Fireworks and Folly: How We Killed Minnie Sutherland

John Steckley teaches in the Human Studies Program at Humber College in
Toronto.

Fireworks and Folly, described by the author as “a work of nonfiction
narrative,” considers the extent to which neglect played a role in the
death of Minnie Sutherland, a 40-year-old Cree woman who was hit by a
car on New Year’s morning, 1989, in Hull, Quebec. Well researched ad
accessible, the book includes excerpts from the Coroner’s Inquest.
Nihmey, who provides a solid account of Sutherland’s life in the
capital area, and of the events leading up to her death, demonstrates
good understanding of Native life in an urban setting.

As for the case itself, Nihmey sees Sutherland’s death more as a
failure of “the system” (involving police at the scene of the
accident and, later, at the hospital that admitted Sutherland) than as
the consequence of deliberate acts of racism. He rightfully criticizes
the media for focusing on the issue of impairment: “drunk or not,
Indian or white, Minnie Sutherland was entitled to proper care.”
However, his conclusions that “racism played no part in Minnie’s
demise” seems overstated.