Wasn’t the book I thought it would be so I read a few pages and had to put it down. It does seem like a important subject but now for me rn

Concentration Camps of Canada was a book I read when I was going through a reading phase on true stories. While Concentration Camps of Canada is an amazing story of one boy's journey for acceptance and the trials of his life, I didn't connect well with the main characters and that could be because of the cultural differences but I still found it an entertaining and gripping read.

Holy Shit. I don't have words and I need time to comprehend what I just read. This was intense and emotional and has made me a complete mess of emotions. I've never personally experienced this type of treatment of people based on heritage, and I can't sympathize being a white middle class American, but that doesn't mean that I have to agree. And this book brought me to tears of both sadness and completely and utter anger. A human being should be treated as a human being no matter what their heritage and cases like this just serve to piss me off.

I think this book is severely important so that we know that this is something that occurs and it is something that needs to be addressed because, as it as put in the story, no one else seems to be doing anything. Just read it, and be prepared for a story about being strong when the entire world is against your existence. Five out of five.

This is an important book from an historical point of view but unfortunately it is not a very good novel, lacking as it does psychological depth and complexity. Through the eyes and experiences of one Ojibwa man, from childhood to adulthood, we learn of the appalling cruelty, abuse, racism, prejudice and injustice that Canadian native peoples endured at the hands of the Canadian authorities. The book starts with Migizi’s arrival at a residential school. The residential school system was set up to forcibly assimilate native children by taking them from their families and bringing them up as “white” children. The title is misleading as, bad as they were, these weren’t actually concentration camps and the author’s claim that the Nazi camps were inspired by them seems spurious. Migizi’s story is a tragic one. He returns from WWII a hero but still faces prejudice and is unable to protect his children just as his own parents were unable to protect him. It’s a dreadful story, for sure, and one which needed to be brought to a wide readership. However I found the narrative style flat and pedestrian and in spite of the horrors described never fully engaged with Migizi and his story; perhaps the book is aimed more at a YA readership than an adult one. However, I learnt a lot about a shameful period in Canadian history and for that I am grateful.

I feel that this book would have been better with literally any other title. It was about the life of a Canadian Ojibwa man and, through him, the lives of Canadian natives in general. It was extremely sad, especially knowing that our treatment of indigenous peoples has not improved with time, in Canada or the US. They still have the highest rate of gambling, drinking, and suicide of any race. They are sequestered to small desert communities that are veritably inhospitable and then treated like inconveniences when they dare to use our resources, ask for assistance, or seek proper medical care. Migizi's experiences were tragic and made for a very emotional story arc, but unfortunately the story lacked impact because it was so surface and cut-and-dry. Instead of being a flowing, plot driven tale, it was more like a small child telling a story after school: "This happened, then this happened, and then this happened. The end." The impact was reduced by the lack of transitions or pathos. At least indigenous peoples can finally see themselves and their history innwriting, so that's definitely a positive.

--I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts are purely my own and not influenced in any way.--
I've been holding off on this one for a little while and finally got around to reading it. Migizi is not a terrible narrator and given that I know literally nothing about the struggles and tragedies that befell the Native Canadian people, it was nice to have something to look up and learn about. I couldn't really feel much for the characters because I feel like the chapters (and thusly the different "chapters" of his life) are too short to really leave that punch that I would have liked, though that could have more to do with the style reminding me of John Boyne's "The Heart's Invisible Furies" than anything the author did.
So this is shaking up to be a solid three star book when we get to WWII when Migizi joins the "Devil's Brigade". Holy crap, these people were awesome and their missions unbelievable, so I looked it up and they really existed! Even their first death-defying mission up about 1,000 feet of vertical rock is true! So I dig deeper, and in this book, Migizi wins a medal for pretending to be a farmer plowing a field, shaking his fists at both the German and Allies, pretending to tie his shoes when in reality he was reconnecting a communication line that led to taking out four German brigades. Yeah, that seems unbelievable and contrived, but it actually happened to one of the most decorated First Nations soldier, Tommy Prince, which leads to my one star review: NOWHERE IN THIS BOOK IS THIS ACTUAL FEAT BY AN ACTUAL PERSON ACKNOWLEDGED. Given that Tommy Prince is an actual Native American war hero and that this crazy stunt was legitimately done and not something the author cooked up, I feel like he should at least be mentioned as the inspiration for the fictional character getting all the praise. He was a hero, and from a very marginalized group of people which is the <i> point of the book <\i>: they are people worthy of acknowledgement and treatment as anyone else should be. So it left a very sour taste in my mouth that his name was not mentioned anywhere in the book to the point that I stopped reading. The book itself, eh, it's fine and does educate on a subject I didn't know about. But give credit where it's due: don't plagiarise someone's life.

This book is not the most well-written story you will read, but it is important. It follows the life of a Native Canadian, from forced assimilation education through World War II and beyond. It is a great view into largely unknown parts of Canadian history. It's also a short read. I read it in a day.
That being said, I wish it were longer. Each snapshot into Migizi's life was interesting, but too brief. This could have easily been three times as long, focusing more on each stage and injustice in Migizi's life.

