Seven Fallen Feathers

Seven Fallen Feathers

by

Tanya Talaga

Seven Fallen Feathers: Chapter 8: River, Give Me My Son Back Summary & Analysis

Summary
Analysis
Within two years, Keewaywin First Nation—a community of 350 people—lost two teenagers at DFC: Robyn Harper in 2007, and Kyle Morrisseau in 2009. Kyle was the grandson of Ojibwe painter Norval Morrisseau, often called the “Picasso of the North.” Norval was a survivor of the residential school system. Norval supported his family through his painting—and he taught his youngest son, Christian, how to paint as well. In 1962, after an exhibition in Toronto, Norval’s career began to take off—he was soon an international sensation. But at Norval’s artistic success grew, so did his troubles with excess and alcohol. It was only after suffering a stroke in 1994—two years after Kyle was born to Christian and his wife—that Norval was forced to slow down.
The beginning of this chapter introduces a number of new characters—the Morriseaus, a prominent Ojibwe family. In spite of his family’s success and renown, Kyle too lost his life in Thunder Bay. Kyle’s story isn’t just about Indigenous youths' vulnerability, though. It's about how the generational trauma of the residential school system affects entire families over decades and decades. 
Themes
Colonialism, Cultural Genocide, and Racism Theme Icon
Generational Trauma and Circular Suffering Theme Icon
Norval died in December of 2007. Christian stopped painting for a while—but the sensitive, artistic Kyle was just starting to paint and draw. Kyle initially wanted to remain close to home rather than transferring to DFC, but after all his friends left for Thunder Bay, Kyle begged Christian to let him join them. Together, Christian, Kyle, and Kyle’s younger brother Josh moved to an apartment in Thunder Bay with Christian’s brother Eugene. But DFC only let students attend the school if they lived in a boarding home, so Kyle enrolled in a different school nearby. 
Kyle arrived in Thunder Bay with a large support network—some of his closest families were there with him as he began his education. Kyle was privileged in this regard—even though it was a big move for Christian and Josh, and though they had to double up with Christian’s brother, their family was able to make it work and show up for Kyle as he began his journey.
Themes
Indigenous Youth, Education Reform, and Support Networks Theme Icon
After their first year in Thunder Bay, Christian, Kyle, and Josh moved to a bigger apartment where Christian, who’d resumed painting, could have an art studio. After a successful school year, Kyle went home for the summer—a loophole once he arrived back on the reserve meant that he was eligible for the DFC waitlist. When a spot opened up, Kyle begged to go to the school with his friends and live in a boarding house. Christian agreed to this.  Money was tight, so Christian moved back home to the reserve, believing that Kyle would be okay on his own.
Having spent a year with Kyle in Thunder Bay and seen him thriving, Christian perhaps moved home from Thunder Bay believing that Kyle had a good foundation and support system in place. But as the book has shown, loneliness and homesickness play a big part in the re-activation of generational trauma and circular suffering.
Themes
Generational Trauma and Circular Suffering Theme Icon
Indigenous Youth, Education Reform, and Support Networks Theme Icon
By October, Kyle’s calls home had become sporadic. Kyle was racking up occurrence reports—he’d been missing curfew, drinking, and struggling in school. He’d gotten arrested twice. On October 26, Kyle didn’t come home. The next day, Christian received a call from his cousin Robbie (who was also Kyle’s school counselor) telling him that Kyle was still nowhere to be found. Next, Robbie called Norma, now the NNEC director of education. She was devastated that yet another boy was missing. On Wednesday, Robbie filed a missing persons report. Kyle’s disappearance confirmed Alvin Fiddler’s worst suspicions: Indigenous kids who moved to the city to attend DFC just couldn’t be kept safe. There wasn’t enough support, no matter how hard the school and the NNEC worked to help them cope with life in a “hostile” new city—without proper funding and infrastructure from the government, they were in over their heads. 
Without the support of his family, Kyle began slipping through the cracks—and, as in the cases of the other fallen feathers, the systems in place in Thunder Bay couldn’t support him. This outcome once again illustrates the book’s argument that until there is more funding and support in place in cities like Thunder Bay, Indigenous students will continue to face difficulties and danger. While tthe residential schools were closed down, the vestiges of the system remain: as long as the government refuses to provide funding and support for Indigenous students, these students will always have to make a choice between the familiar and the dangerous.
