Justa: A First Nations Leader

David R. Hutchinson is a professor in the Teacher Education Program at
the Arctic College in Fort Smith, N.W.T.

Currently, there are many books available that speak to the hegemony and
injustice that characterize the historical impact of nonaboriginal
political, economic, social, and cultural influences on aboriginal
communities. What makes this particular text unique is its biographical
nature. Written from the perspective of Justa Monk, a Tl’azt’en
(Carrier Sekani) Nation leader, Bridget Moran’s latest work strives to
reveal how one aboriginal man’s personal narrative was directly shaped
by nonaboriginal master narratives, and vice versa.

The book documents Monk’s traditional upbringing in the small
community of Portage, and follows him into adolescence and early
adulthood; it was here that Monk got his first tastes of wage labor and
alcohol. It was also at this time that alcohol would prove to be
Monk’s undoing; during a drinking bout, he experiences a blackout, and
stabs and kills his brother. For all of its tragedy, this would prove to
be a pivotal moment for Monk, one that sparked a deep reflection on the
meaninglessness of his life and on the events that had led him to that
particular psychological and cultural space. He then attempts a personal
recovery of his original culture and, primarily through the support of
the elders, musters the strength to return to his people.

At first his contributions are modest, starting as maintenance man and
then band manager in his village of Tachie. However, it later becomes
evident later that Monk has the potential for strong leadership, when he
is elected as the chief at Tachie, subsequently becoming vice-chief and,
ultimately, chief of the Carrier Sekani Tribal Council.

Monk’s story is an inspirational one. Not only does it explore the
power of personal redemption, it reveals the degree to which one’s
individual story can come up against—and, in a sense,
“rewrite”—the broader, oppressive, nonaboriginal master narratives
along more emancipatory lines.