Idaa Trail: In the Steps of Our Ancestors

Patricia Morley is professor emerita of English and Canadian Studies at
Concordia University. She is the author of several books, including The
Mountain Is Moving: Japanese Women’s Lives, Kurlek and Margaret
Laurence: The Long Journey Home.

This beautifully illustrated book is set in July in the Northwest
Territories between Great Bear Lake and Great Slave Lake. John has just
completed sixth grade and is delighted by an invitation to join his
cousins and his grandparents, Etseh and Etsi, on a canoe trip that will
follow an ancient route called the Idaa Trail. Almost too excited to
sleep, John imagines, in turn, fishing, swimming, campfires, bugs, bad
weather, and bears.

The first few days are long and hot, with heavy portages. Grandfather
Etseh tells John he’ll be stronger soon. The days pass, each capped by
memorable campfires where Etsi shares memories of making canoes in the
springtime with birchbark, spruce roots, and spruce gum. Each portage
reminds Etseh of tribal medicines and customs (spruce gum heals cuts
quickly). Old graves prompt stories. When supplies run low, Etseh prays
for a moose, which turns up the next day. They finally reach Hottah Lake
and radio their exact location to the plane. A Twin Otter arrives the
next day, and they board it gratefully.

An afterword affords a short history of the Dogrib people, aboriginals
who speak one of the Athapaskan languages. Dogrib elders have long
travelled Idaa Trail, and with this book, children can take a virtual
journey and learn of its cultural and historical significance. Autumn
Downey’s watercolour illustrations make a significant contribution to
a story that honours Dogrib ancestors. Highly recommended.