Book Review: In her book Serpent River Resurgence, Lianne Leddy documents the story of the community of Serpent River and its long history with colonialism and resource development.
Books usually speak to readers through words and, sometimes, illustrations.
But we can learn what motivated their authors by speaking directly to them, as Great Lakes Echo correspondents did in interviews this year about new books about environmental issues in the region.
Serpent River Resurgence opens with the stories of the lands and waters of Anishinaabek territory, of the great serpent, her radiant eggs, and the lessons to be learned from disturbing them in unsustainable and disrespectful ways.
Lianne Leddy grew up with stories of the uranium mining that poisoned her Anishinaabek community in Ontario.
Now, she’s retelling these stories through Serpent River Resurgence, her new book based on documents and interviews from family and friends who lived through the environmental crisis.