Attawapiskat musician Adrian Sutherland says it’s going to be exciting and nerve-wracking to write his first book.
“I would like to show people a different part of the north and a different part of Attawapiskat,” he said. “The most important thing for me is to show people there’s a whole different way of living. There’s a whole different view of how I see my community, good and bad.”
The Midnight Shine's frontman, who is also working on a solo record, will write a memoir about his experiences growing up in Attawapiskat First Nation and some challenges like water contamination, housing shortage, suicide crisis among youth and drug addiction issues that exist in the community.
“But also, (the book) explores the Cree values and belief system and how the Cree view the world. There are a lot of different things to touch on,” he said. “And talk about what’s going on today and why I chose to continue to be here and my decision to remain in the community raising my family.”
He's had the idea of writing a book for years but says he wasn’t sure if anyone would be interested in wanting to know more about his views and experiences living on the land. Sutherland, who has written blog posts and whose writing has appeared in several publications, says writing isn’t hard for him and he finds it enjoyable.
“I’d like to tell the story about what it’s really like to live here. All we know is what we see in the mainstream media,” he said.
“When we look through that lens, it often depicts it as being very dark and troubled place. Although there are challenges here that exist, there are also different sides that people don’t know or never seen and it’s important to tell that story.”
The book will be edited by Penguin Random House Canada’s associate publisher Nicholas Garrison, while Scott Sellers, vice president and associate publisher of Penguin Canada, will be responsible for publicity and promotion.
Sellers said it was Sutherland’s story and writing that attracted the publishing company.
“The fact that he was so involved in his community and he stayed in the community and advocated for the community to the country at large, I think really attracted us,” Sellers said. “And also, his writing, he’s a great writer.”
Sellers said he expects there will be a “quite” a readership and it will be one of the biggest releases in that spring.
“A great look of life but it’s also going to be a revelation for people to what is going on in Attawapiskat. I think that will be a huge thing for readers, to really see on the ground what’s actually going on there and I think that’s something that readers are going to take away from the book when it comes out.”
The book is expected to be available in stores in spring 2022. By that time, Sellers said he hopes travel restrictions will be eased so that Sutherland would be able to go on a national tour to do book readings and interviews.
