On the Trapline

Increasingly, the work of talented Indigenous authors and illustrators is enriching the field of Canadian children’s literature. Two well-established and widely celebrated leaders in this field are David A. Robertson and Julie Flett. Both have been recognised with many awards—for instance, an earlier collaboration, When We Were Alone, received the 2017 Governor General’s Literary Award. Robertson is a member of the Norway House Cree Nation. Flett is Swampy Cree and Red River Métis. Their latest collaboration, On the Trapline, is a gentle story about multi-generational relationships and connections to the earth.

Told from the first-person perspective of a young boy, On the Trapline revolves around the boy and his Moshom (grandfather) returning to the old man’s childhood trapline. The two protagonists fly from some distant location to “touch down in the community” where the old man spent some of his childhood. They walk through the forest and then take a boat to reach the trapline. All the while, the old man patiently responds to his grandson’s questions and talks about his childhood before returning to his reverie.

Flett’s artwork never fails to impress. In On the Trapline, she maintains her usual high standard. The illustrations were rendered with pastel on paper. These were then put together digitally. The colour palette consists primarily of greens. Other colours are muted and generally used sparingly. The strong presence of greens throughout the book is soothing and calming. In this respect, they mirror the written text in which the boy and his Moshom seem obviously to be being restored and regenerated by the return to traditional lands. The rhythm of Robertson’s text is, itself, soothing:

I close my eyes and picture the trapline. The trees, the water and all the land and little islands. Chopping wood and picking berries …. Sleeping in a tent with family to stay warm. Standing by the lake.

In addition to an author’s note and illustrator’s note at the back of the book, there is a Swampy Cree glossary and pronunciation guide for 18 words. The glossary words appear in the order in which they were included in the story. As the book excerpt for this review shows, the words were already defined in the main narrative anyway, but their presence in the glossary provides reinforcement. The presence of the Swampy Cree words in the book adds to its authenticity and educative potential. From the author’s personal perspective, one expects Robertson’s inclusion of his Indigenous language also strengthens the connection between the book and his own father. On the Trapline is based upon Robertson’s experience of returning with his father to Robertson’s father’s childhood trapline after a 70-year absence. It is a powerful story well told in an understated manner.