Often times here in the States, we view Canada as this sort of Ice Utopia, very cold with violent hockey players but universal healthcare and better equality. When talking with some of my Canadian friends however they mentioned that just like America likes to hide some of its sordid past, Canada has its own history that it isn't proud of. One large example has to be Canada’s relationship with its First Nation or Native Americans (First Peoples.)
By focusing on one man out of the many who struggled through the system Canada put them through, author Baron Alexander Deschauer gives his audience an unique view into this world that people may not have noticed happening around them. We get to see Migizi grow up and try to live his life while life seems to be doing its darndest to hold him back from any real progress. While I can’t say it was a pleasant read, I do think it was definitely a necessary one. I would have liked more, I’m not sure what more, but at only 180 pages I can’t help but feel that there was more to share. I would recommend this book for people who are interested in Canadian History and First Nations HIstory. It was an easy read but like I said it isn't a happy feel good story, nor should it be.

*This eBook was provided by NetGalley and FriesenPress in exchange for honest feedback*

I just couldn't get into this one. Not the book's fault. Just not for me.

Concentration Camps of Canada

by Baron Alexander Deschauer

FriesenPress
General Fiction (Adult) , Teens & YA

Pub Date 13 Jun 2017

I am reviewing Concentration Camps of Canada through FriesenPress and Netgalley:

This book is set between 1918 and 1960, and talks about Migizi’s life, the abuses he survives in residential schools. From the first day his Teacher changes his name to David, because it is easier to say. He was beat on the hands with a yardstick because he ate before Grace was said.

The students are only allowed to speak English, and learns he is not allowed to hunt, that the food consists of the same thing Day after day.

Before long more and more kids are getting sick, and dying but no doctors come.

When David falls in love with a white girl, and her Father finds out Migizi is beaten.

David soon finds himself trying to drink his problems away, no ends up spending time in jail, eventually he gets married and has children, but his wife commits suicide when their children are sent away like Migizi was.

I give Concentration Camps of Canada five out of five stars.

Happy Reading.

En fait, la vie de Migizi, renommé Daniel par l’administration, sert de fil conducteur pour nous faire comprendre la vie des indigènes à l’époque et encore maintenant. C’est ainsi que tour tout à tour, on assiste à différents moments de sa vie. A seize ans quand il tombe amoureux pour la première fois. Quand il est père de trois enfants, marié à une femme qu’il n’aime pas. Quand il s’engage dans l’armée où pour la première fois de sa vie, il n’est plus considéré par les autres comme un Indien mais comme un homme. Chacune de ces scènes ne manque pas de nous faire réagir car on ressenti de l’empathie pour notre héros. On est révolté pour lui. En colère contre ce monde qui ne le reconnaît pas à sa juste valeur sauf quand ça l’arrange. On veut se battre pour lui. On veut lui rendre son bonheur. Car ce livre est la somme de toutes les injustices commises contre les Premières Nations. Des injustices qui ne seront jamais réparées malgré les belles excuses présentées par le gouvernement Canadien, mais également Australien et Américain. Avec ce roman, l’auteur a donc réussi à me faire adhérer à la cause des Premières Nations. J’ai ressenti pour eux une immense injustice. N’attendez pas de Concentration Camps of Canada d’être un pamphlet contre les écoles ou camps mis en place à l’époque. C’est en réalité bien plus que cela. C’est l’histoire d’un peuple qui s’est fait écraser sur bien des aspects et qui vient seulement de voir ses droits reconnus. Cependant, le chemin à parcourir est encore bien long.

This book took off in ways I wasn't expecting. Told through the eyes of Migizi, over a relatively large time frame, we see life from the view of the indigenous people of Canada. Some of the scenes are bleak and harrowing, but perhaps all the more important to challenge yourself to read because of that. Sometimes I think that reading something like this goes a long way towards understanding the memories of those who struggled through difficult, disturbing times to hopefully stop history from repeating itself. This book certainly feels like it captures that idea with a brutally honest and stark approach.

Migizi has a challenging life, but one that this book leads you to understand was not uncommon during this period. The story extends across his experiences of school in early childhood, unrequited love with a young white girl whose father vehemently disapproves, a spiralling depression leading to alcoholism and crime (sometimes just to have some place warm to sleep), and an unexpected degree of heroism in the war. Each of these stories, largely given their own independent chapter, had upsetting elements which weren't always too far removed from the realms of modern day racism and the injustice of those deemed different for ignorant reasons.

This story also shed light on a Canada I didn't know existed. Whilst Migizi's story isn't filled with action, it will still keep you hooked - this dark time, which saw people stripped of their identity and worth, and allegedly helped Hitler develop his own concentration camps is most definitely an eye opener; well worth a read.

Thank you to NetGalley & The Author for an advance copy of this book.

4/5 stars
A part of my reading goal for this year has been to read more about Canada and it's history. This book certainly fit right in with that goal.

Overall, it was a very quick and extremely sad read. As a 1.5 gen Canadian who has grown to love Canada, learning more and more about it's very disturbing and sad history of it's treatment of it's Indigenous people is heartbreaking.

We follow Migizi from his early childhood in a church run 'school' where he is abused in more ways than one; through his first love - a white girl ; his subsequent alcoholism; his military service as a hero during WWII; to his eventual return to his family. He struggles to fit in the white-world, which abuses him over and over again. The ending is sad beyond belief, and totally not what I was expecting.

My only disappointment with this book was that it was too short. I think some of the chapters of Migizi's life could have been explored in more depth.