Themes
Colonialism, Cultural Genocide, and Racism Theme Icon
Generational Trauma and Circular Suffering Theme Icon
Indigenous Youth, Education Reform, and Support Networks Theme Icon
Get the entire Seven Fallen Feathers LitChart as a printable PDF.
Seven Fallen Feathers PDF
On October 26th, Kyle left school and may or may not have visited his uncle Eugene before heading to the mall. From there, he went drinking with a couple of friends at the McIntyre River. Kyle apparently asked one of his drinking buddies, a runner named Ivan Masakeyash, if Ivan knew where he could get a gun—he said he needed it for “protection.” Ivan brushed Kyle off. Kyle and Ivan stayed under the bridge drinking after two of their other friends went home, and Kyle called his mother, Lorene, at 10 that evening. He told her that he was at home—but she thought he sounded high or drunk. Kyle asked his mother for some money and told her that he loved her. Christian deposited some money in Kyle’s bank account, but Kyle never accessed the funds.
The circumstances surrounding Kyle’s death were inconclusive and yet also suspicious. He communicated feeling unsafe and he asked his parents for money. He was intoxicated in the presence of strangers. Just as in several of the other deaths, Kyle was vulnerable and away from friends on the night of his disappearance. The system had not protected him from ending up in such a vulnerable position.
Themes
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Police waited two whole weeks before interviewing Ivan Masakeyash, whom some other DFC students described as “shady.” Ivan was arrested for an attempted break-in on the night of Kyle’s disappearance. Police noted that Kyle’s familiarity with Ivan Masakeyash led to “concerns that Kyle may be involved with Native Syndicate.” Even Robbie worried that Kyle might’ve been mixed up with the gang—he appeared to owe some debts. But Christian refused to believe that Kyle was involved with the Syndicate. Ivan would later testify that he wasn’t involved with the gang, either, and that he’d met Kyle for the first time on the night of his disappearance.
Again, it’s not clear whether Kyle was indeed involved in some “shady” business with Ivan, whether he was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time, or whether his death was truly an accident. But what is clear is that no one paid any meaningful attention to Kyle over the course of several weeks during which he was acting out, suffering, and spiraling.
Themes
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Ten days into the search for Kyle, Christian suffered a breakdown. He got drunk and went down to the river to curse Nanabijou; he begged the rock formation to give him his son back. Police picked him up and brought him home, where he slept all afternoon and dreamed about Kyle. When he woke up, his son Josh was shaking him and telling him that they had to go down to DFC—police had found Kyle’s body. Kyle had burn holes and tears in his pants and abrasions on his shins. He had an extremely high blood ethanol level. Police determined that Kyle died of drowning, and that alcohol was a contributing factor in his death.
Christian’s rage, confusion, and anger as described in this passage speak to the circular suffering that’s created when trauma filters endlessly backward and forward through generations. Kyle, the book suggests, fell into a downward spiral in part because of the effects of generational trauma; but Kyle’s death then created trauma and suffering for Christian, and for the rest of his family and community as well. Christian’s curse against the mythical Nanabijou locates the seeds of this trauma all the way back to colonial times.
Themes
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Indigenous Youth, Education Reform, and Support Networks Theme Icon
Tradition, Prophecy, Spirituality, and Hope Theme Icon
Christian was enraged. But nevertheless, after identifying the body, he picked up some tobacco and took Josh on a walk down to the river. They laid the tobacco down at the river’s edge, and Christian thanked the river for taking his son.
Rather than giving in to his rage again, Christian turned to his spirituality. He found solace in tradition and ritual; like Ricki, he did not blame the river for the loss of a loved one.
Themes
Tradition, Prophecy, Spirituality, and Hope Theme Icon