As Long as the Rivers Flow
From the mid-1800s to the late 1990s, the education of Indigenous children [in Canada] was taken on by various churches in government-sponsored residential schools. More than 150,000 children were forcibly taken from their families in order to erase their traditional languages and cultures.
As Long as the Rivers Flow is the story of Larry Loyie’s last traditional summer before entering residential school. It is a time of adventure and learning from his Elders. He cares for an abandoned baby owl, watches his kokom (grandmother) make winter moccasins, and helps his family prepare for summer camp, where he will pick berries, fish and swim. While searching for medicine plants in the bush with Kokom, he encounters a giant grizzly bear. Gently but truthfully written, the book captivates its readers and reveals a hidden history.
Source: https://houseofanansi.com/products/as-long-as-the-rivers-flow
Keywords/Themes
Missionary schools, indigenous culture and environment in Northern America (Canada), forced assimilation, racism, colonialism, sustainable living, Cree tribe, adventure, hunting and gathering.
Book Review & Recommended Use in Classroom
Simple but enchanting storytelling that portrays an indigenous family in Canada in the 1940s that embraces both, modern life as well as indigenous traditions. The book addresses a time (1880s to 20th century), when indigenous children were forcibly taken to government-sponsored schools to erase their traditional language and customs. In class a portrayal of Lawrence (Larry Loyie) and a biography in connection with the text could be assembled with students. A discussion of preserving the environment and questioning the ownership of land could be inspired.
The language and the plot of the story is simple and would fit a grade 6, definitely a grade 7. (Although I wondered whether the language was almost too simple for grade 7). The book is also very short (40 pages). The topic of the forced assimilation and abuse of indigenous children in government-sponsored and church-run schools should be discussed at an age-appropriate time. How much would we discuss in grade 6? In-depth discussion of this topic usually doesn't happen until upper level. Also, the adventures of Lawrence read a bit younger than grade 7.
(Miriam O., May 2025)
Sensitive Content
Forced assimilation
About the Author
Larry Loyie (1933–2016) was a Cree author and residential school survivor from Alberta, Canada. Raised in a traditional Cree community, he was deeply influenced by his grandfather, who gave him the Cree name Oskiniko, meaning “Young Man.” At age 10, he was sent to St. Bernard Mission residential school, where he endured hardships but was inspired to become a writer after reading about Ernest Hemingway. After leaving school, he worked various jobs, served as a paratrooper, and later became a prison counselor. In the 1980s, he pursued writing, publishing his acclaimed memoir As Long as the Rivers Flow in 2002. He had three sons and, with his partner Constance Brissenden, co-founded the Living Traditions Writers Group to support Indigenous writers.
