Inuvialuk knowledge keeper Margaret Olemaun Pokiak-Fenton knew that children’s books have the power to shape your life story.
Her desire to read a children’s classic sent her on the path to residential school. More than six decades later, sharing that story with young readers in “Fatty Legs” helped Pokiak-Fenton heal from the trauma of her time there, says a relative and collaborator.
The 84-year-old died in her apartment in Fort St. John, B.C., on April 21 after suffering from lung disease and diabetes. She will be laid to rest in Fairview, Alta., this month.
“Fatty Legs” co-author Christy Jordan-Fenton says Pokiak-Fenton’s first-hand account of resisting mistreatment in residential school is as relevant as ever as parents look for age-appropriate ways to teach their children about the harms of the government-run system.