Trent prof Rhonda Paulsen signing copies of Manitoulin book at Chapters on Saturday
Peterborough Examiner, Thursday, April 30, 2015 7:26:38 EDT PM
A Trent University professor will be at Chapters signing her book Saturday.
Rhonda Paulsen’s Spirit of the Island: Manitoulin’s People, is a collection of personal stories from the indigenous people of Manitoulin Island.
The book is written in both English and Ojibway and the Ojibway title is Ezhi-minidoowang Minis: Minidoo-wining Bemaadizijig.
The signing takes place at Chapters in Peterborough on Saturday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Paulsen, a professor of indigenous studies who also teaches in the school of education, collected the stories.
She also wrote a set of notes to accompany each one. The notes are meant to bring a richer understanding of the story by pointing out the political or historical background, for instance.
Each story and set of author’s notes is translated into Ojibway and included in the book. (The translators were Shirley Williams-Pheasant and Isadore Toulouse).
Topics of the personal stories cover everything from art, history and language to missing aboriginal women and residential schools.
The book is required reading for two courses at Trent.
Paulsen raised her children on Manitoulin Island and her parents lived there for 30 years.
She won the Symons Award in 2013 for the research that went into the book, which was first published a year ago.
Paulsen’s book is available for sale at Chapters in Peterborough as well as at the gift shop at the Canadian Canoe Museum (now called Tumblehome), the Trent University bookstore and P.G. Towns General Store in Douro.
It can also be purchased online on Paulsen’s website at www.pallasedu.com, on amazon.ca or as an e-book at BryteWave (an online store for digital textbooks).