Moose to Moccasins: The Story of Ka Kita Wa Pa No Kwe

Ronald R. Henry is director of the School of Translators and
Interpreters at Laurentian University.

This autobiography tells the story of a woman, born in 1908, who lived
the first half of her life in the Ojibwa way, the second half in the
city.

Most of Thériault’s learning about the Native way of life came from
her elders. One of them, David Missabie, left his native Toronto to
settle on Bear Island in Lake Temagami 150 years ago. But it was the
author’s beloved great-grandparents, Angele and Michel Katt, who
taught her to live off the land in the northern bush, fishing, trapping,
making rabbit-skin blankets, tanning moose hides, and making moccasins,
always under the threat of starvation.

Married at 15, Thériault and her husband lived off the land (until the
government made it impossible), raised three children, worked hard, and
enjoyed life. When her husband died young, Thériault started a new
life. She married a white man, lost her Native status, and divorced. The
children went to residential school, and Wise-Day Woman undertook a new
career as a seamstress. Eventually, she learned to accept those who had
used her.

Canadians who want to hear Native stories will be rewarded by listening
to Native voices such as Thériault’s. Ka Kita Wa Pa No Kwe has lived,
loved, cried, and sweated. Her story is a personal history rich with
insights. Megwetch.