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So few on earth : a Labrador Métis woman remembers
Xwi7xwa Library, University of British Columbia

Book
Creators
Penny, Josie
Description
"Josephine Mildred Curl Penny grew up in Labrador during the 1940s and 1950s. Like many Métis, she and her family lived a semi-nomadic lifestyle, moving insideto the primitive settlement of Roaches Brook each fall to hunt and trap, and outside to Spotted Islands in the spring to harvest the rich fishing grounds.;Sent away to hospital at age four, to boarding school when she was seven, and forced out to work at age eleven, Josie lost the family bond so important to a young child. She recounts the years spent at Lockwood Boarding School where she suffered atrocious punishments, merciless teasing, and the humiliation of two rapes. The depersonalization and constant punishment eventually took their toll, and her once free-spirited nature was broken. Reading became her only escape.;Set against the beauty and ruggedness of the Labrador coast, So Few on Earth is a story of perseverance in a harsh environment and the possibility of life starting anew from shattered beginnings."

More Information

ISBN
9781554887095; 1554887097
Statement of Responsibility
Josie Penny.
Publication Information
Toronto : Dundurn Press
Physical Description
323 pages : illustrations 23 cm
Contents
The Wild Land That is My Home -- Part One Early Life -- 1 Before Memory -- 2 Berry Picking -- 3 Shifting in the Bay -- 4 Roaches Brook -- 5 Mommy's Work -- 6 Hunting and Trapping -- 7 Springtime and Shifting Outside -- 8 Spotted Island -- 9 The Making of the Fish -- 10 Medical Care and Mail Delivery -- Part Two Lockwood [Boarding -- Residential schools] -- 11 Heading for Lockwood [Residential school] -- 12 Arriving at Lockwood -- 13 School Days -- 14 Learning the Rules -- 15 Special Times at Lockwood -- 16 Longing for Home -- 17 The Children Return -- 18 Learning to Cope.;Part Three Return to Family -- 19 Getting Home -- 20 Muddy Bay -- 21 The Move to Cartwright -- 22 St. Peter's School -- 23 Life in Cartwright -- 24 A Joyous Winter -- 25 Spring Adventures -- Part Four Later Life -- 26 My First Job -- 27 Challenges -- 28 Coping with Tragedy -- 29 Early Teens -- 30 Growing Up -- 31 Love and Conflict -- 32 Leaving Childhood Behind.
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