Kiss of the Fur Queen

This section is particularly unsettling in its depiction of both cultural and sexual violence against the Okimasis brothers and other Indigenous children at Birch Lake Indian Residential School. By contrasting the smallness and innocence of the children with the size and sternness of the grown-ups, the text gives the reader a child’s-eye view of the proceedings. Words like “little” and “small” recur often in this section, as do descriptions of the children as “crying” and “humiliated.” Champion’s haircut infantilizes him further and leaves him feeling “skinned alive, in public; the center of his nakedness shriveled to the size and texture of a raisin” (52). What makes the haircut especially violent is its cultural implications; most Indigenous peoples consider hair sacred and powerful.

The second act of violence against Champion is the removal of his name—one with strong emotional resonance both for him and the Okimasis clan. By Chapter Six, Champion is already identifying with the compound name Champion-Jeremiah, which represents the schism in his personality. The third violent act is Champion-Jeremiah’s separation from his mother tongue, while the fourth is the indirect messaging that denounces his joyous culture as a form of sin.

The descriptions of the priests’ relationships with the children and the drab, antiseptic interiors of the school foreshadow worse to come. Unlike the bracing, fresh air the children have lived in so far, “[E]verything here smell[s] of metal and Javex” (55). The children wear blue uniforms that erase their individuality, and brothers and sisters cannot associate with one another, weakening important familial bonds on the hypocritical pretense of preventing sexual activity. Meanwhile, Father Lafleur is described as placing a “hand on Champion’s thigh, and like some large, furry animal” purring at him (54). Father Lafleur’s touch violates Champion’s boundaries, setting the stage for the abuse of Gabriel.

The novel describes Gabriel’s abuse in language that is graphic but not overtly sexual. For instance, Father Lafleur’s breath reminds Gabriel of “raw meat hung to age without being forgotten” (78), but his actions consist of reaching for Gabriel and “pulling him down” (78). This dissonance avoids gratuitous violence and also mirrors a child’s understanding of the abuse. The passage discusses uncomfortable topics such as Gabriel’s involuntary pleasure at Lafleur’s actions and his association of the Christian religion and sexuality. These factors will have a wide-reaching impact on Gabriel’s life. Jeremiah’s denial of the violence—despite witnessing it—shows the different ways in which people process trauma.

The abuse the book describes is all the more terrible because it is based on historical fact. Canada’s Indian boarding school system—run by Christian missionaries—mandated the attendance of all Indigenous children between 1894 and 1947. Though attendance was not mandatory after 1947, the boarding schools continued to operate well into the 1960s and 70s, with the last school shutting down as late as 1998. The purpose behind the schools was clear: to assimilate Indigenous children into the white, Christian mainstream through Western education and the erasure of their cultural beliefs. Living conditions at the school were often unsanitary, causing hundreds of children to die from diseases such as tuberculosis. Sexual abuse of children was common, as the accounts of survivors have revealed. The schools enrolled children from the age of six to 16, tearing them from their families and causing parents grave emotional trauma. Many children who died of disease and neglect were buried secretly in school grounds: Unmarked graves, possibly containing the remains of these children, were still being discovered as late as 2021, such as on the site of Marieval Indian Residential School in Saskatchewan.

Part 2 is named “Andante Cantabile,” which refers to the second movement in a piece of music. A second meaning refers to a flowing or songlike motion. This second sense is odd given the section’s subject matter, unless one considers it in the context of Jeremiah’s love for the piano and his melodious singing.