Songs for the People: Teachings on the Natural Way

Bert Almon is a professor of English at the University of Alberta and
author of Calling Texas.

Solomon is a Nishnawbe spiritual teacher and this volume assembles many
years of his writings. They fall loosely into the categories of prayers,
poems, and essays.

The vision is clear and generally appealing. The oneness of life and
the need for ecological awareness are recurring themes, and the social
and political problems of Native people are probed. The paternalistic
comments about women, however, are definitely not appealing. In
discussing the use of white flour and baby formula, Solomon says: “So
women have had the biggest share in enslaving not only themselves but
their men and their children; and, although it may be unfair, I have
often wondered, with some degree of anguish, if the majority of women
didn’t believe their heads were made only with the purpose of growing
hair and keeping their ears apart. The majority of them obviously
didn’t do any serious thinking.”

The tone of these writings is didactic, and the style is rooted in
American Indian oratory and lyric. Parallelism is the strongest
stylistic device.

Solomon has influenced the American Indian Movement, the Northern
Ontario Craft Movement, the University Prisons Programme, and the World
Council on Religion and Peace. His book belongs in the category of
inspirational literature.