Survivor and scholar Jesse Thistle will return to a Green Wood Coalition stage for a reading and discussion about his new memoir, From the Ashes, My story of Being Métis, Homeless and Finding My Way. The event takes place on Thursday, Sept. 12 at Port Hope’s Cameco Capitol Arts Centre.
Thistle’s powerful story of trauma and transformation was first brought to local audiences at Green Wood Coalition’s social justice conference, IMAGINATE, in 2018. The Métis/Cree/Scot from Prince Albert, Saskatchewan is the recipient of numerous academic awards, a Ph.D. Candidate in history and an assistant professor in Métis Studies at York University in Toronto. This summer, the debut memoir climbed to No. 3 on the Globe and Mail’s best seller list for Canadian non-fiction.
Abandoned by his parents and cut off from his Indigenous roots as a young child, Thistle spent a decade haunted by his past and lost in a cycle of homelessness, drug and alcohol addiction and petty crime. His story chronicles his life on the streets and how he overcame trauma and addiction through his irrepressible will to survive.
Kerri Kightley, Advisor with the Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness and Green Wood Coalition Board Member, will lead an onstage interview with Thistle to talk about his reflections on homelessness from a personal and historical perspective. Through his doctoral research and as National Representative for Indigenous Homelessness for the Canadian Observatory on Homelessness, Thistle has become a strong advocate for an Indigenous definition of homelessness that is rooted in the context of inter-generational trauma, loss of culture and disconnection from home.
“Jesse’s story exposes the raw, human impact of a dark chapter in Canadian history that included residential schools, the Sixties Scoop and displacement of Métis people,” says David Sheffield, Green Wood Coalition Community Director. “His struggle reminds us of the trauma suffered by so many people who find themselves in our alleyways and shelters, but it also reminds us of the possibility that lies in the human spirit.”
The evening is presented as part of Green Wood Coalition’s Community 101 information series, made possible by Northumberland United Way and Cameco. The free event begins at 7:00 p.m., and tickets must be reserved at http://northumberlandwest.snapd.com/events/view/1268179.
Author: Pete Fisher
Has been a photojournalist for over 30-years and have been honoured to win numerous awards for photography and writing over the years. Best selling author for the book Highway of Heroes - True Patriot Love
