mins
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Peyakow
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Publisher's Summary
Mamaskatch, Darrel J. McLeod’s 2018 memoir of growing up Cree in Northern Alberta, was a publishing sensation - winning the Governor General’s Award for Nonfiction, shortlisted for many other major prizes, and translated into French and German editions. In Peyakow, McLeod continues the poignant story of his impoverished youth, beset by constant fears of being dragged down by the self-destruction and deaths of those closest to him as he battles the bullying of White classmates, copes with the trauma of physical and sexual abuse, and endures painful separation from his family and culture. With steely determination, he triumphs: now, elementary teacher; now, school principal; now, head of an Indigenous delegation to the UN in Geneva; now, executive in the Government of Canada - and now, a celebrated author.
Brutally frank but buoyed throughout by McLeod’s unquenchable spirit, Peyakow - a title borrowed from the Cree word for “one who walks alone” - is an inspiring account of triumph against unimaginable odds. McLeod’s perspective as someone whose career path has crossed both sides of the Indigenous/White chasm resonates with particular force in today’s Canada.
What listeners say about Peyakow
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- lucy
- 2022-06-18
10/10
Thanks so much for sharing your story and unique journey through life. I really enjoyed this book and can't wait to read the rest of your books.
Hiy Hiy..
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Pia
- 2022-07-14
So much to learn
A book which took me to a deeper understanding of how little I know/understand the colonial system I have always just taken for granted and lived by. Written with gentleness and care.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Jojones65
- 2023-05-07
Interesting Read
Very informative perspective of his life. Provides an in-depth understanding of the intergenerational trauma of our Indigenous peoples.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Michael
- 2022-10-09
Powerful Story but Drags at the End a Bit
This is a very powerful story, and the beginning is quite interesting but it drags toward the end a bit.
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Overall3 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- aero_costas
- 2022-08-10
confusing
a critical review. the story ran back and fourth with no real story to weave. almost like reading his diary but only segments. a tough life I don't understand but i got the sense he's self centered and I'm assuming hurt a lot of people in his life. no body is perfect I also get that. he had some great insight to Canada and the politics behind the scenes and it seemed like a he had many accomplishments in his career with an always difficult government. I get why this book was made at a time like today. a sexually confused indigenous with transgender siblings and family. publisher must have thought perfect but I think with some guidance this story could have been a lot better. great performance by the reader. I think that's why i kept listening and in the end maybe i just don't get it being a person who didn't live a life like his.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Willow
- 2022-06-29
powerful book.
Learned more history. How a culture and people were almost made extinct. How the spirit can survive and even thrive. Very much enjoyed this book.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Kate Franks
- 2022-07-19
Fascinating, with a few disconnects
I found this a very intriguing and wide-ranging examination of Canada's approach to indigenous rights, and a very personal perspective on the impact of what's happened here.
I was a little put off by a few sections that I think may not have come across as intended. Numerous very elaborate descriptions of wildly indulgent official meals on the public purse left a sour taste for me. Intentionally? That wasn't always clear.
A few leaps left me confused. Sudden talk about fruition of career aspirations when none had been previously mentioned, and sudden introduction of suicidal ideation were jarring. Reasons are clear enough, but the fact that the impulse was there seemed to come out of nowhere.
A tragedy on the writer's birthday also seemed to have more focus on the birthday.
Otherwise, I very much appreciated Mr McLeod's extraordinary perspective on the development of many governmental policies impacting indigenous people. I appreciated the insights into high-level meetings, and the barriers to progress.
I also deeply appreciated Mr McLeod's willingness to speak with candor and vulnerability about his career, his family and his personal life.
He so well communicated the energy of some collaborations and meetings that I found myself sharing soaring hopes for progress, even though I knew that outcomes fell far short of the vision.
For me, in my own journey with reconciliation, this is a valuable book.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Whitefeather
- 2023-09-24
This guy …wow
This book is powerful , impactful. This man has a story and he tells it really really well . Now i relember why i kept this book. This is my second listen.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- S. Jenkins
- 2022-06-11
Reconciliation
Amazing insight into our Colonial and Indigenous heritage. Provides a whole new understanding to the heart break of the Indigenous people.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Kimberly Butler
- 2022-06-10
5 star review not high enough.
Great respect and thanks to the narrator as well.
more than inspiring enough for all the good McLeod works to do, it's also the story of his (and his loved ones, his community's) incredible, heartbreaking losses and suffering- so raw and pure, yet charged with McLeod's compelling life force momentum.
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